Comments on: My New Project: A 1961 House With Home-Performance Angst

By: Steve

Steve — Thu, 25 Jul 2019 02:37:56 +0000

We just signed the last check
We just signed the last check today on what turned into a 2-year remodel of a log home. The addition has 2x6 walls and is heavily insulated, but there was relatively little we could do with the log portion other than rechink. We did upgrade the HVAC with a waterfurnace 7-series geothermal system with a desuperheater. Have you considered geothermal for your project?

By: Ryan Shanahan

Ryan Shanahan — Wed, 24 Jul 2019 17:43:34 +0000

I bought a 1907 bungalow in
I bought a 1907 bungalow in Portland OR 5 years ago. At that point my energy rating showed it would use the equivalent of 34,263 kWh/yr and/or $2247 in gas and electricity annually. Since then I've replaced the old furnace / ducts with Ductless Minisplits, replaced the old water heater w/ a heat pump water heater, replaced all of the appliances with ENERGY STAR rated ones, and replaced all of the light bulbs with LED's. I also patched a few gaping holes to unconditioned attic spaces w/ 2" of R-13 polyiso. Last year I consumed 8,477 kWh/yr and/or $1144 in electricity (no more gas). This summer we're remodeling w/ insulation in our empty walls and basement ceiling. (Hadn't done that yet due to old electrical that will be replaced as well). A solar PV proposal says we could meet 75% of our existing load, I'm hoping w/ the insulation and air sealing we could get pretty close to zero. Point being, it can be done!!!

By: rjp

rjp — Mon, 22 Jul 2019 11:58:04 +0000

In reply to Griffin Hagle. Griffin
Griffin Traditionally the home "consultant" is an architect. Unfortunately, in a day when a majority have been led to believe science can't be trusted, most will gravitate to the low bid Chuck in the Truck with the "trust me I have done this for decades" assurances. rjp

By: Griffin Hagle

Griffin Hagle — Mon, 22 Jul 2019 02:30:16 +0000

I've been trading texts and
I've been trading texts and emails (a fair share of them linking to your blog) with my brother, who just bought a small ranch-style home in Oregon with a similar degree of performance anxiety. Last week, the same contractor who put in his ducted mini-split left a gaping hole in an interior wall directly connected to the crawlspace (via vestigial gas line) and attic (via remnants of the flue) when he removed his wall furnace. He has plenty of new fluffy stuff in the attic but was irked to realize, after one of our exchanges, that the top plates were likely never sealed. Going through this process and vicariously feeling his angst makes your notion of a home-performance friend and coach really resonate, to the point a light bulb came on. People routinely hire fitness coaches, life coaches, and the like to help them choose wisely over the course of a complicated, intimately personal project that is piecemeal by nature. Why shouldn't there be something similar for home improvements?

By: JC

JC — Wed, 17 Jul 2019 17:03:36 +0000

In reply to Andy Kosick. That takes a lot of $$ and or
That takes a lot of $$ and or "know-how".

By: JC

JC — Wed, 17 Jul 2019 17:02:18 +0000

Wow, What an undertaking.
Wow, What an undertaking. Best of luck with the renovation.

By: RoyC

RoyC — Tue, 16 Jul 2019 13:46:09 +0000

I can't wait for the future
I can't wait for the future blog where you admit that it would have been cheaper to knock the house down and start from scratch ;-)

By: abailes

abailes — Mon, 15 Jul 2019 16:57:53 +0000

In reply to Leigha Dickens. Yeah, we're not moving all

Yeah, we're not moving all our stuff out. But, I am planning to gut the whole basement so maybe we can do just the basement. With it gutted, though, I think we ought to be able to seal it all up pretty well with other stuff.

By: abailes

abailes — Mon, 15 Jul 2019 16:55:22 +0000

In reply to rjp. RJ, yes, that might seem

RJ, yes, that might seem extreme but I read an article on the Internet about using mini-splits to keep your attic cool and it seemed like a good idea:

A New Way to Cool Your Attic - Powered Attic Mini-Split Heat Pumps

Oh, wait. That article was published on April Fools' Day.

Leigha got it right. It's not to cool the attic. It's just going to be located in the attic for conditioning the main floor of the house. Sorry that wasn't clear in the article.

By: Leigha Dickens

Leigha Dickens — Mon, 15 Jul 2019 16:45:51 +0000

In reply to abailes. I think the bummer is you'd
I think the bummer is you'd have to move alllllll your stuff out that you already moved in because the spray would ruin your stuff. Maybe you can cover it all really well with plastic? I dunno. But if you can get past that it would be really interesting to see how much that changes the air tightness score on a house like this.