Help optimising search a 120 year old house

[Aubern]

The "in sight" one... where is it in relation to yours ?

Front ? behind ? side ?

(should have added this / these questions to above)

About 100 metres diagonally opposite front the front

 

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[Aubern]

About 100 metres diagonally opposite front the front

*from the front

 

[Blak bart]

Use a black light to look at the gyprock......if its ever been disturbed and patched it will be easily visible with the black light. So what im saying is if the walls have been opened to hide money, and then this hide was re plasterd and painted it will be evident with the black light. Fence line post holes, large old trees, cloths line area, and crawl spaces should all be checked.

As a person that does some logging also.....every cache I've buried....has been by certain trees with certain marks on them....marker trees 🌳. Yes.....I just left a clue to my own buried money !!

 

[boogeyman]

Use a black light to look at the gyprock......if its ever been disturbed and patched it will be easily visible with the black light. So what im saying is if the walls have been opened to hide money, and then this hide was re plasterd and painted it will be evident with the black light. Fence line post holes, large old trees, cloths line area, and crawl spaces should all be checked.

As a person that does some logging also.....every cache I've buried....has been by certain trees with certain marks on them....marker trees 🌳. Yes.....I just left a clue to my own buried money !!

The patches we called wall pendants. With the black light pendants will show up even under wallpaper. One place we searched in California had five layers of wall paper & still lit up. No joy both times but you might luck out!

Probably not a big thing for you, beware of holes that feel warm or the wall around them feels like it's buzzing. Bee hives!

 

[boogeyman]

Although the privy idea is a good thought at determining "wealth"... and most often times true... i must also say that some of the biggest misers did not spend lavishly ... they hoarded it.
Anyone else known wealthy cheap arses ?... many times its because of their cheapness that made them in the end wealthy... and sometimes not liked at the same time... but none the less.

(TN likes bottles... :P )

I think Tns saying you can tell a lot by what's in the privy being is pappy drinking high end liqueur or the low cost hooch made in the neighbors barn. Bean cans or lots of steak bones.

 

[ARC]

I think Tns saying you can tell a lot by what's in the privy being is pappy drinking high end liqueur or the low cost hooch made in the neighbors barn. Bean cans or lots of steak bones.

I got that... did you not get that i got that from my reply ?

Was just pointing out that half the rich... and especially ones where money came hard to get... or ones that were very poor before being rich... are smart enough mostly to NOT waste money on dumb crap just because they now could.

One thing i have learned in all my years of dealings with yester years things is... often there is no rhyme nor reason as to why someone did or does what they do.

Sheesh i say it to myself 100 times a day while out in the wild ... every day. heh

 

[Aubern]

Hello friends!

Recent joiner to the forum.

Here’s my story:

A year ago we bought a 120 year old heritage-listed (Australian term for ‘can’t be renovated’!…more or less) house in Northern NSW, Australia.

Now, 120 years ago, the primary commercial wealth drivers in Northern NSW, Australia, were timber and dairy production.

The fellow who built the house we bought owned the local timber mill 120 years ago, was mayor of Byron Shire Council 3 times (for those of you who are non-Aussies, Byron Shire is home to Byron Bay, one of Australia’s now top international tourist destinations, and the home of the one-and-only Chris Hemsworth aka Thor), and by all accounts and rumours, even ~70 years later after his death, was quite wealthy.

But here’s the thing. Apparently, no-one ever saw his cash (back then in Australia, cash was predominantly gold, silver and coins, with bank notes not really coming into circulation until 1910), and when he died, some of the older locals in town who still remain tell stories of people coming up to the empty house to try and find his money.

The house is built out of 150+ year old hardwood - the floors, the walls, the roof. The walls have subsequently been covered over with gyprock, whilst the floors and ceiling remain unemcumbered.

The house is a typical Australian ‘Queenslander’ , which means it sits on wooden pylons 3-4 feet off the ground, and so under-house access is pretty good.

My question is, to search the wall cavities, and where the walls meet the floors, what is the ideal detecting equipment for this, factoring that we would be detecting through very old hardwood, and gyprock?

Ideally I would like to get equipment that I can then also use under the house, to deep scan through the dirt.

If you’ve read this far, thank you and well done! Hopefully it’s been and interesting read, and any suggestions you can offer to help are much appreciated.

