There are many aspects of sustainable design and all should be considered when evaluating a home’s level of sustainability.  LEED for Homes, probably the best known certification program for sustainable homes, has 8 different categories that can contribute the points needed for certification.  Two of these categories, “Location & Linkages” and “Materials and Resources” usually provide an advantage to the old home.

“Locations & Linkages” awards points for locations that have been previously developed or are adjacent to previously developed locations.  Points are given for locations that are within 1/2 mile of exist water and sewer lines.  Locations that are close to community resources such as stores, restaurants, churches and even open spaces also earn points.  All are intended to encourage compact neighborhoods where residents are less dependent on automobiles and are more likely to walk or use mass transit thereby reducing their energy use.

Community resources are often within walking distance in older neighborhoods.

Old houses usually score highly in this area while new homes are usually built farther out or require demolition of an older home.  Old houses are usually located in older neighborhoods.  These neighborhoods are usually in the denser parts of town.  They were designed at a time when a personal automobile wasn’t the primary means of transportation so neighborhood amenities such as parks and stores are more likely to be within walking distance. They are also more likely to have better access to public transportation.  Since these location characteristics typically result in shorter, or even fewer,  automobile trips as well as more travel by foot or bicycle, less energy is used for day-to-day travel and less pollution is also the result.

“Materials and Resources” has a focus on the material resources used in the construction of a home as well as limiting emissions from the materials.  The focus is on reducing materials use by using recycled content, reducing waste, or by simply using less.  The energy used in the manufacture and transport of the material is also considered.

In all these areas an existing house will always be better than a new house.  The materials in an old home are “recycled” through continued use of the home.  Energy for transportation is zero because the materials are already where they are needed.  Even if the materials released emissions when new the release has long since ended.  And no new materials are used because the materials are already in place in the old house.

All of the materials and products in a home require energy in their production and transport.  Energy is also expended assembling these materials and products into a building.  This energy, referred to as embodied energy, has already been expended in the creation of an existing home and to not continue to use that home is a waste of energy in the same way that heat escaping through an uninsulated wall is a waste of energy.  Worse yet is when a building is torn down since all the embodied energy is lost when the demolition debris are sent to a landfill and additional energy is spent in the demolition and transportation.  Clearly maintaining, updating, and even expanding old houses saves more energy then starting over and building new.

Want a sustainable home?  The best starting place is an old home.  Then, to the extent possible, improve the technology of the home with better insulation and a high-efficiency HVAC upgrade (just don’t replace the windows).  While it’s possible to build a new home that might use less energy than an old home, when all is considered, it would be difficult to be more sustainable overall than an old home.

Window restoration is usually comprised of three elements:

• Repair the sash;
• improve the thermal performance;
• and add a quality storm window.

Only some windows will require all three elements.  In fact it’s quite likely that many sash won’t require any repair or may require only cosmetic repair.  But most of the work can be done with hand tools and without special skills.  The information below should get you started with the information you need.

Step 1:  Repair the Sash

Rotted window sash before and after repair with PC-Woody.

Restoring your existing double hung windows begins with repair of any damage to the sash.  Usually it’s best to start by stripping paint from the sash.  Even if your sash haven’t been painted shut, any buildup of paint could prevent the sash from moving freely.  Removing the paint also makes it possible to access any damage to the sash that may have been painted over and makes it easier to do a good repair.  If you are stripping the paint, it’s important to keep in mind that any paint on a house built before 1978 probably contains lead.  Care must be taken when removing the paint and you most certainly would want to avoid sanding the paint while patching the sash to avoid releasing lead dust into the air.  For more on removing lead paint see Appropriate Methods for Reducing Lead-Paint Hazards in Historic Buildings number 37 in the Preservation Briefs series published by the National Park Service.

Once the sash is stripped you can make any needed repairs.  If rot exists it may be confined to the bottom rail of the lower sash.  When the rot isn’t extensive it can effectively be repaired with a two-part epoxy consolidant and filler.  The consolident is a liquid that can be used to consolidate wood that has been weakened.  The filler is then used to replace missing wood.  The most widely known brand is Abatron.  I use their LiquidWood epoxy consolidant regularly.  I also use their WoodEpox epoxy filler but I prefer the consistency of PC-Woody filler made by Protective Coating Co. so I usually use that.  The Abatron website contains videos on using their products.  For more on using epoxies read How to Use Epoxies and Making Sense of the Mercurial Epoxy from the Old-House Journal.

