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Eco-Renovation:
Recycling or Toxic Madness?
By
Thomas A. Hirsch and Audrie Brown
Our
previous articles have been devoted to some very explicit technical
information related to green building and healthy housing.
This month we will depart from that cutting edge techno-rap to
reflect upon our present-tense experience of remodeling an older home in
Benzie County. In the midst
of such a project, one can’t help but reflect upon the values and
challenges inherent in such a huge undertaking.
Remodeling
is a strange dance that some of us are drawn to for many reasons.
And although there are those who swear they will never do it
again, others of us can’t help but envision new possibilities for the
beauty that a space can become. The
thrill of transformation beckons us as well as the commitment to reduce,
re-use and recycle.
Is
it possible to renovate in an earth friendly manner?
What does it take and why bother?
Isn’t it easier just to tear it down and start over?
The impact upon the earth’s resources in terms of “total
embodied energy” is greatly reduced by repairing what already exists as
opposed to building new. The
costs associated with bulldozing, landfilling refuse and sourcing all new
materials and labor to rebuild are high.
Even considering all the hassles of dealing with a building that
may not have been well-designed to begin with, that has been altered
periodically to suit popular trends and materials, that is no longer plumb
or level and has substandard structural, electrical or mechanical systems,
recycling an existing structure usually makes sense.
Maybe
it’s a masochistic rescue mentality or some incurable, domestic romantic
virus that keeps us doing this for others, and now for ourselves, after
all these years. It’s dirty
tough work and you may wonder if it is really worth the effort to tear out
materials that may expose us to a plethora of toxic dusts from previous
building practices. We use
high quality dust masks and take ample doses of vitamins and herbs to
bolster our immune systems while doing this work!
We
are currently involved in remodeling a home for ourselves that was first
built in the 1940’s. A lot
of those awful layers have had to be removed and cleaned up before we
could began to rebuild. Getting
down to the essence of the house and recreating a place of beauty is
giving us the opportunity to reclaim the house as home and to remove
impediments to the energy flow. It
is a process that puts at bay the forces of decay and unconsciousness
compiled there over the past 60 years.
So
how is our eco-remodeling going? Since
we, like most people, are on a limited budget, we must sometimes delay our
eco-ideals to meet our current reality.
Our new electrical service isn’t off the grid, but we have
decreased electro-magnetic fields by using shielded MC cable throughout
the house and paying careful attention to wiring runs.
Electrical currents in the bedrooms can be switched off completely
at night, and not having dimmer switches helps to reduce indoor EMF
exposure.
Plumbing
service is being upgraded to copper supply and ABS plastics for waste
piping. PVC is very toxic to
manufacture and can impact indoor air quality with off gassing.
All of our plumbing fixtures are reclaimed and in perfect shape.
Sub-floors
and roof sheathing are one inch-plus-thick rough sawn planks.
Wood framing materials are about half recycled/reclaimed lumber and
half new (probably not sustainably harvested).
Wall insulation is straw clay.
Cellulose will go in the roof and miscellaneous fiberglass batts
from the existing structure are being re-used in floor and wall cavities
for soundproofing. Land filling the torn out material made little sense when
there certainly was still a place for it here.
Windows
and doors are reclaimed. Interior
and exterior wall surfaces will be clay and lime stucco plasters rather
than drywall. Wood finishes are from Land Arc, who make high-quality,
natural finishing oils and waxes. We
used AFM hypoallergenic, low
VOC paint (available at Energy and Environmental Concepts in Traverse
City) for the basement walls and plan on other natural paints and glazes
tinted with plant and mineral pigments for the plaster walls.
Exposed
rafter tails and board roof sheathing eliminated the need for soffit and
fascia. Floor coverings in
the bathrooms will be real linoleum made of cork, linseed oil, chalk, pine
resins and jute (available at
Northern Floor and Tile in TC). Refinished
wood floors are on the main floor and yet to be sourced local hardwoods
will be used for second story floors.
Cabinetry will be solid wood.
This
project, like most, is full of compromises.
The current and fairly new furnace is forced air—our least
favorite way to heat. This we
plan to change over time. In
the interim we hope the well-insulated, passive solar qualities of the
structure and a wood stove
will minimize the use of this system.
We are not pleased to report that we must settle for an asphalt
shingle roof—again the least favorite option.
We would have preferred a recycled rubber roof, concrete tiles or
cedar shingles but our budget would not allow for it.
We would also love to be generating our own electricity.
Feng
Shui and sacred architecture have influenced the 10,000 decisions we have
made, but it will never be perfect. Still,
our 800 square foot cottage is becoming a 1600 square foot bungalow with
our name all over it.
Yes,
some things cost more. Working with reclaimed lumber is slow and labor intensive.
Thank goodness for our friends who came and helped us pull nails
from our stack of old (but full sized) boards.
The work of mixing straw clay and stuffing it into wall cavities
can be fun with many hands. We will invite our community together for that too!
Hand plastering walls takes time.
Extra detailing throughout takes planning and patience.
The struggles and stresses involved in this work teach us to be
gentle with ourselves and each other while drawing forth the courage to
create that which has real substance and value for the long term.
These
are some of the things that make a house into a hand-made-with-love home
that is kind to the earth. The creation of home nurtures the soul. Creating beauty and living lightly nurtures our planet, which
nurtures us as well.
There’s
no place like home.
Harmony
Home Construction, LLC.
8122 Barney Road
Traverse City,
Michigan 49684
Ph: 1-877-45-GREEN Fx: 231-932-9193
info@harmonyhomeconstruction.com
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