Oh...hello there. Wait...I have a BLOG???

This has been a shitty blog, I admit. In my own defense, let’s just say it’s also been a pretty shitty time. Trying to get this house to “liveable” – while dealing with “life” and its day-to-day challenges (illness, travel, work, school, budgetary constraints, WINTER) has been a challenge. As big a part as this house is and has been in our lives in the past almost-year, sometimes it’s had to take a back-seat to other priorities. It’s not that things haven’t been “happening” around here…they have. It’s just that “house happenings” have taken on more of an on-going background roll than an up-front one. That’s good, I guess…it means we’ve been able to LIVE here…not like we’ve had a choice.

I am generally partial to chronological updates on such subjects but – like life – things don’t always turn out as planned. It took meeting a new friend (an avid blogger and writer), Mary Anne Mohanraj, to inspire me to believe that I should not abandon this project (the blog). PLUS…this is, and always will be, a work in progress. There will ALWAYS be something to share about what’s happening here.

What I’ve also realized is that I probably mis-named this blog. I was WAY too idealistic in the focus of this project at the outset…concentrating only on a fraction of what was happening – and what WOULD happen – with the project that is this house. In retrospect this blog probably should have been called…oh, I don’t know…”The Money Pit”? “How NOT to approach your retrofit”? “Yet ANOTHER life lesson”?

Sorry…I’m feeling a little bitter about things. BUT…spring has sprung, so “hopeful” is starting to overtake the bitterness. Perhaps I will see if I can’t re-name this documentation project to more accurately express the scope of things. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated, as is all feedback.

I will do my best to back-track and update what's been happening. I've amassed a TON of pictures and - as pictures do - they all have a story. I just have to find it in me to re-hash this mess we've been going through.

Please bear with me.

A funny thing happens when you open up a wall to fix one thing... (the kludgy stuff, Part II)

...but we're NOT laughing. We discovered today that we are WAY over budget. A fellow blogger/rehabber called it "project creep". Well, this sure did creep up on us.

But I'll save you the diatribe (for now) and let the pictures do the talking. Let your imagination fly...it can't be TOO far off from reality.


Sewer line replacement (3 sections - one under the driveway)


All window trim needed to be removed to insulate and properly re-install


New windows were installed INSIDE old window casements. Original window counterweights were still in the walls


Apparently there was a fire in this house at some point


Holes to blow-in insulation This stuff is INCREDIBLY messy


Hole for a junction box...punched into the air return

Each and every guy who has been working here has a story about some kludge they found inside a wall. And even now, as the walls are slowly being patched-up...we are still finding more. Not a single room in this house has been spared some level of demolition.

This is shaping-up to be QUITE the learning experience, to say the least.

Hubris

I started this post a couple of weeks ago but have been sitting on it 1) to put a little time between inspiring events and posting to make sure my points are still relevant (to me, anyway) and 2) ‘cause I wasn’t sure whether it was even appropriate for this blog as it has little to do with the rehab. as much as general (albeit related) thoughts.

BUT…then I thought, “screw it”. It’s my blog and I can rant if I want to (sung to the classic Lesley Gore tune).

I can’t stand “holier-than-thou” people…of any variety. In a similar vein (and stemming from my “rock-star scene” days) I can’t stand “cooler-than-thou” people either. I can’t stand competitiveness in general…despite the level of passion behind it. Perhaps that’s why I’ve never had any interest in competitive sports: I’ve never been able to understand the value of a bunch of people going out onto a field, kicking the snot out of one another, some win some lose, everyone goes home only to get up the next day to do it all over again. OK, I know I over-simplifying this…that there is skill and drama and a sense of human triumph in these exercises. I’ve just never felt any connection to any of it.

So when I experience competitiveness and hubris in an arena that I DO feel passionately about, one in which each individual can take part in a measurable sense, one that can, ultimately, affect the entire human race and, as such, SHOULD be inherently inclusive (arguably to be at all effective), I feel downright offended.

Many people are VERY protective of their work, their accomplishments, their intellectual creativeness and all the accolades (existing or potential) that may result. I kinda understand this. If one works their ass off and makes sacrifices to achieve something it can be hard to share how they achieved their success. What if someone it’s shared with easily takes this hard-won knowledge, co-opts it, and then surpasses in success the one who did the work? I kinda understand this fear. This scenario is the reason for the existence of patents, copyright and non-disclosure agreements, just to name a few.