Complete repairs to the sash by replacing any cracked glass and making sure that the sash is properly glazed.  Dixon Kerr, a restoration contractor in Richmond, VA who specializes in window restoration, recommends using Perm-E-Lastic Glazing, a professional-grade glazing compound.  He details his sash restoration techniques including glazing in a great article in the July 2007 issue of the Journal of Light Construction.  Dixon also suggests Bendheim or AGW Old Style Window Glass as sources for reproduction antique glass or Caravatis Architectural Salvage for reclaimed glass.

For more on restoring old windows see Preservation Brief number 9, The Repair of Historic Wooden Windows.

Step 2:  Improve the Thermal Performance

One major problem with vintage double hung windows is the lack of weather-stripping.  This allows air infiltration and leads to heat loss and a drafty window.  Another problem is the uninsulated wall cavity for the sash weight.  Not only can heat easily escape in this area but cold air from the uninsulated wall cavity has a direct path into the house around the sash pulley.  Improving the thermal performance of the window needs to focus on these two areas.

There’s a product available that make it relatively simple to weatherstrip a double hung window.  Its the Easy-Stop weather-stripping system made by Advanced Repair Technology.  Installation involves removing the existing parting stops with a specially engineered parting stop and adding weather-stripping to the lower sash.  The manufacturer’s website include an installation video as well as a glossary of window terms to help make the installation instructions more understandable.

Pullman counterbalance installed.

The easiest way to get rid of the pulleys and sash weights is to replace them with a spring-sash counterbalance.  These use a coiled, high-carbon steel spring inside a metal case.  Spring-sash counterbalance are available in different sizes, much like the different sash weights, to work with the weight of different sash.  Spring balances are available from a number of sources.  Pullman Manufacturing has been manufacturing spring balances since 1886!  Their Window Sash Counterbalance is still available.  Other sources include The Weatherstrip, ReplacementHardware.ca, Window Repair Systems, Wood Windows Sash Balance Co., and WR Hardware.  This Old House magazine has an on-line video showing how to replace sash weights with spring balances.  Once the sash weights have been replace, the sash weight cavity can be insulated.

For more on spring balances see Spring Balances Bounce Back and Restoring Old Double-Hung Windows using Spring-Loaded Balances.

 Step 3:  Add a Quality Storm

Adding a quality storm window is critical to achieving thermal performance comparable to a replacement window with insulating glass.  If you have whole-house air conditioning and don’t open your windows for ventilation, you can use traditional wood framed storm windows on your first floor windows.  The main drawback of sticking with the traditional route is the difficulty cleaning the outside glass when you can’t easily reach them or removing them if you want to replace them with screens.  If you won’t need to use screens for ventilation and you can reach your storms for cleaning from the outside, traditional storms probably don’t present too much of a hardship.  If you already have wood storms they can be repaired using the same materials described above for the window sash.  It’s also often easy to have replacement sash made.  In the Twin Cities SP Windows makes historic reproduction storm windows and A&A Millwork makes similar old time wood storm windows.

However, in most cases traditional storm windows will be an inconvenience.  Even if you have whole-house air conditioning there may be times you want natural ventilation.  And although you can install traditional hardware on storm windows so the bottom can be pushed out, this will provide only limited ventilation and you will still need an inside screen to fit under the lower sash.  And what about the windows that aren’t easily reached from the outside for cleaning?  Aluminum storm and screen combination windows can be painted, which will improve their appearance, but they usually won’t provide the tight seal needed to match the thermal performance of a replacement window.  The ideal solution is a combination storm screen that looks like a traditional storm window.  The good news is that these are available!

Wood surround aluminum combination by A&A Millwork looks like a traditional wood storm.

Marvin Windows and Doors makes perhaps the best known product.  Their wood framed combination storm and Screen are essentially an aluminum storm and screen window installed within a wood frame.  They can be custom sized to fit existing double-hung windows.  While they come very close to matching the look of a traditional storm window,  they are a bit different.  If you are a stickler for detail you might prefer the Wood Surround Aluminum Combination made by A&A Millwork instead.  It features an angled wood sticking profile that resembles putty so that none of the aluminum is visible.  SP Windows also makes a Wood Surround Combination that is similar.

