Alexandra Marks writes about the 'green' and budget-friendly renovation of a 100-year-old farmhouse.
The construction crew starts to clean up for the day as the light dims at Sheep Dog Hollow, a 1902 farmhouse being renovated in Connecticut. (Joanne Ciccarello/Staff/The Christian Science Monitor)
Reclaimed wood flooring wins out in home renovation
With our bank account steadily draining away as we renovate Sheep Dog Hollow, it’s getting more difficult to make decisions that put the “green” of environmentally sound before the “green” of good old hard cash.
Our goal, as I’ve noted repeatedly, is to test the proposition that one can build in an environmentally sound as well as an economical manner. One of the first lessons we learned is that it can be done, but one needs to look at the word “economical” in a five- or 10-year time frame. So, for things such as geothermal heating and spray foam insulation, we opted to spend more now on cutting-edge technology to save heating and other costs in the future. It wasn’t hard to justify. ( Continue… )
Bill Dahlberg checks out the seams in the floor outside of what will eventually be the master bedroom of Sheep Dog Hollow. (Joanne Ciccarello/Staff/The Christian Science Monitor)
Green renovation conundrum: old flooring vs. new
When we first looked at Sheep Dog Hollow, the 100-year old farmhouse we’re renovating in a way that we hope will be both green and economical, we thought we would be able to save the old oak floorboards, or, at least, some of them.
But as anyone who’s renovated an old house will tell you, the best intentions often fall victim to what’s revealed beneath the layers of paint, linoleum, and patching that’s been done over the years.
It turns out that the floors were in a lot worse shape than it originally appeared. ( Continue… )
Jason Folick of Sima Drilling keeps a fire going in a metal barrel in order to stay warm in sub-zero temperatures while working on the renovation of Sheep Dog Hollow, a 1902 farmhouse in Connecticut. (Joanne Cicarello/Staff/The Christian Science Monitor)
House renovation: How to cope with cold weather
Ah, the snow is flying and the roofers who were to start mid-December are now talking about coming in mid-January due to delays on other jobs caused by previous snows. But work at Sheep Dog Hollow, the old farmhouse we’re trying to renovate in a green and economical fashion, lumbers on (as it were.)
The carpenters have been busily preparing the exterior walls for the new energy-efficient windows, putting in new support beams, and tearing out rotted lumber and reframing where it needs to be done. In all, we’re talking about a month’s worth of labor (times four carpenters, each at a good hourly wage) that we had not expected. And now there is also the cold to deal with. ( Continue… )
A construction worker is seen through an open window frame shoveling the roof of Sheep Dog Hollow farmhouse after a blizzard blanketed the construction site with 18 inches of snow. (Joanne Ciccarello/Staff/The Christian Science Monitor)
The unexpected joys (and expenses) of renovating an old house
When we began the renovation of Sheep Dog Hollow last August, one of our goals – besides doing it in a green and economical manner – was to have it “buttoned up” by the time the first snow flew. That meant that the old granite foundation had to be reinforced, a new roof put on, and energy-efficient windows all installed.
Our carpenters assured us it could be done by Christmas, at the latest.
Well, here’s to the best intentions. It’s currently the week between Christmas and New Year’s, and we’re not even close. The final concrete slab in the basement (the floor had been dirt) was finally poured last Wednesday. But the windows are just framed shells covered with plastic, and the old patched asphalt roof still sits atop the house. ( Continue… )
A heat-efficient Rumford fireplace is located in the future living room at Sheep Dog Hollow. a 1902 farmhouse that's being renovated. (Joanne Ciccarello/Staff/The Christian Science Monitor)
The Rumford fireplace - energy-efficiency rediscovered
One of the great pleasures of renovating Sheepdog Hollow in a green and economical manner is what one stumbles across while researching the best options.
