Which would you rather detect?

[wayne_etc]

An old homesite with the house still standing, or the same old homesite after the house has been torn down and removed? I've searched both, and it seems that the trash level at the later scenario can be unbearable. Theoretically though, if the ground has been scraped after removing the house, it seems that the "deepies" could be more accessible.

What are your thoughts?


w

 

[dave5710]

The deepies are most likely scraped up as well, pushed into the hole the was the basement and buried deeper still. I would rather hunt the home site while the building is still standing. I would also like the chance to look inside. While the house in still standing you can see exactly where the front porch was, where the back door was, perhaps even where flower beds were. If the house is gone and you never saw it while it stood there, you are just using your best guesses. JMO.

 

[Tymstamon]

I've done well in both scenarios i do prefer the house to be standing but abandon, also after the home is leveled there is usually a ton of nails around and with that you probably don't even know your missing targets,

 

[Waterdog]

I have had the chance to hunt both. But some of my favorite hunting was with a friend of mine, ( gone but always remembered ). We used to hunt old flat places where people lived back in the 1800's. We would find a place sometimes Hardly noticeable. Try and find where the front of the place and the yard was. It was a challenge, but you could figure it out with a metal detector. Sometimes we would camp for a few days and find some really nice things. Oh wow got me going now... better get out of here

 

[fwcrawford]

I have actually done well at both types of sites you described.
After ther house has been demolished there is much debris, but you can still make some nice finds if you are
determined.
I hunted a site that the house had been torn down and pushed into the basement and found a 1920 mecury dime laying right on top of the ground, so not everything gets shoved into the basement.
I don't pass up any chance to hunt an old home site no matter how much trash is present.
One good point that others mentioned is that with the house still standing, you can get a better idea about where to hunt, but still I just cover the whole area anyhow, so to me it's not too important for it to be standing.
Felix

 

[kydigger]

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2720/4396898530_5a103c5576_o.jpg

I'm headed there Saturday. The house was built in 1850. There are still remnants of the privy. There are also several trash piles. There are about 2 acres of land and a barn. From all appearances, this place has never been hunted.
I have permission to do whatever I want and keep whatever I find.

 

[silversmith]

Oh, before the house is torn down. I'd spend most of my time hunting every nook and cranny
Yes, take a step ladder and look for holes drilled into the tops of doors. Look for moulding trim that's a little loose! Look for loose flooring that might be concealing a cache... I better quit......... I'm getting goose bumps......

 

[Tymstamon]

actually Kydigger with that old place on the inside my favorite place is around the edges of the floor where the baseboard is if there are areas where coins could get between the base and say hard food floor or subfloor i've found many coins in that crack where it got jammed in there and no one knew it.

 

[dave5710]

If it ever had a furnace, check out the duct work. Coins could fall through a floor register real easy.

 

[Pyledriver]

Standing would always be my preference! Not because of trash so much but because I like to explore old houses for all the reasons mentioned above (caches) and just the whole flirting with danger thing I guess. I probably watched too much Scooby Doo as a kid..LOL!

 

[dk dogs]

Seems I have always found more quality finds on an old place where the house is still standing. Once they take them down it is like finding 10 million nails and you get burn out fairly fast.

 

[Steve(MS)]

Where the structure no longer stands is for me the most challenging
of any type detecting possible.
You will need to get skilled using a small coil, there shouldn't be much
competition around such sites.
I think it is generally better if the ground hasn't been pushed away.
Old house sites are the last frontier in metal detecting.