Historic preservation at work

May is National Preservation Month and the National Trust for Historic Preservation’s theme this year is “discover America’s hidden gems.” The Trust, and other preservation organizations like it, has worked diligently over the years to save many of the country’s historical battlefield sites from being lost forever to development. They understand that the land is hallowed ground where many shed their blood as a young country took form and grew. Depending on where you live, there may be one of these “hidden gems” close enough for a Memorial Day outing. What better way to show your family what this special day really means?

Old Stone House Manassas -- Photo courtesy of jaymarininspect.com

If old house walls could talk

Virginia is a state that boasts a multitude of National Battlefield Parks due to its significant role in both the Revolutionary and Civil Wars. As a long time resident, I’ve had the opportunity to visit quite a few. The Old Stone House that offered refuge for the wounded from both sides still stands at Manassas Battlefield Park. While the old house has undergone restoration, the exterior walls and much of the interior flooring are just as they were as Union and Confederate troops fought nearby.

New Market Battlefield Park is significant to Virginia Military Institute graduates such as myself due the part cadets played in the battle. V.M.I. cadets left their classrooms and marched the 82 miles from Lexington to New Market to defend their state from the northern invaders. The Bushong House that they walked past while preparing to charge their foes still stands today. The old house served as a hospital for both sides during and after the battle.

Bushong House New Market -- photo courtesy of civilwaralbum.com

No tour of historical Virginia battlefield sites would be complete without visiting the Stonewall Jackson Shrine at Guinea Station. The legendary Confederate general was wounded by friendly fire at the Battle of Chancellorsville. The outbuilding at Chandler Plantation where he was taken after surgery still looks much the same as it did when he succumbed to his wounds and perhaps changed the war’s outcome.

The pool can wait — take your family to a National Battlefield Park this weekend to show them what Memorial Day is really about.

If you or any of your family or friends are planning a vinyl siding project, take time to read about VinylSidingZone.com’s “America’s Best Siding Makeover” contest. Whether you’re a contractor or a homeowner, submitting photos of your project may make you eligible for some great prizes.

I watched as the old asphalt shingles came down and the new shingles went up. Looking up from the ground, I was mesmerized by the process: the way the roofers tapped the nails with a casual air, lined up the next row with a practiced eye, and walked as easily on the sloped roof as they did on flat, solid ground. Every now and then, old shingles would fly from the roof like misshaped frisbees, thumping to a rest on the grass.

The house has seen more than it’s fair share of storms on the Georgia coast, and the shingles were clear evidence of that. Those once-solid and heavy pieces of roofing now crumbled around the edges. Once a rich dark color, they were bleached to a light tan by the unrelenting sun. To say it was time for a new roof is a serious understatement.

As if on cue, more severe storms arrived moments after the contractor left. Listening to the rain on my solid new roof made me think about the older houses I have lived in and the kind of roofing materials that had been on them over the years.

A brief history of roofing materials

Throughout history, roofing materials were often limited to materials that were easy to obtain in the nearby vicinity. Thatched roofs held together with mud, clay roofing tiles created from the earth and wood planks from surrounding trees were among some of the earliest options. Thatch roofs have been used from the earliest of times; clay roofing tiles were reportedly used as early as 10,000 BC. Clay tile roofs were put into widespread use by the Romans, and the evidence of their durability remains today, as some ancient homes still have at least some of their original tile.

In the 12th century, King John declared that all homes in London should replace their thatch roofs with clay tile. This was a step to prevent the spread of fire, which could leap from one roof to another and decimate a city in a matter of hours. The mass production of roofing materials had begun.

The modern composite shingle was put into use around 1840. Though other types of shingles were hitting the market, including asbestos and concrete options, the composite shingle was the material that would change the face of roofing in the United States. When the process for cutting these shingles was first perfected in 1915, mass production of roofing materials went into high gear.