The “green movement”, specifically as it relates to building, resource consumption, etc. - and all the organizations, affiliations, certifications, guidelines, directives, regulations etc. – has a bit of a “Wild Wild West” feel to it. Everyone involved, at his or her core, knows that the more information is disseminated and applied, the greater and more measurable impact this information can make. But to work SO HARD for something…just to “give it away”…can be monumentally unpalatable.

So now an entire cottage industry is being created around resource-building, training, informing and certifying people with this shared passion. I recently earned my EcoBroker designation and was gonna go for NARGreen next…I imagine it’s a lot of the same stuff. But, while I’ve been busy with the house, it seems all these other designations/certifications (that I should, presumably, pursue to garner any “cred” in this arena) have cropped-up. They all sound good, they all sound relevant to my pursuits and worth spending time on in an attempt to learn something new or gain new perspective. But more and more I am beginning to wonder: where do I draw the line? Do I just go for ALL of them? At which point does spending the time on gaining personal experience trump study and designation/certification? Which designations/certifications will provide content that will ACTUALLY inform me in a functional sense rather than just provide me with more (and arguably unrecognizable and inconsequential) letters on my new business cards? I COULD spend a good chunk of our regreen budget on all this training…but what will I get for the return on this investment? And why do I constantly gravitate towards spending the time and money required to earn these designation/certifications?

Honestly, I think it’s because I – like SO many in the “Wild Wild West” of the green movement – am trying to establish a place in it. But the reality is that WE ALL have a “place” in this movement. There are SO many things that we ALL can do to become a little “greener” every day…and it doesn’t HAVE to go as far as what WE’RE choosing (and spending a decent amount of $$$) to do. The internet is loaded with ideas, checklists, guides, guidelines, etc. delineating ways we can ALL participate in reducing our collective carbon footprint…and save ourselves some $$$ in energy costs to boot. So this whole “greener-than-thou” attitude (like “holier-than-thou” and “cooler-than-thou”) is simply a load of crap imposed by someone who is self-conscious about THEIR OWN place is this movement…and probably in the world, too. We all choose to live “on the grid” in some way (if you didn’t you wouldn’t be reading this). So unless a person decides to run off into the woods a la Timothy Treadwell, taking a “greener-than-thou” attitude is merely hypocrisy.

But, more likely, it’s because I have not yet figured out my role in all this in terms of how I am going to apply any training or personal experience into a way that will help me make a living. Unlike being a Real Estate broker, there are no actual professional regulations for “green” trade or consulting per se. Even the building and inspection trades – which ARE regulated – only have designations for “green practices”. None of this stuff has been incorporated into any law yet. EVERYTHING anyone does in this is voluntary and market-driven (and, especially in this economy, there is very little market).

So, for now, I will live it as best I can, concentrate on personal experience…this house…and hope that a lightbulb-moment (CFL, of course) will present itself. And if it doesn’t, that’s OK too. I’m doing this to be as “green” as I can be, despite my own limitations. Hopefully, in the meantime, I’ll inspire others to do the same.

Punk Rock

Back in the day I was kind of a “punk” girl. Well, in the strictest sense (of the day) I was a new-wave girl, then a punk girl (for about a minute, in the grand-scheme), then a goth girl. In a social sense, this kind of association is all about aesthetics: what kind of clothes you wear, what music you listen to, how you cut/dye your hair, tats+piercings, etc. Because I grew up relatively poor (like the “original punks”…though not homeless on the street) I think I embraced the genre because of its DIY nature and ethic of resourcefulness. I also really gravitated toward the anti-establishment nature of it: WHY can’t I dress this way, listen to this “noise”, create my own path? Why SHOULD I follow the rules, go along to get along, follow the path that “the man” has created, subscribe to “the establishment”, be a “sheep”? In retrospect this was, of course, all the stuff of adolescent angst. Exercises in stretching my own boundaries and testing the limits of others.

This M.O., incidentally, DID carry through to post-adolescence (the college years) where I managed to manifest it in a way substantial enough to take part in creating an entirely new curriculum/tract of study at University of Illinois UC. When I graduated from U of I there was no “environmental studies” department per se. There was the Department of Ecology, Ethology and Evolution and there was the Institute for Environmental Studies - mostly a research facility (I know because I worked there part-time). I chose the university, in part, because it had an Independent Plans of Study (IPS) program: create a “major” by assembling my own curriculum based on offered courses, write a rationale as to why my chosen tract of study cannot be met by existing majors, and describe what I plan to do with the course of study upon graduation. Then I had to sit in front of the IPS Board (who by then had read my written submission) and verbally justify my plan.