You may be able to do most of the work necessary to restore a window if you are already doing handy work around the house.  That being said, almost any carpenter or handyman should also be able to do the work for anyone preferring to hire someone do the work.  However they may need to be educated on what needs to be done since they probably have more experience replacing windows than restoring them.  It’s also getting easier to find specialized window restoration contractors.  In the Minneapolis / St. Paul metro area I’ve seen window restoration advertising for Window Restoration Systems and The Turning Point Woodworks.  So it’s worth investigating to see if someone restores windows in your area.

It really pays to explore all you options when dealing with old windows.  There are options other than replacement windows that can be advantageous for your pocketbook, the environment, and the historic integrity of your old home.

Home on the Architects Dream Home Tour.

Preserve Minneapolis has announced a series of June 2012 tours and many should be of interest to lovers of vintage homes since they include historic residential neighborhood tours.  These tours include “Loring Hill – From Farm to Fabulous” on Sunday, June 3, “Tangletown and Minnehaha Creek” on Saturday, June 9, “Southwest Lake Harriet Parks and Residences” on Wednesday, June 13, “Milwaukee Avenue Historic District” on Saturday, June 16, “Architects’ Dream Home Tour” on Sunday, June 17, “Walk With Maud – Lowry Hill East” on Wednesday, June 20, and “Historic Old Highland Walking Tour” on Saturday, June 23.  All tours are $5 per person.

Exterior of the William Sauntry Mansion.

The William Sauntry Mansion is a 7,000 square foot Queen Anne mansion built in 1880. It has been fully restored and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The tour will include the historic home of architect Michaela Mahady, author of Welcoming Home:  Creating a House that Says Hello. Tour is Saturday, June 2, 2012 at 1 pm.  For more information and to register for the tour, see the Twin Cities Vintage Homes Group.

Why do most old house owners consider replacement windows?  Usually they have drafty windows and want to increase their comfort.  They want to save energy and be sustainable.  They also want to save money.

The infiltration of outside air IS often a huge problem in old homes.  It can account for as much as half the heat loss of a building.  Up to a quarter of this may be through doors and windows  with about 12.5 percent attributed specifically to the windows.  However given the relatively low percentage of leakage attributed to the windows and the relatively high cost associated with replacement windows as well as the current cost of energy, the actual payback for replacement windows will require somewhere between 50 and 100 years!

This payback period is for a product that in many cases is marketed as low maintenance or maintenance free.  In fact, various materials used in replacement windows such as vinyl, fiberglass, PVC, and even sealants, all degrade over time and could require replacement.  Replacement windows are usually manufactured of proprietary parts that may no longer be available when needed for replacement.  Will you be able to locate a spring or suspension component if it breaks in 15 years?  In fact manufacturer’s warranties on the various window components last somewhere between 2 and 20 years, only a fraction of the 50 to 100 year payback period.  And insulating glass found in replacement units will eventually fail.  If it does after the relatively short warranty period it can be costly to replace.

And a wood replacement window is hardly low maintenance.  In addition to the proprietary parts, they are made of wood that is second-growth or from fertilized tree farms.  This compares with historic wood windows that were made from old-growth unfertilized lumber.  The wood found in historic windows is typically denser with a grain that is more stable, resulting in better paint adherence, less dimensional change, and increased holding for mechanical fasteners.  You may actually have to paint a replacement window more often than a historic window unless the exterior is clad!  And any exterior cladding will fade over time and alter the historic appearance of your home.

None of this is to suggest that many old windows aren’t a problem that needs to be addressed if they’re not replaced.  But usually there is a better solution than replacement.  Old windows can be successfully restored so that they will have the same thermal performance as a double-glazed replacement window.  Better yet, this can often be done for about half the cost (and half the payback time)!

But cost isn’t the only advantage of window restoration over replacement.  Some of the other benefits include the following:

• restoring existing windows is labor intensive (as opposed to materially intensive) so more of the cost supports the local economy than replacement would since restoration labor is local while replacement windows are usually made elsewhere;
• restoring existing windows eliminates the need to harvest additional trees or use additional petroleum products in the manufacture of replacement windows;
• restoring existing windows eliminates the need to use additional energy to manufacture and transport replacement windows and utilizes the embodied energy (energy that is used in creating a product) already expended in the manufacture of the original windows (particularly important since glass, aluminum and vinyl have among the highest embodied energy that exists in building materials);
• energy costs associated with the removal and disposal of existing windows is eliminated when the existing windows are restored;
• PVC and vinyl, used for many replacement windows, produce by-products that are toxic;
• and replacements windows rarely can match the historic character of the original windows.