In more modern times, metal roofs have become popular. In fact, the majority of homes in my neighborhood boast metal roofs in a wide variety of earthy colors. Enameled steel, galvanized metal, tin and even zinc are all options for roofing today. Those who prefer to see something more traditional on their old houses might go for slate, wood, clay tile or fiber cement.

For my house, the rich chocolate color and simple look of the asphalt shingle fits in perfectly with the easy lines and cream-colored siding. Watching it go up was a fun experience, but listening to the rain pounding on the roof — and knowing that this house is safe for at least another 30 years — is the most satisfying part.

My love of primitive style began with a simple gift from my grandmother — a wooden dough bowl. “This bowl has been in our family for generations,” she said. “So take good care of it.” The wood had been worn to an impossibly smooth shine by the many loaves of bread that had been shaped in it. I kept the bowl on the middle shelf of my kitchen hutch, surrounded by original Martha White flour sacks and Hershey’s tins.

Over time, I began to seek out things that looked like that dough bowl: weathered, worn and well-used. Soon, almost as if by accident, my home was filled with primitive things.

Using primitive decorating in a remodel

When I did move into that first old house and started working on restoration and renovation, I did so with an eye toward how I would decorate it when all the work was done. But then I thought, why wait?

When the bathroom remodel was about to begin, I asked the contractor how difficult it might be to build in an alcove for my lovely old primitive cupboard. Not difficult at all, he said, and within weeks that cupboard was put to a new use of holding fluffy towels and rustic hand-made soaps.

In the kitchen, cabinet refacing took much more time than was originally planned, thanks to my desire to distress the cabinets. Though I never did quite make them look like the primitive style I was hoping to get, they did come close. Rather than opt for cabinets that rose to the ceiling, I chose to leave open space there to display the basics of primitive design, such as old wooden signs, rustic basket and hand-thrown pitchers. Though the countertops were laminate, the color matched that of the cabinets, which made the whole space look seamless. Adding an old farmhouse table and mismatched chairs completed the look.

Though my home was old enough to pull off the primitive theme without much work involved, you can make the look fit into a modern home by turning primitive decoration into works of art. A cluster of white pitchers, crocks and linens can be grouped on a rustic cupboard to create a pleasing look, and the cupboard can be used for storage. Rustic primitive pieces hung on dark walls can create an instant contrast not only in color, but between the old and the new.

Primitive decorating calls to mind a time when life was simple. Adding that look to your home, whether with a cupboard that has seen better days or an old dough bowl high on the shelf, can be done with a trip to the antique store and a little imagination.

So you can probably imagine my amazement when I read about the house at 75 1/2 Bedford Street in New York City. Considered the smallest house in the City, it is a whopping 9 1/2 feet wide. Inside the house, you get eight feet and seven inches at the most. At the narrowest point, it’s a measly two feet. The three stories are only 30 feet deep.

Small house, big history

Consider the size of this house for a moment. With the help of my trusty tape measure, I have determined that my dining room table, davenport sofa and bedroom dresser are each wider than this. A typical street lane is about 12 feet in width. Most king-size mattresses are just over six feet wide.

For all of that lack of space, the house has an interesting history. Constructed in 1873, it was originally a cobbler’s shop and later, a candy factory. After the construction the value of the Greenwich Village parcel the house sat on was not changed, suggesting that the house was too small to even be noticed by tax surveyors. After passing through hands a few times, it wound up as the home of Edna St. Vincent Millay in 1923. The home was renovated to include skylights, casement windows and a studio on the top floor.

In later years the home was occupied by John Barrymore, Cary Grant, cartoonist William Stieg and anthropologist Margaret Mead. Today it is a destination on the tourist trail, as so many people want to see exactly what this tiny house looks like.

The two bedroom, two bath place sold for $1.6 million in 2001, $2.2 million in 2010 and after significant renovation, is now on the market for $3.9 million. The renovations included exposing all the original wood beams, reclaimed hardwood floors, custom kitchen cabinets and built-in storage throughout the house. Somehow, the contractors managed to install a central air system and found space for a full washer and dryer. But there are still the quirks that remind you of how tiny the house is, such as the staircase that you have to climb almost sideways to use and the shower so narrow that it’s smaller than most coat closets.