The university was practically founded on the Agriculture Department (duh…it’s the Midwest), so it’s not like the connection wasn’t inevitable. I guess by virtue of sheer timing I was able to, in small part (a few others in the IPS program had created similar, environment-related tracts), make an impact by assembling my DIY studies because, shortly after I graduated (with a B.S. in Environmental Studies…yes, they let me make that up), a department of Environmental Studies was established. This experience solidified one of the “punk rock” tenets I took from my misspent youth:

Question everything.

This has simply become part of my being. But just because I question everything doesn’t mean I KNOW everything…quite the contrary. Part of this M.O. is questioning myself…probably to a fault. I want “it” – whatever “it” is - explained to me. I want to understand so I can make the best-informed decision for me (or my family or a client or anyone else that relies on or has entrusted me with something). “That’s just how it’s done” NEVER flies with me. Explain it to me. I’m not an idiot.

So when I was recently offered nothing but an “in the box” solution for my house’s HVAC needs from FIVE HVAC contractors, I seriously started to think that perhaps I was wrong about what I *thought* I knew would be the right (and conservative – as per the previous post) strategy for our HVAC needs in this house. THANK GODDESS I listened to my instincts (and my contractor) and contacted our energy auditor. Here’s what he had to say:

“Hi Christie-
I'm sorry this has been challenging for you, thanks for getting in touch. As a matter of fact, our calculations did touch on HVAC sizing. The report called 'Equipment Sizing Report' which would be the last page in your package, and is also attached to this message, shows that after all improvements are made, your home should only require 154 kBtu per hour, and you have 180 kBtu available with the equipment you possess. The unit sizes are fine. What we did is not a Manual J calculation in the strictest sense, but it is based on all the same elements (air leakage, insulation, house volume, etc) that a Manual J uses. The Manual J would come in close to our number IF it was performed to the features of the house as it'll perform AFTER all retrofits are complete.
Incidentally, a Manual J is a great way to not oversize the equipment, which is usually how things happen. We find most equipment is oversized, unless it's been run with a Manual J. But if professionals are terse and don't have good client relations, you shouldn't have to work with them in any case.”

(Incidentally, what I DID learn through all these exchanges with HVAC dudes was that Manual J is the “Bible” for HVAC guys. They study it in school – or via Union training - and, apparently, live and die by it. And that’s fine as Manual J does serve an important function in properly sizing a new unit. But we’ve had NO intention, all along, of replacing these 4 y.o. units. We want to work AROUND them so they won’t NEED to be replaced).

Our home should only require 154 kBTu per hour, and we have 180kBTu available with the equipment we possess. PLUS, beyond the energy efficiency improvements we are having done per the energy auditor’s suggestion, we are installing an air exchanger across all four floors and radiant heating in the basement - systems that will further reduce load on the units.

If we had listened to these five HVAC contractors that INSISTED we needed bigger, all new units we’d have no $$$ in the budget for the bad-ass, DIY rainwater management and collection system Steve (contractor) and Nathan (landscape designer) conjured-up at today’s meeting - which I am TOTALLY GEEKED about! – and promise to share details of in a future post.

About 10 years ago I boldly admitted to an old college friend that I always loved Olivia Newton-John and thought she was kinda bad-ass. At first he looked at me funny, as in a "that's SO NOT COOL" kinda way, then he said to me "That's gotta be the most punk-rock thing I've ever heard". He understood that I honestly didn't give a shit what anyone thought about the fact that I dig Olivia Newton-John. I like what I like and couldn't care less whether it fits into your little box of "cool".

With my house, I want what I want and I couldn't care less how it fits into your pro-establishment, tryin' to sell me some shit I don't really need, union-trained, industry-accepted box. You can bend YOUR numbers to suit your agenda all you want. MY numbers tell me what's right for us.

THAT'S punk rock.

And if, in the future, I find I was wrong? I will concede and make the changes then. But I will NOT be using someone unwilling to work with me now.

THAT'S being a responsible, self-asserting adult. Maybe my youth wasn't so misspent after all.

Let's talk conservation

To my mind, he main tenet of the "green rehab" is minimizing waste: in reconfiguration, retrofit, acquisition, conversion, increasing efficiency, etc. If it already exists, find a way to either re-use, reconfigure, re-purpose or recycle it. This M.O. reduces your carbon footprint not only by not consuming a newly-created thing, but also prolongs its useful life before its inevitable (?) demise to a landfill. This applies to existing systems as well as materials.