Still not convinced?  More information on benefits of window restoration over replacement is available in Popular Window Replacement Myths published by the National Alliance of Preservation Commissions and What Replacement Windows Can’t Replace:  The Real Cost of Removing Historic Windows by Walter Sedovic and Jill H. Gotthelf of Walter Sedovic Architects.

Even if you are convinced, where will you find anyone to restore your windows?  Would you be surprised to learn that you might be able to do it yourself?  Next week I’ll cover window repair instead of replacement.

IKEA cabinets being installed. Cabinet on left has been modified to a 6 inch depth.

I still have a favorable impression of the cabinets.  My biggest concern is the use of particle board for the cabinet boxes.  Fasteners seem to hold adequately in the particle board when assembling the boxes but that might not be the case if a mistake required re-assembly after partial disassembly.  I’m also concerned that should water ever drip on the cabinet boxes it could find its way through melamine joints and swell the particle board.  Potentially doors and drawer fronts would be more susceptible to this kind of water damage but since the finish on the doors and drawers appear to be seamless I don’t think water would cause damage.  The trade-off for the cabinet boxes is that they are sold at a really amazing price.

While I have some concerns about the quality of the cabinet boxes, overall the quality seems adequate for the price.  And I’m really impressed with the design of the overall system.  It can take a bit to correctly interpret the assembly diagrams but once deciphered, the cabinets go together really quickly.  The adjustable legs make it really easy to level the base cabinets and the rail support system for the wall cabinets is a thing of beauty.  The system made it possible for me to hang the wall cabinets without any help or other support.  Once the cabinet box is hanging on the rail there is room to adjust the boxes side-to-side and up and down.

I’ve had to cut some of the trim pieces and cover panels as well as some the cabinet box components where I needed a shallow cabinet box.  I’ve been pleasantly surprised that I’m getting clean cuts using a sharp finish blade in my table saw and miter saw.  For the components I’ve needed to cut on the table saw I’ve been careful to keep the finished side down as the cut on the other side isn’t quite as sharp.  Going into this my biggest concern was the cabinets that I needed to modify to create a shallow box.  Using the table saw I was easily able to cut off the back of the cabinet components, recreating the rabbits that I had cut off.  I then made a jig from one of the side pieces I had just cut off that I then used to drill new shelf support holes.  I mad the jig by drilling all the shelf support holes through and then clamped this jig over my cut down sides to use as a guide to drill another row of holes along the new back.  Even the two modified cabinets I’ve made so far took little more than a couple of hours to modify and assemble.

The closer look I’ve gotten as a result of working with the cabinets has reinforced my positive impression of the product although there are clearly downsides.  What do you think?  What are your experiences modifying, assembling, and installing IKEA cabinets?

Roberts/Davis residence family room. (photo by Scott Amundson Photography LLC)

Home #10 is the home of Laura Davis & Eric Roberts located on W. Lake of the Isles Parkway in Minneapolis.  This wonderful home was arranged with a formal living room, entry hall, and dining room across the front of the house.  The home had a dark galley kitchen and lacked informal space for the family.  An addition and remodeled space was used to create a family room with views of Lake of the Isles, a breakfast room, study, new kitchen, and a mudroom with laundry on the main level.  All the rooms are filled with natural light and the family room is positioned to have views of Lake of the Isles.  On the upper level the new master suite includes a sitting area, a porch-like master bath, and a dressing room.  The children’s bath was also enlarged and redone.  The basement was also finished and includes a game room, media room, exercise room, half bath, and wine cellar.

LaFond residence kitchen. (photo by Scott Amundson Photography LLC)

Home #36  is the home of Liz LaFond in St. Anthony Park in St. Paul.  This wonderful  Arts & Crafts bungalow received an addition providing space for a new kitchen that opens to the dining room, and mud area, and a private upstairs book nook.  The kitchen incorporated the original dining room buffet that a previous owner had removed.  There is also a cozy eating nook with 180 degree view of the rear yard.The tour is Saturday April 28 from 10 to 5 and Sunday April 29 from 1 to 5 and is free!  I’ll be at house #10 all weekend and my associate Bryan Anderson will be at house #36.  Please stop by and have a look and we would be happy to answer your questions.  It’s a great opportunity to see how old homes can be made convenient for modern living without loss of old house character.