For all the small size, it is a charming little place. However, I can’t help but think that $3.9 million could likely purchase seven or eight of those rambling farmhouses I grew up in, where the 960 square feet of this NYC building would be lost in a forgotten corner. On the other hand, those farmhouses wouldn’t be surrounded by the history, thrill and life of New York City.

For even more about this interesting little place, check out this 2004 article from The Villager.

Before the restoration. Courtesy of The Montpelier Foundation.

The problem? This historic home was once the residence of former president James Madison and his wife, Dolley.

Fortunately, the duPont family was well aware of the history of the place. Marion duPont Scott, the last surviving member of the family to live in the house, bequeathed it to the National Trust for Historic Preservation and asked that the home be restored to the Madison-era look. This threw the Montpelier Foundation into a quandry, because by that point, the duPont home was a historic building in its own right. Rather than jump right into a restoration, the Foundation decided to change the duPont house only if there was clear, hard evidence of what the Madison house actually looked like.

The detective work begins

The careful restoration work of Montpelier went above and beyond what most historic homes will ever see. The team began by lifting the hardwood floors, pulling away layers of paint and opening up over 300 holes in the house, each between one and four square feet. These holes allowed them to see past the modern facade and into the structure of the home, sometimes with the help of small cameras dropped into the space. They discovered old hardware, window cornices and chair rails.

The paper trail on the house became clear with historical documents. Everything from an insurance survey to accounts written by Confederate soldiers helped to rebuild the home’s history. There were “ghosts” around the house that helped, too. These appeared in the form of imprints left under layers of paint, markings of original cornices on old brick and even furring strips that revealed the exact rise and run of the original staircase.

Some finds were sheer luck. Bits of wallpaper were found in rat’s nests. A photograph that happened to capture a mirror led to an understanding of the way a particular door opened into the house. The look of the  original roof became clear with a single wood shingle found in the attic.

Once those clues were discovered, it was time to give restoration the green light.

Restoration complete. Photo by Kenneth M. Wyner, courtesy of The Montpelier Foundation.

Putting it all together

The restoration was significant in scope. It involved demolishing the newer part of the home, which was built in 1901, to find the original profile of the house. The interior was reworked to include the original staircase, chair rails, sidelights and other touches that hadn’t seen the light of day in over a century. Over 30,000 hand-cut shingles created the new roof. Careful research found that 38 of the 51 original doors in the house has been repurposed; those doors were restored to their original locations.

The result? A $25 million restoration was unveiled in 2008. Today, Montpelier is the home that James and Dolley Madison enjoyed, and it’s open for visitors. See the Montpelier Foundation for more.

Homes exist to shelter us from storms, protect us from the elements, and keep us safe from nature. But, is nature safe from our homes?

The continent of Antarctica has been losing more than 100 cubic kilometers (24 cubic miles) of ice per year since 2002.

Henry Pollack, author of “A World Without Ice” and who with his colleagues on the International Panel on Climate Change shared the Nobel Prize, says that he’s often asked whether he’s concerned that the surge of eco-tourism will damage the ecosystem of Antarctica. He answers that he’s far less concerned about what tourists do when they put their footprint on the continent on a five day visit than he is about their alarming ability to melt Antarctic ice as a result of their actions when they are in their own homes during the other 360 days of the year.

The 130 million existing homes in the US are responsible for nearly a quarter of our greenhouse gas emissions. Yet, if all new homes were built to net zero energy it would reduce our emissions by zero. Mitigation and adaptation really do start at home - your home - Now.

BIG IDEA - ENERGYBALL

If we are capable of destroying the planet from the comfort of our own homes, then the converse must be true. By redefining home and making houses places of comfort, restoration and healing, both psychological and physical, we can indeed become a regenerative society.

