This is Episode #6 in an eight part series chronicling Bob & Jack as they attempt to bring an 18th Century farmhouse into the 21st Century. I’m really loving this blog and I’m beginning to feel a little sad knowing there are only 2 more installments after this one. I swear, they have a book here! In the meantime, you can check out their antique business at the Millerton Antique Center and on-line at doodletownfarm.com.
– Joan
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Installment Six: How Green Is My Valley
Since we had to rip out the entire plumbing, heating and electrical systems (they were beyond ancient) we decided to go green. Not “green” like the front-page-of-the-New-York-Times-Home-section-green” but as green as our budget would allow. We were already recycling old lumber, doors and stone so we felt good about that. And when you think about it, the antique business is the original green industry. But we could do more.
A deep pond near the house would have been ideal for geo-thermal but the $80,000 price tag was not. At the time, (2008) there were no government incentives or rebates to bring the cost down. That may not be true today.
Because we live in a valley or as Jack calls it, a “holler”, wind turbines wouldn’t work.
Solar panels on the south facing roof of the new addition.
Solar, on the other hand, looked more promising. We’re lousy with sun here. The new wing of the house could provide the requisite expanse of south-facing roof to accommodate the panels. Better yet, it would be virtually invisible from the road. The NYSERDA rebate and federal and state tax credits actually made it affordable, reducing the out of pocket cost from $44,000 to just about $20,000. Hudson Valley Clean Energy took care of all the filing and paper work so it made the whole project very do-able.
I liked the ginger bread cottage look of the eco-friendly insulation. It made me hungry.
Since we were taking the house down to its shell, we built out the exterior walls to provide extra insulation. Ditto for under the new roof. And we made sure we used eco-friendly insulation. The house would be tight as a drum which would keep it toasty in the winter and cooler in the summer.
All the new windows and doors are thermopane. We made sure that every room had plenty of cross ventilation. That allowed us to opt for natural breezes and ceiling fans instead of central air.
We had the stone mason rebuild the two hearths to be more rumson-like, sending more heat out into the room and less up the chimney.
Because we wanted to raise the very low ceilings on the second floor of the in the old part of the house we installed radiant heat upstairs and had it zoned so that we could shut off the guest bedrooms wing when there no guests.
The pergola was an addition not in the original plans.
To keep the mid-day summer heat from flooding into the kitchen we built an arbor/pergola that will be leafy in the summer for cooling but bare in the winter when that warm sunlight is more than welcome.
We had the plumber set the hot water tank at 140 degrees, about as hot as we can stand a shower. That way we don’t have to waste water cooling down the hot water by mixing it with cold.
Finally, the cheapest green idea of all was a wind & solar powered clothes dryer or as my mama would call it, a clothes line.
FOLLOW PREVIOUS EPISODES HERE:
Episode #1: Doodletown Farm – the Perfect House…Almost
Episode #2: The Big Move and a Few Little Changes
Episode #3: Coming Up with a Plan
Episode #4: Hands On Experience
Epidode #5 : Retain, Recycle, Repurpose
Related posts:
- Doodletown Farm – Episode Four: Hands On Experience?
- Episode #3 from Doodletown Farm: “Coming Up with a Plan”
- Doodletown Farm – The Perfect House…Almost
- Episode 5 of Doodletown Farm – “Retain! Recycle! Repurpose!”
- “Kid Talk” — Our first installment!
Another enjoyable read.
Love that pergola! will you grow wisteria on it? Can’t wait to see the book!
I have enjoyed following this story……….agree that a book is in order. Either a How-To or a Why NOT!!!!