ot as simple with dismembering but it, too, starts at the
ridge pole and gradually works to the foundation. While one crew is
clearing away the roofing, another is taking off the exterior siding.
If this happens to be the original wide clapboards, great care is
exercised so they may be used again. This may or may not be true of
the boarding underneath. Even old builders were wont to use
second-hand lumber where it wouldn't show. On the other hand, where
the exterior is shingled the side walls underneath are often of wide
soft wood plank which take the place of both weather boarding and
supporting studs. They are, of course, numbered and removed to be used
again. Shingles, whether roof or side wall, cannot be saved as they
are invariably too weatherbeaten. Lath and plaster are likewise
destroyed in the dismembering but they are small loss as they are
usually in bad order.

If the studding is in good condition, it is used again but if it is
badly warped or of oak, it is left behind. Century-old oak is as hard
as concrete and must actually be drilled for nails. When the studding
is taken out, all window frames and doorways are removed and stored.

Now comes removal of stairways, feather-board partitioning, flooring
and paneling in the order mentioned. Offhand one would schedule the
latter as one of the first things to be taken out but the building
ways of the old workmen dictate otherwise. As a means of stopping
drafts, they put all paneling in from joist to joist, that is, from
below the upper surface of the flooring to above the lower surface of
the ceiling. After floors and ceilings are out, it is a simple matter
to loosen all paneling and remove it in large units. Wherever possible
whole room-ends go intact. The stairway is also taken out as a unit,
especially the more elaborate one in the front hall. Prying loose the
old wide flooring is a difficult operation. The original hand-wrought
nails have rusted fast and if too much leverage is used, the boards
split. Men used to such work salvage the old flooring with little
damage, however.

At the same time that the paneling makes its exit, the large
hearthstones are pried from position and moved to a waiting truck. All
that now remain are the chimney and timber frame. By this time each
joint of the latter has been numbered and given its color code. With a
simple derrick and ropes and pulleys, dismembering the frame
commences. The pins that make the joints tight are remo