My family’s folk-Victorian home is 111-years-old, has the original windows, an uninsulated basement, minimal wall insulation (only R-13), and was restored without a gut rehab. Yet - by using smart performance targets outside of HERS, LEED, or EnergyStar, we created a home that is the oldest in America to achieve documented net zero energy. Importantly, the home is optimally cozy and healthy and the energy retrofit was only around $50k, including on-site solar PV to produce more than we consume.

Our home is the Oakland As of energy efficiency. In 2002, after losing their three top players to free-agency, the As achieved the greatest performance efficiency of any team in baseball.  They used a system they called “Moneyball”. With the second lowest payroll in the majors, they won a record-breaking twenty consecutive games and remain one of the winningest teams in baseball. They found the highest performance at the lowest cost by looking at meaningful stats outside of the traditional box scores. Base-on-balls percentage is a more important predictor of team success than runs-batted-in (RBI).

LOOKING BACKWARD & FORWARD: HOW WE GOT HERE:

Over the next couple of articles I will take you on a historic tour of my historic home to explore the lessens we can learn, both good and bad.

Matt Grocoff, Esq. LEED has been honored with the 2012 Michigan Green Leader Award and is founder of Thrive - Net Zero Energy Consulting Collaborative, host of Greenovation.TV, a contributor to The Environment Report on Public Radio, the green renovation expert for Old House Web, and a sought after lecturer. His home is America’s oldest net-zero energy home and was called “Sustainable Perfection” by The Atlantic, and honored as one of USA Today’s seven “Best Green Homes of 2010″ and Preservation Project of the Year.  He has been featured in hundreds of publications and news shows.  Join him on Google+, Twitter and Facebook

I have always been fascinated by decorative ceilings. When I walk into a room, I always look up — I’m always curious as to what is above my head. In modern buildings, that is often just a flat, white span of space that has no character at all. But in an older building, it is possible to look up and find a magnificent work of art staring back at you.

The history of pressed tin ceilings

Tin ceilings can be a mark of a building’s age. The heyday of tin ceilings was between 1880 and 1930, but corrugated iron was used on ceilings as early as 1868. These ceilings became common because they were inexpensive, easy to obtain and very lightweight, thus making them very easy to install. In some homes, the pressed tin was used as a wall covering as well, eliminating the need for expensive wallpaper.

Tin ceilings aren’t actually tin — they are steel coated with tin, much like a tin can. Some steel might be finished with other coatings, such as chrome or bronze. If it is covered with a white finish, it can mimic the look of expensive plaster without the weight. The ceilings were seen as a great improvement over other materials, as the tin couldn’t be harmed by insects or vermin, was fireproof, and wouldn’t shrink, peel or crack. In addition, tin ceilings were often much easier to clean during a time when fireplaces were used for primary heating.

Today tin ceilings are very affordable, starting at about $3.00 per foot for mass-produced tin pressings. The tiles can be dropped into a ceiling just like the popular acoustical tiles, thus giving your ceiling a fresh new look in a matter of hours. If you’re looking to create a tin ceiling that is as historically accurate as possible, you’re in luck — many of the old die sets and processes used to create tin pressings are still in use today. Panels are often created one at a time with drop presses, made from the original molds that were used in the late 1800’s. Though these are much more expensive at about $13.00 per square foot, the price offers a true period reproduction that simply cannot be duplicated with modern machinery.

Breece’s Cafe might have replacement windows, modern appliances, air-conditioning and a flat-screen television. But it also has that heavy wooden door, a cash register that dings rather than hums, and pressed tin ceilings that shine down upon the patrons as they eat their meat-and-three. As historic touches go, there are few that can compare with the charm and nostalgia of pressed tin.

My usual method of cooling — when I could get the windows open — was simple window air conditioners, supplemented by oscillating fans. But even with the largest units, it was sometimes impossible to get cool air to areas of the house that really needed it. A good HVAC system would have been welcome, but the configuration of lovely old Victorians often made discreet installation impossible. Did I want to be comfortable or maintain historical integrity? It was a terrible decision to make.