I confess I didn’t exactly stumble on the Rumford fireplace. It was brought to my attention by Dale King, a builder we’re using who specializes in old homes. One day I was chatting with Dale and bemoaning the fact that fireplaces are so inefficient in terms of energy, and yet, so necessary -- at least as far as I’m concerned -- in a home – old or new.
“Have you thought of a Rumford?” he asked. ( Continue… )
Louis 'Gino' Spade (left) and his son, Rosario, build a fireplace in the kitchen of Sheep Dog Hollow, a 1902 farmhouse that's being renovated. (Joanne Ciccarello/Staff/The Christian Science Monitor)
Looking for energy-efficient alternatives to fireplaces
When we discovered Sheep Dog Hollow last summer, the charming old home – which was yearning for some loving care – had two, rickety old chimneys. When we decided to buy and restore it in as green and economical a fashion as possible, I knew that we had to have a fireplace in it, or even two.
One of my favorite memories from my childhood was listening to my Virginia-bred mother telling stories about growing up on Lone Jack Farm, while she stood with her back to the fire, warming herself from the harsh cold in New England, where she’d come to raise a family. A fireplace was a must, if only for the warm memories it evokes. ( Continue… )
Sheep Dog Hollow is a 1902 farmhouse that's being restored in Connecticut. One of its first needs is a new roof. (Joanne Ciccarello/Staff/The Christian Science Monitor)
Advantages and disadvantages of a cedar shake roof
Compromise, although often essential for harmonious living, is not always easy. This post is about the decision to put cedar shake roof on Sheepdog Hollow and it is an ode of sorts to compromise, albeit, a grudging one.
My research made it clear that a highly reflective standing seam metal roof would be the most energy-efficient and long-lasting roofing option. And while it was not the most economical choice in the short-term, it was by far the most economical in the long-term simply because of its durability.
I can imagine generations to come gratefully looking up at that standing seam metal roof and murmuring a quiet thanks that 100 years from when it was installed, it was still keeping the house warm and dry. ( Continue… )
Alexandra Marks and her finacé Martin Sheridan are renovating a hundred-year-old farmhouse in an environmentally responsible and cost-efficient manner. They may have to compromise on a roofing material, because each has different preferences. (Joanne Ciccarello/Staff/The Christian Science Monitor)
More roofing options for an old-house renovation
My preference for putting an energy-efficient standing seam metal roof on Sheepdog Hollow, the creaky old farmhouse we’re restoring in what we plan to be a green and cost-effective manner, has tentatively been shot down by my loving fiancé Martin. He says they’re just ugly, and he’s put his foot down.
I respectfully disagree, as did Thomas Jefferson, who eventually put a tin roof on Monticello, but who am I to make comparisons or drop names? And like almost all things, relationships, too, require compromise. ( Continue… )
The roof of 100-year-old Sheep Dog Hollow will be completely replaced since the shingles have deteriorated. (Joanne Ciccarello/Staff/The Christian Science Monitor)
Trying to decide on an energy-efficient roof
Like pretty much everything else in at Sheepdog Hollow, the 100-year-old farmhouse we’re renovating, the roof needs to be replaced.
With decisions now made about what type of windows and front door we're going to install, it was time to look upward.
And since our goal is to renovate this house as greenly, but also as economically as possible, I began checking out the different roofing options.
My first inclination was to go for a metal roof. My grandparent’s 19th-century farmhouse in Virginia has one – it’s the original as far as I know. (The farm and home, by the way, are named Lone Jack, because the property was reportedly won in a card game with a lone jack.) ( Continue… )
Choosing an energy-efficient front door
The carpenters at Sheep Dog Hollow, the hundred-year-old house we're renovating, have been busy preparing the frame of the old house for its new windows and doors.
We’ve already chosen our windows, opting for Andersen windows with High Performance Low E glass. Not only are they energy efficient and qualify for a tax credit, but they’re self-cleaning on the outside.
Now it’s time to tackle the front door. The carpenters need the specs to frame a rough opening. ( Continue… )
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