Yardage and old foundations

[Pa.Billy]

Hi everyone,this is my first post here on this site,what an active site,it's great. I've been detecting at old foundations for 5 years now. I haven't found a whole lot except for my first time out with my first serious detector and that was a significant find to say the least.
I would like to ask all of you if I may how many yards away from the foundation do you detect out to ? Personally I get discouraged easily and would probably estimate out to about 20-25 yards. I know every situation is different including such things as time frames concerning the time span of the houses existence and many other factors.To narrow it down a bit I'm thinking along the lines of a 1800's house that maybe hasn't had anyone living there for 100 years. and is off the beaten trail in the middle of the woods. Please any general characterization of your distances would be appreciated. I've always wondered about this and how other people decide this.

 

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[CanUDigIt]

Hey Billy! Welcome to TNet! What part of PA are you from? Good luck to you!

 

[Pa.Billy]

Hi CanUDigIt, looks like I live on the other side of state as you do.I'm located abouit 50 miles of Pittsburgh,the city that's going to whip your butt in hockey this coming week lol

 

[BuckleBoy]

Hi there!


I am 99% housesite hunter these days, and here's what I do...


I would hunt as far out from the house as you still get a decent number of iron hits (nails, bigger iron, and such).  It's true that someone might have lost something out in the fields, but these are usually needles-in-the-haystack to find.  Since you ARE in an old area, it might not be so bad to get out in the fields away from a house site and see what you come up with--then after several hunts in the fields decide if it's worth your time.  But I usually go only as far out as the iron hits--since Iron indicates traffic.  I also make sure I go from the house site to the well, or to the nearest water source--even if it is a ways away.  I also detect any and all old roads that run close to the house site.  The areas in the road itself are good, but the areas on either side are worth checking out as well--since folks tethered their horses beside the road if they stopped.

I'll also say this:  Dump sites are EXCELLENT spots to detect--as well as dig for bottles, etc.  Each and every house site in a rural area WILL have a dump site of some sort...usually downhill and away from the house.  Sometimes these are quite a little distance from the house, but most are fairly close.  You should find the dump at each and every site you hit, to see if it has some potential.  The Least you'll come back with is broken harmonica reeds, toe taps, and suspender clips.  Sometimes you can find coins, buckles, and more in the dump.


WELCOME TO TREASURENET! I hope to see some great finds from you soon.



Regards,


Buckleboy 

 

[Pa.Billy]

Hi Buckleboy,thanks for your input that was informative.I recently found a 1893 quarter near a dump spot,interestingly it was just above the foundation.I was just thinking,it probably helps if the residents were social people and invited lots of people to such events as family reunions etc :-)




Hi there!


I am 99% housesite hunter these days, and here's what I do...


I would hunt as far out from the house as you still get a decent number of iron hits (nails, bigger iron, and such). It's true that someone might have lost something out in the fields, but these are usually needles-in-the-haystack to find. Since you ARE in an old area, it might not be so bad to get out in the fields away from a house site and see what you come up with--then after several hunts in the fields decide if it's worth your time. But I usually go only as far out as the iron hits--since Iron indicates traffic. I also make sure I go from the house site to the well, or to the nearest water source--even if it is a ways away. I also detect any and all old roads that run close to the house site. The areas in the road itself are good, but the areas on either side are worth checking out as well--since folks tethered their horses beside the road if they stopped.

I'll also say this: Dump sites are EXCELLENT spots to detect--as well as dig for bottles, etc. Each and every house site in a rural area WILL have a dump site of some sort...usually downhill and away from the house. Sometimes these are quite a little distance from the house, but most are fairly close. You should find the dump at each and every site you hit, to see if it has some potential. The Least you'll come back with is broken harmonica reeds, toe taps, and suspender clips. Sometimes you can find coins, buckles, and more in the dump.


WELCOME TO TREASURENET! I hope to see some great finds from you soon.



Regards,


Buckleboy
[/quote]

 

[BuckleBoy]

  Hi Buckleboy,thanks for your input that was informative.I recently found a 1893 quarter near a dump spot,interestingly it was just above the foundation.I was just thinking,it probably helps if the residents were social people and invited lots of people to such events as family reunions etc :-)

You can't go wrong by widening the search area around a housesite.  You'll know when you're out too far and the finds start to dwindle.    I especially try to broaden my search area with sites where some Great finds were made...to squeeze one more excellent item from the site before it is hunted out.  Sometimes it works.


-Buckles

 

[Zincoln Miner]

well said Buckleboy............

 

[Samuelben]

hey i found 3 pieces of pottery big the neck of a bottle and few pieces of tin all buried of course

and my Md beeps everywhere you thikn i found the dumb site its bout 90 yards from the house 1920's house

 

[BuckleBoy]

hey i found 3 pieces of pottery big the neck of a bottle and few pieces of tin all buried of course

and my Md beeps everywhere you thikn i found the dumb site its bout 90 yards from the house 1920's house

Yep. Sounds like a dump to me.

 

[Samuelben]

good thnx for the info im gonna have some fun digigng that

 

[baspinall]

Hey Quit hitting our players ithe head with the puck

 

[Pa.Billy]

Hey Quit hitting our players ithe head with the puck



tell your players to start paying attention to what's happening on the ice ! ;-)

 

[deepskyal]

Hey Billy. Not too far from Pittsburgh myself, as are quit a few other members here.

To me, it depends on the foundation, location, farmsite or area that was demo'd for some other reason.

I don't like up against foundations...too much trash if it was demo'd. But i look for things like a big old tree that maybe kids played on, and area where the clothes line might have been, old fence lines, where the yard might have been for picnics. If you see a foundation, picture the house having a porch 8 or 10 feet further out from the foundation and hit that hard. Lots of old houses had porches and they didnt have foundations under them.

Generally I dont go out much further than maybe 50 or 60 feet from a place. That gives me a good days hunt and if i start finding stuff...I'll go out further and hit it a few times.
Al

 

[Pa.Billy]

thanks for your input Al,good to hear there are other members close by. Yes picnics and family reunions are always something you hope for. As someone else said in a recent post about hunting around old one room school houses I wonder how many kids carried around things of value a long time ago.
Yes a porch could make things interesting,I certainly wouldn't pass it up but right now in my metal detecting journey I wish I could find more 1850 or earlier sites. Probably places that didn't have porches,more common in that time period might be something like log cabins or shacks.
I always wonder if someone back when photography was first invented had went around to rural Pa and documented the dwellings in a photo. It would be a shame if such a thing was never done.