EVERYBODY loves their new, modern, of-the-day, high-efficiency stuff. Honestly, I am no exception...but I'm learning. I'm learning to appreciate the existence of what already is. I'm learning to think of the usefulness of existing things beyond their original intent. I'm learning to be creative about how to use existing materials and systems rather than just trashing them and buying new (the much easier route). Who hasn't bought some wonderful something at a garage sale or found something at a thrift store or an antique shop, gotten a hand-me-down and felt the satisfaction of having gotten GREAT deal?

I threw a Christmas party many years ago and wore a hand-me-down fur-collared sweater. My vegetarian, PETA-loving best friend was appalled when I opened the door to greet her. I immediately explained that this fur thing was handed down from my step-grandmother...it was decades old. By caring for it and wearing it I was prolonging the useful life of the by-product of the animal that gave its life to make this thing. That seemed to make sense even to her...and she became OK with my faux-pas. The offense in the questionable origin of the item became acceptable to her in learning that my use of it was thoughtful and conservative.

The concept of conservation in a home also applies to natural resources: we need them for our on-the-grid lifestyle, but how can we minimize our use of them? What systems can we put in place to make ourselves aware of our use on a daily basis in an effort to be more conscious about our consumption? What systems can we, with a little creativity, put in place to minimize our use of natural resources? How can existing materials and systems be repurposed or retrofit to extend their useful life?

The most effective things we can do are the least obvious to onlookers and, as a result, are also the least "sexy" as far as "green" goes. Conservation-minded rehab should be just that and ONLY that: creating systems that work functionally and fiscally for the user while also minimizing natural resource use. The installation of a geothermal heating/cooling system or a photovoltaic power system is great and is the sort of "sexy", high-profile greening that has become somewhat of a status-symbol. But if such systems are so expensive that it becomes impossible for a typical household to afford, then the technology - however "sexy green" it may be - becomes limited in its usefulness in affecting mass change in mindset about residential consumption. Installation of "sexy-green" systems without serious consideration of costs or true functionality is merely an exercise in status-symbol-seeking hubris...greenwash.

Every home is different, every set of needs is different, every budget is different. But every homeowner facing rehab. decisions can make small choices that have a big impact to reduce waste and consumption. And these choices shouldn't necessarily be made in an effort to "go green", but in an effort to pursue smart, thoughtful and responsible building practices.

Separating "green building" and "green rehab" from conventional building or rehab is an unnecessarily divisive practice. ALL building and rehab standards should follow these thoughtful and responsible practices.

Everything in its right place (Part 1)

In the days I have been spending at the house - meeting with this HVAC contractor, that siding guy, some interior designer, etc. - I have started to get my head around how this house is gonna work FOR our family and, in what way as it currently exists, it will NOT work for our family. Not how our family is gonna work around this house (which - as I well know - is how one thinks about an apartment, or a starter home, or a temporary house, or a flip), but how this house has the POTENTIAL to work for our family for the next 15+ years.

This was the ultimate end we were thinking of when we were looking for a house...for almost 2 years. Every consideration of EVERY house that we looked at (and we looked at, literally, 50+ houses in that time) had the "how is this house gonna work for our family?" consideration in mind.

In our search there were several things that, starting out, we were unwilling to compromise: school district, space (we wanted it to be at least as big as our last house), functionality (it had to have the spaces – or at least the potential to create them with in budget – that we needed), feel (an indescribable concept, but houses tend to have a “vibe” to them), location (we had almost no walkability in our old house. We really wanted to be close to “stuff” in our next one), etc.

Despite all the work we have to do, how egregiously huge this place is for our needs and how incredibly UGLY it is from the outside, here's what this house has for us:

LOCATION:
Without even living there I can already see how wonderful this is going to be. I envision weeks at a time where I'll never have to get into my car...I can walk or bike almost everywhere. OK...that's not true...but for "the basics" it certainly COULD be true. The stereotypical tenet of Real Estate that has always been "LOCATION LOCATION LOCATION" has never been as apparent to me as it has been with this house. I am SO excited about this! In this way, this house puts us in our "right place".

