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Posts tagged ‘Reuse’

Jun 4

Hardwood Floors Revisited

Last week we hit another milestone – the hardwood floors are patched, sanded, and stained!

The house originally had a furnace and central air conditioner in the crawlspace, so we patched the holes for the old floor registers. We had originally wanted to save the kitchen floors, but the water damage was so extensive that it made more sense to start fresh with new floor boards. We were, however, able to re-use some of the kitchen flooring to patch other areas in the house. Here’s the kitchen during demo and then with the new floor just before we installed the cabinets.

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Jan 15

The Realities of Demolition

Renovating a neglected 1940’s era home into a green showcase within strict budget constraints is a challenge, but I have never been one to shy away from challenges. I recognized early on that I would have to make some compromises, but have eagerly identified cost effective improvements that would increase the performance of this house as much as possible. The mechanical systems are one example of my current compromises. While I would love to install new high-efficiency HVAC and water heating, the existing equipment is less than 10 years old and in reasonably good condition, making it difficult to justify replacing them. I can easily do so later when they reach the end of their useful lives, or in the unlikely event that I acquire and need to dispose of large sums of money. For now, however, it is more important to improve the structure of the house through insulation and air sealing, as those improvements are more difficult and costly to retrofit than upgrades in mechanical equipment. Read more