I’ve been a big fan of Placeography, a website created by the Minnesota Historical Society.  Placeography is “a website about any place anywhere that anyone can edit.”  According to the site, “It provides a way for people to share information or learn about the history of a house, building, structure, site, natural feature, or other place that has a personal connection to them.”

Have you always wondered about that unusual house you always drive by?  You might just learn some interesting information about it on Placeography.  And while most of the contents currently relate to structures located in Minnesota, the site really is for anywhere.  In addition to Minnesota, California, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Utah, West Virginia, and Wisconsin are currently represented on the site.

I never wavered from the look I was after.  I still wanted a 2 1/4″ maple floor.  But I began to think more about the disadvantages of  traditional unfinished floor.  I didn’t expect that installing the floor in sections would be too complicated.  But because it made sense to install the floor before the cabinets were in and I was doing that in sections, that seemed to suggest I needed to finish the floor in sections also.  That sounded like a huge hassle.  I started thinking how much easier it would be if I could just put the floor down in sections and be done without needing to finish it.  No need to set up successive dust barriers and no sanding dust!  And just what would the finish look like if done in sections?

Hardwood floor is being installed. The darker flooring is salvaged floor that will be under the dishwasher.

The main problem I have with prefinished floors are the beveled edges on of the boards.  This is the mechanism that is used so the floor doesn’t need to be sanded.  The beveled edges disguise the fact that the faces of the individual boards don’t align perfectly.  Sanding a new unfinished floor takes care of this.  I think one of the beauties of a traditional wood floor is the way that individual boards make up a unified and apparently seamless, expanse of wood.  The effect is different with beveled edges, which emphasize the individual boards.  The overall seamless quality of the floor is diminished and that’s just not the appearance of a historic floor.

So in the hope of finding an acceptable alternative that would allow me to avoid having to sand and finish the floor I took another look at prefinished floors.  I found a prefinished and unstained maple floor in the width I wanted.  I discovered that although the edges were beveled, they weren’t as obvious as I thought they would be.  I rationalized that the beveled edge on the side of the boards looks a bit like the gaps that can start to open up between the boards on an old floor.  I rationalized that this just made the floor look like it was older.  What I couldn’t rationalize were the bevels on the ends.  Although sometimes these also open on an old floor,  that would not be the case for a majority of these joints.  I just couldn’t get myself to accept emphasizing these joints everywhere.

In the end I went back to a traditional unfinished maple floor.  I decided that even though at a minimum I needed to sand the area were the cabinets would be,  I didn’t need to apply the finish till all the floor was in.  I could sand the rest of the floor later or just do a light touch-up sanding later if I fully sanded each section as I put it in.  I also figure that since I’m doing the finishing myself instead of paying the manufacturer to finish the floor I’m also helping to keep my cost down, which is the goal of this experiment.  Now that I’m installing the floor I’m pretty happy that I stuck with the traditional floor.  I think the modern appearance of the prefinished would always have bothered me.

The first finish paint coat made it easier to identify ceiling imperfections.

It’s been hard to see imperfections in the wall and ceiling surfaces before and after priming as the white color makes some of the imperfections disappear.  I thought I had finished a couple of times only to discover I had more work to do.  When I thought I finally had it right and moved on to my first coat of finish paint I discovered more imperfections.

The worst spot was in the area of plaster ceiling that I didn’t replace.  I had already worked to stabilize loose sections of plaster, fill cracks, and skim coat drywall compound in low areas.  It seemed like the slight sheen of the eggshell finish I chose to make washing the wall surface a bit easier and the darker color, made imperfections more visible.  I actually needed to go through the process a couple of times till I got it to the point where it seems okay. I wouldn’t be surprised if I still have a little touch-up later since the quality of the light at different times of the day seems to reveal different things.

In retrospect it probably would have been better to pull this section of plaster ceiling down and replace it with drywall.  This small section will be the only plaster ceiling left in the remodeled kitchen.  Of course I had my reasons for trying to work with it.  First, I have a mindset to repair what I can that is historic instead of replacing.  Replacing also would have required more dirty demo, more drywall, installing drywall overhead, and would still require taping and sanding above my head.  The main reason I might do it differently is that it’s important for me that it looks good when it is finished and it’s been difficult to get it to that point.