Our last house could have been totally fine for us for the rest of our lives if we’d remained childless. But, thankfully, we didn’t. And children change EVERYTHING. Our desire to change the location of our home was inspired by 2 things:

1. Shayna Geyden, a 13 year old child on her way home from the corner store, got shot by gang crossfire in the Funsten school playground that we liked to take G to. D and G passed that playground, in D's car, on the way home from grandma and grandpa's house, not 20 minutes before it happened.
2. Public Schools in West Logan Square were NOT an option for G. Not only did they score incredibly low as far as CPS went (I know, right???) but there was absolutely NO diversity. D and I used to like to quip that what made our neighborhood diverse (me white and him Chinese) was US. While we cared little about racial diversity, we quickly realized that there was little to no economic diversity in our 'hood...an experience that, to us, is VERY important in G's life. WTF is the benefit to him to be from the richest household on a relatively poor block in Chicago

SPACE:
I have always heard the tenet about homeownership "However much space you have, you WILL fill it". When we moved into our last house I couldn't conceive of how we, then two people, could EVER outgrow it. Even if we had a child, as we'd hoped (and were blessed with), I couldn't see it. During the 6.5 years we lived there, despite all the work and reconfiguration we did on it, it became clear what spaces we were missing.

This new house has existing space for almost every use we can imagine: my office (with a separate street-side entrance), a guest room, G's playroom, a gym, D's woodworking shop, etc. It has all the spaces we were able to make in our old house and all the ones we wanted for our lifestyle. And this is what we were looking for. The problem is that all there spaces are MUCH larger then we'd ever envisioned them to be. This is a challenge in and of itself we’ve taken on in choosing this house: how do we justify buying such a large house for our small family?

The first thing that comes to mind is that this house, having been vacant for the last 4 years, needed a family. The intact craftsmanship needed to be appreciated. The house needed to be fixed to be habitable (as all previous “fixes” left it inhabitable). It almost seemed to scream to have its spirit, its soul restored. We got it for a price that enabled us to heed this call. This is what we hope to do in the coming years: make this mistreated and abandoned house a home…and find the “right place” for us. We are very calculated people, but this was something, a “vibe”, we can’t explain in making our choice. In the end, I suppose we simply appreciate a challenge…but one with heart behind it.

Lipstick on a Pig

Let me get one thing straight here: yes, I am a girl and I like girlie things. I value a sense of style, like beautiful things, appreciate quality and believe a home can tell you a lot about the people who live in it. But I also believe that a home is like a family member. As in all relationships, it has to WORK for the consideration of its inhabitants. It has to be reliable, comfortable, secure, bring joy and be a respite from the outside world. When nurturing a home into becoming a family member, it is like nurturing any other relationship: you get back what you put in.

I feel the need to say all of this based on some meetings I had today with 2 HVAC contractors and an exteriors contractor. The HVAC contractors seemed to pussy-foot around the "bad" news, e.g. (and these are nutshell-versions that describe the upshot of the danced-around points):

• "The return for the basement furnace is grossly undersized. We'll have to cut into the dining room floor to create a properly-sized return...maybe we can help you find some decorative iron covers that will be in keeping with the style of the house."
• "Adding supply vents for the attic to the existing ducts that service the 2nd floor will result in over-venting of that single run of ducts. Would you be OK with new, exposed ductwork running along the ceiling of the finished attic?"
• "We're gonna have to cut away some of the drywall in these soffits to terminate the ductwork if you plan to install radiant heat flooring in the basement so the furnace can work more efficiently on the 1st floor. Are you OK with us cutting into the drywall?"
• Meeting with the exteriors guy: "If you want to get the house back to the original style you should keep this stone around the bottom, do a siding exterior with a scale finish at the peaks. Me: "We do want to try to get the exterior back to it's original style, but we need to find sustainable materials that can be installed as seamlessly as possible to increase energy efficiency. The look of the house is important, but the MOST important thing to us making the house as energy-efficient as possible. We're willing to sacrifice the former for the latter." He gives me a quizzical look.

I had to work really hard today to convince all these guys that I REALLY AM much more concerned with how the house WORKS than how it looks. When I start worrying SOLELY about how the house looks I may be enlisting the services of an interior designer, but not them. I'm not gonna worry about furniture placement in the dining room at the expense of a properly-placed and functioning air return.

Which brings me to something funny we found today. As Steve and Caton were taking down drywall I joked with them "find any dead bodies yet?" They did find several beer bottles, some other ill-placed detritus and this:





Next to the piece of conduit (sitting on the sill of the electrical panel cabinet), at first I wasn't sure exactly what it was. Upon further examination I realized it was a lipstick tube. Empty.

Clearly, the previous builders must have used it all up on this big pig of a house.