If I had known about mini-duct systems, I could have had the best of both worlds.

How mini-duct systems revolutionize old house comfort

A mini-duct system is just what it sounds like. The ducts are small, about three inches in diameter, and flexible enough to be snaked through walls without disturbing them. Rather than terminate in large grilles or registers, these ducts end with an opening that is smaller than that of an audio CD. Air is forced through the ducts at higher speeds than your typical HVAC unit, mixing the air around and resulting in even more cooling than what you might get from a large, traditional air conditioning system.

A mini-duct system operating on dehumidifying mode can remove up to 30 percent more humidity than a traditional system. That saves money and keeps you feeling cooler by removing the “mugginess” from the air. As anyone who has lived in an old house knows, that muggy feeling is what makes the hottest days truly unbearable.

Installation of a mini-duct system is fast and easy, taking only a few days. The grilles are unobtrusive and can be cut anywhere you like, thus allowing you to choose clever hiding places. The air flow is almost silent, comparable to other HVAC systems. The ductwork is flexible and sturdy, with only an average of 5 percent leakage, as compared to the 25 percent leakage you might see in traditional models.

The downside? The cost. Prices for the system and installation are typically 25 to 40 percent higher than that of a traditional system. However, preserving the integrity of a historic home while still keeping your cool can mean the bottom line is worth the price.

A modern unit hidden away in restoration

For those who are painstakingly restoring a home, even the parts that must be completely redone, such as replacement windows, are styled to look as much like the original as possible. Since such a luxury is impossible with a modern HVAC system, hiding mini-ducts throughout the home is the next best thing. If you get creative about hiding the registers and thermostat, it is entirely possible that guests won’t notice the system at all until they ask why the house seems so cool in the middle of a sweltering summer.

That’s where the catch comes in: Either these homes need serious renovation, or you are going to need a very big moving truck.

Is a one dollar house really worth it?

In many cases, these homes are slated for demolition if a buyer is not found within a short period of time. The demolition could be simply because the old house is in the way of a new development, or no longer suits the area in which it sits. It could be that the owners of the property want to build something new on the land but would rather not destroy a fine old house in the process. By offering the house for sale to someone who is willing to move it, they are getting what they want yet still preserving some history.

But there are a few catches to the great deal. A one dollar house usually has to be moved. That means either tearing down the house, piece by piece, and thus spending a great deal of time and effort in doing so, or moving the house in one or more large pieces, thus requiring a great deal of money to get it to the new site. Moving a home can easily cost between $50,000 and $100,000, perhaps much more.

Once the home is moved, then it likely faces significant renovation — after all, it is rare to find a home in great condition selling for only one dollar. Many old houses that are slated for demolition have been gutted by previous owners or have faced disrepair for several years, both of which could mean you are paying for an empty shell, not for anything livable.

Too far gone for renovation?

In some cases, these old houses are simply too far gone for renovation. If the home is not structurally sound or would require renovation to such an extent that the historical integrity is destroyed, there are other options that provide a reasonable alternative.

Tearing the house apart piece by piece is one way to do this. By saving everything from the old clapboard to the kitchen cabinets, you can salvage history that can one day be used to repair or replace worn materials in your current home. You might be surprised by what you can use the parts for — an old window can be used as a frame to create a mirror on your wall, or many good pieces of clapboard can be used to side a shed on your property.

Even if you salvage only a few parts of that old house before the wrecking balls goes to work, you have saved a small piece of history — and you’ve gotten it for much cheaper than you would have anywhere else. That alone makes the one dollar deal a real steal.

Here’s a few tips that we use in the Mission Zero House to keep our house sparkling clean without risking my family’s health.  We collected these techniques over the past several years based on their effectiveness, ease-of-use and their insanely low cost.