Well a slow start but a start…managed a quick 10 mins in the front yard with my new Equinox 800 this morning whilst the baby slept and found the attached. Both ~4 inches deep, so at least I know the detector’s working 😂 Looking forward to a more comprehensive search

 

[ARC]

WB Auburn... i see your reply to direction.

Alright so lets begin... concentrate on back yard and look for the largest tree or any tree that "stands out"... abnormal looking etc.... when walking around stop and look for view of other property... if in view then move till you are not.

The simple thinking is... would you bury where someone could see you doing it ? ? ?

IF not in view of other property... then work it... slow.... very slow with coil close to ground.. set detector to "all metal" and dig everything.

Systematically eliminate any and all metal signals starting from base of largest tree out to 2 feet... work tree after tree or any other "marker" type thing you see... an old wall... a large stone... etc.

Think to yourself before you begin as you stand from rear of house... IF IT WERE YOU going to bury something... and start there... remember to think about the spot being "re-found" later etc.

MAny times buriers will bury in more than one spot.... so there may be more than one spot.

Sounds like fun and good luck.

 

[RTR]

A house that old would of had a 'out-house' I'd hit that structure with a metal detector (or where it once was) and the pathway to it.

 

[Gold Maven]

a large amount of gold coins were found in a barn not far from where i live.
They were shoving the barn over with a dozer when they found them.
they were hidden between the finished ceiling of the lower part , and the floor of the upper,
$240,000 in the early 1980's.
research showed that a Family from Georgia, built the barn,( in Ohio), in the 1880's, the husband died suddenly, and his wife didn't know where he hid their money.

 

[MiddenMonster]

research showed that a Family from Georgia, built the barn,( in Ohio), in the 1880's, the husband died suddenly, and his wife didn't know where he hid their money.

Of course not! What 19th century man would tell his wife where he hid money?

 

[Gold Maven]

another funny story about hidden money.

i guide Pheasant hunts , groups of 2 to 6 guys, once a guy took a shot at a bird, and a whole bunch of confetti blew out of his barrel.
"Oh no!" he shouted. " I forgot I hid some money from my wife in the barrel".
Never said how much, but she never found it.

 

[L.C. BAKER]

Find out where they slept. go there and sit on the bed or place a chair where the bed used to be and see what you can see. More times than not, you will be most likely to see their hiding place from there. That includes out the bedroom window if there is one you can see out of. That is where I would go first.
Good Luck!

 

[cw0909]

I didn't know what a queenslander house looked like, from looking at these
catalogs some very detailed about what wood where ect., lots of hide spots
if yours was originality built with a bathroom, or if added later, thats
the area i would start looking 1st,and hidden spaces under the house
maybe your house is in one of the catalogs

what a cool old house has 28 pics

https://www.realestate.com.au/property/6-south-st-esk-qld-4312

Queensland House Designs, 1887-1920 | House Histories

Vintage House Design Catalogues

www.househistories.org

 

[Gare]

Floor Joists , Under fence posts , Under dog houses and chicken coops might be rewarding


Also welcome to Treasurenet

 

[boogeyman]

WB Auburn... i see your reply to direction.

Alright so lets begin... concentrate on back yard and look for the largest tree or any tree that "stands out"... abnormal looking etc.... when walking around stop and look for view of other property... if in view then move till you are not.

The simple thinking is... would you bury where someone could see you doing it ? ? ?

IF not in view of other property... then work it... slow.... very slow with coil close to ground.. set detector to "all metal" and dig everything.

Systematically eliminate any and all metal signals starting from base of largest tree out to 2 feet... work tree after tree or any other "marker" type thing you see... an old wall... a large stone... etc.

Think to yourself before you begin as you stand from rear of house... IF IT WERE YOU going to bury something... and start there... remember to think about the spot being "re-found" later etc.

MAny times buriers will bury in more than one spot.... so there may be more than one spot.

Sounds like fun and good luck.

I like to sit in the doorways & on window sills and get my mind into the where would I frame of mind before swinging or searching. A good book or two on finish carpentry will help you spot the not so obvious things that are out of whack. Slow down & think / visualize. You can always come back to continue a search. What you're looking for has been there for years & years, it ain't gonna get up and walk away overnight.

Quote- an old bull and a young one are standing on a hill looking at a herd of cows. The young bull says hey pa why don't we run down & boink us a cow? The old bull replied, Hold on son, how about we walk down & boink em all. Take your time & think.