May 11 2020 37 mins
Demolition and excavation are officially underway at the Schaper home. We started with the demolition at the property, removing the home that was in disrepair. The next step was excavating the lot to prepare for construction.
The lot in this historic neighborhood held a number of surprises for our crews starting with clay soil that has to be improved before it can withstand building. The build turned newsworthy with the discovery of a mine shaft and a historic cistern. The cistern turned out to be a time capsule holding Prohibition-era bottles and artifacts.
The Dogtown neighborhood, known for its rich clay soil, has a long history of brickmaking and industry. Many of the challenges we unearthed on this lot were tied to that history.