[Greenbuilding] A Challenging Project

[Chris Green]

Bryan Fenoff wrote:
> OK. 
>
> I am embarking on a restoration of a 1920's Adirondak Lodj home. 
Calling this a challenging project is an understatement.
>  It 
> weighs in at a hefty 6500 sqft.  Inspection of the attic revealed NO 
> insulation.  I would assume the walls are in the same state.  The heat 
> system is steam powered by a room size oil boiler. 

Check for asbestos! There's a 1911 era house --but much smaller than 
yours--across the street from me, and there's a furnace in the basement 
covered with the stuff.

>  The windows are 
> single pane and barely stay closed.  The roof is mostly slate with 
> sections of composite shingle.  There are 3 cottages which require heat 
> also.  Currently the main house heat is separate from the cottage heat.  
> There is also a pool on property that requires heat.
>
> I am attempting to recommend some energy efficient green renovation 
> methods to enable the owners to help seal the building envelope and 
> minimize heating energy consumption. 
>   

Strip it down to the studs, saving as much of the interior and exterior 
wood as possible. There's probably one or two layers of 1" boards nailed 
on the outside, under the siding, which is nailed on diagonally. This is 
how a lot of houses were still being sheathed as late as the early '60's 
(at least the ones I watched being built ) and I don't think it's really 
necessary to remove the unpainted stuff--unless you want to add some 
depth to the stud cavities to increase the insulation. Then you could 
add to the studs to make a 2x4 a 2x6.
I'd look into what it will take to build a temporary paint removing shop 
out of double-sealed layers of poly and tarps so the lead can be removed 
inside a sealed space as work progresses. Entry/exit Air locks will be 
needed, and probably some provision for workers and others to remove 
coveralls and take showers upon exiting the work area. This is what the 
asbestos abatement contractors did at the plywood plant I worked at.
Of course, there are probably established OHSA/ DOE practices outlining 
how to deal with the lead removal safely and to recycle the wood, but I 
haven't checked into that. They might outline something like I suggested...
A separate woodworking and refinishing workshop can then recover a lot 
of the usable wood. ( that old stuff sells for a premium and is 
definitely worth recycling.)

Dust and other wastes from this process will most likely have to be 
dealt with as toxic waste and disposed of according to the appropriate 
standards.
> Doing a pure renovation is a high priority for the owners.  They are 
> working to restore the home back to its original stature so ripping all 
> the windows out and replacing with low e thermopane etc. widows is not 
> an option.  
Hmmm, I don't know. My understanding is that some of the major companies 
like Marvin or Anderson, etc., can craft fairly low-e windows that are 
nearly indistinguishable from the antiques. There's a lot of that kind 
of restoration work being done, so there's a market and companies 
willing to service that market. I thinks someone posted something about 
this topic here a few months back.

Alternately, you might be able to replace the individual panes with 
double glazed, low-e panes...
Beyond that, the original sash can be duplicated, but in your case with 
a slightly deeper profile, from laminated thin plies of wood: I did 
this--without the deepening part--when I was asked to restore frames for 
the antique arched stained glass windows in a heritage church--only 1914 
or '15, but in B.C., this is an old. old building... :-) I routed off 
about 1/32th inch each side and applied thin layers of Yew wood (Taxus 
brevifolia) diagonally to the original cedar's grain, . Laminated sash 
ends up being much stronger than the original, an once it's painted 
you'd never know this was how it was done.. (The well known glass artist 
who replaced the stained glass bits complimented me on what I did and 
how I did it... )
In this case, I used the Yew wood because I had lots of it around and 
because it's extremely tough stuff: in the Adirondacks, hickory or ash 
would be comparable.
> The windows do have screens that hang from the exterior so 
> one option would be to make an efficient storm window to hang in the 
> same manner.
Transforming the screens into an extra layer of low-e might make up for 
any shortfalls in reglazing the original window sash.
>  
>
> I would like ANY suggestions of thoughts, products, and methods you may 
> know that might assist my endeavor of working toward a green*er* home.
>   
One way to reduce energy costs is to reduce the cooling load, as well to 
reduce as the heating load. I'm quite interested in the possibilities 
claimed by Ainsworth Lumber's brand new Thermastrand Radiant Barrier 
panels, ( for the roof) which you can check out and decide it this 
material might be of use to you by going to

http://www.ainsworth.ca
then clicking on Products/ Thermastrand Radiant Barrier Panel.

from their page about Thermastrand:
> The panels feature an aluminum facing that reflects up to 97% of the 
> sun's radiant energy, which can save homeowners 10-25% on their annual 
> cooling costs — with savings that increase as energy costs increase. 
> The additional cost of Thermastrand radiant barrier panels (compared 
> to standard OSB roof sheathing)
Obviously, this is a type of OSB panel...
> The low-emissivity aluminum is micro-perforated so the panel has 
> better breathability, which helps prevent bubbling, peeling, 
> delamination and warping. Thermastrand features Energy Star 
> certification and is back by a 25-year warranty.
I dont know if re-doing the roof is part of your to-do list, but a 
savings like that might make it worth considering.

A while back Ainsworth donated a big shipment of these panels to the 
ongoing reconstruction efforts in Louisiana. Now there's a big test lab 
that'll show how well these actually perform.

I should point out that I used to work for one of the Ainsworth 
divisions, about 19 years ago, but have had no direct or indirect 
connection to them since. Except when I use their form-ply...

Cheers,

Chris Green.