He found a mysterious 90-year-old treasure under the floorboards of the house. “We couldn’t keep it”

A renovator was stunned after discovering a mysterious safe hidden under the floorboards of a 90-year-old house he was renovating.

The $6 million home in the Hancock Park neighborhood of Los Angeles, US, was being renovated when the safe was discovered.

Sharing a photo of the rubble-covered safe on Reddit, the builder sparked a frenzy of enthusiastic speculation about what was inside.

In the image, the safe can be seen embedded in the floor, with a numbered dial and a handle visible among the dust and rubble.

The post quickly garnered tens of thousands of likes, with 3,500 users commenting.

Offering a little more information about the renovation, the builder explained, “Work started in 2020, but had a few hiccups. It will probably take just under four years. The amount of stuff they’ve done here is crazy.

They dug a room under the house for a theater and added a living unit (2 stories).”

“Wear a mask”

Among the comments asking for updates, a user claiming to be a locksmith shared more information about the type of safe.

He wrote: “Looks like a Fire King safe. Wear a mask. Most likely lined with asbestos like most safes of that time.

However you crack it, understand that there’s a 99% chance the safe is asbestos-lined.”

This isn’t the first time a secret safe has been discovered during renovations and then posted on Reddit.

Users frustrated by the lack of an answer as to what was inside with these other cases warned others not to get excited this time.

One user wrote: “I can’t get hurt again”.

Another asked that the poster “be banned if they don’t post an update in 24 hours”.

Responding to this, another commented, “Banned is too easy. Judged in The Hague at least.”

Unwilling to risk going to The Hague, the renovator replied.

“Their version of ‘nothing’ is very different from yours and mine.”

He replied, “The owners are aware of the safe and have informed him (the project manager) that it is empty and have instructed that it be removed and disposed of.

We may open it tomorrow just to check, but it is unlikely to be worth the time to do so, as we have been told it is empty and time is money.

They are the owners anyway, so even if the contents had value, we couldn’t keep it. I’m sorry we had such an anticlimactic ending.”

But after the renovator explained that the home was set up as a summer home for the owners living in New York, one user speculated: “This couple has a 6 million second home.

“Their version of ‘nothing’ is very different from yours and mine.”