These tips are so simple and cheap my wife Kelly is astonished that we didn’t always clean this way and that so few people do.

Recipe for effortlessly clean greasy grimy pots and pans:

When we discovered this technique it changed our lives.  Here’s what we keep on the counter to clean pots and pans:

1. A spray bottle filled with a 50-50 vinegar & water mix.
2. A parmesan shaker filled with baking soda.
3. A bottle of dish soap that is free of toxins, petrochemicals, bleach, ammonia, phosphates or other harmful ingredients (See healthychild.org)

After cooking, DON’T toss the pot or pan in the sink and soak it in water.

Step 1:  While the pan is still hot immediately spray it with the vinegar & water.  This will deglaze the pan and lift the fat and grease.

Step 2:  Generously sprinkle the wet pan with baking soda, then spray again with vinegar & water.  The baking soda will react with the vinegar just like in the old volcanoes you made in school.

Step 3:  Go eat while you let the pan sit.  If needed, burp.

Step 4:  After your meal the baking soda will have absorbed the grease and vinegar.  Then, scrape the pan with a spatula or plastic pot scraper.  The gunk will lift off like magic.  No scrubbing necessary.

Step 5:  Wash the remaining residue with a scrub pad and mild non-toxic dish soap.

For a nice polish for stainless steel you can occasionally scrub pots with Borax and a scrub pad.  I promise your pans will always look like new and you’ll have to work a hole lot less than if you spent a ton on store-bought cleaners.

Recipe for cleaning coffee mug or pot:

This one is easy and the results are impressive.  Secret ingredient is hydrogen peroxide.  Really.  Just soak the coffee mug or pot with some hydrogen peroxide and let sit over night.  The stains will magically disappear with zero scrubbing.

Recipe for glass cleaner:

3 teaspoons of vinegar and 1 quart of water in a spray bottle.

You’ll be impressed with the results.  You’ll wonder why you ever paid so much for glass cleaner.

Amazing-but-true: Recipe for using only one razor blade for six months or more!!

Okay, this is not exactly a home cleaning product, but it will keep you looking clean-shaven and save you tons of cash.  Who among us is not appalled by the insane price of a good razor blade?  Mine cost $15 bucks for a pack of four!

I typically would go through a new blade in about 4 or 5 days before they’d start ripping apart my skin.  So I was blown away when I recently discovered a way that I could keep a blade as good as new for months rather than days.  Consumer reporter Clark Howard claims he uses the same blade for a full year!!

The trick is to keep the blade completely dry after each use.

I looked into this and it turns out that it’s not your tiny little hairs that are making the blade dull.  The water left on the blade oxidizes the metal and cause microscopic rust.  This oxidation warps the blade rendering it useless.

There are many techniques, but I simply shake the water from the blade, then pat the it with a towel until it is completely dry.  Then I store it in a dry place.  DO NOT store it in the shower unless it is on a dry ledge.

Read more:

HealthyChild.org : http://healthychild.org/live-healthy/shop-healthy/category/87/?_kk=toxic%20cleaning%20products&_kt=0c5e553b-b190-466d-b1b2-4bfd79c25275&gclid=CPygwaSijK8CFYbe4AodlWfa9g

EPA cleaning tips:  http://www.epa.gov/epp/pubs/cleaning.htm

Consumer Reports Eco-label Guide - www.greenerchoices.org/eco-labels/

Matt Grocoff, Esq. LEED has been honored with the 2012 Michigan Green Leader Award and is founder of Thrive - Net Zero Energy Consulting Collaborative, host of Greenovation.TV, a contributor to The Environment Report on Public Radio, the green renovation expert for Old House Web, and a sought after lecturer. His home is America’s oldest net-zero energy home and was called “Sustainable Perfection” by The Atlantic, and honored as one of USA Today’s seven “Best Green Homes of 2010″ and Preservation Project of the Year.  He has been featured in hundreds of publications and news shows.  Join him on Google+, Twitter and Facebook