“Green” Renovation--Very Doable!
“GREEN” RENOVATION--VERY DOABLE!
By Jan Greenfield
In the summer of 2006, Lakewood offered a 7-series renovation class through the Cleveland Green Building Coalition. Having just purchased a 1910 Arts & Crafts Colonial Foursquare on Hall Avenue, I eagerly learned the ins and outs of renovating for high-energy-efficiency and low-toxicity! Our teacher Jim LaRue, former Education Director of the Housing Resource Center in Cleveland, stressed the importance of focusing on simple, cost-effective strategies. Solar energy sounds fabulous, but it can be quite costly and requires the right mix of circumstances to pay off in the end.
A major rule of thumb of renovation is to try to utilize as many non-toxic materials as possible; the best defense against chemical pollution is to keep poisons -- such as vinyl, outgassing carpets and high-VOC paints -- out of your house to begin with. A fellow student in our Lakewood Green Building class recommended an outstanding book which I purchased locally & read completely: Green Remodeling: Changing the World One Room at a Time, a Mother Earth News Book for Wiser Living by David Johnston & Kim Master, LEED AP, 2004.
When local Lakewood HVAC (Heating, Ventilating & Air Conditioning) contractor Dave Slife suggested removing the fireplace & chimney from my house to streamline HVAC function, I was ready since my reading had suggested that chimney maintenance can be costly. As Dave explained, “With air conditioning, the cold air falls rather than rises, so your current forced-air duct work is not designed to effectively utilize that fact. By removing the chimney, new duct work can be placed through the center of the house, providing separate heat and AC zoning to the two floors.” Beautiful diamond-patterned oak wood floors were relieved of their carpet and were finished with water-based polyurethane that does not outgas harmful volatile-organic-compounds (VOC’s). We kept the old wooden kitchen cabinets, sprucing them up with new pulls and the lowest VOC-emitting paint available which is often chosen by hospitals due to its low toxicity.
All appliances were selected for Energy-Star efficiency and were electric to exclude gas fumes. The plumber installed a new low-water-use toilet and a tankless, on-demand water heater. As many of the original wood-framed windows were retained as possible and updated with new triple-track storms as required. Window draperies are 100% cotton denim. All exterior walls and attic floors were insulated with non-toxic cellulose. The gas bill was a remarkable $160 for January 2006 and $130 for February 2006!
These renovation choices were energy-efficient and cost-effective. They also were not high-tech or complex to implement. For any of you wishing to undertake such “green” remodeling, a good resource is the Cleveland Green Building Coalition at www.clevelandgbc.org. Also, to keep up with a variety of green issues in Lakewood, check out the Committee for a Greener Lakewood at www.ci.lakewood.oh.us/citygovern_council_greenteam.html.
By Jan Greenfield
In the summer of 2006, Lakewood offered a 7-series renovation class through the Cleveland Green Building Coalition. Having just purchased a 1910 Arts & Crafts Colonial Foursquare on Hall Avenue, I eagerly learned the ins and outs of renovating for high-energy-efficiency and low-toxicity! Our teacher Jim LaRue, former Education Director of the Housing Resource Center in Cleveland, stressed the importance of focusing on simple, cost-effective strategies. Solar energy sounds fabulous, but it can be quite costly and requires the right mix of circumstances to pay off in the end.
A major rule of thumb of renovation is to try to utilize as many non-toxic materials as possible; the best defense against chemical pollution is to keep poisons -- such as vinyl, outgassing carpets and high-VOC paints -- out of your house to begin with. A fellow student in our Lakewood Green Building class recommended an outstanding book which I purchased locally & read completely: Green Remodeling: Changing the World One Room at a Time, a Mother Earth News Book for Wiser Living by David Johnston & Kim Master, LEED AP, 2004.
When local Lakewood HVAC (Heating, Ventilating & Air Conditioning) contractor Dave Slife suggested removing the fireplace & chimney from my house to streamline HVAC function, I was ready since my reading had suggested that chimney maintenance can be costly. As Dave explained, “With air conditioning, the cold air falls rather than rises, so your current forced-air duct work is not designed to effectively utilize that fact. By removing the chimney, new duct work can be placed through the center of the house, providing separate heat and AC zoning to the two floors.” Beautiful diamond-patterned oak wood floors were relieved of their carpet and were finished with water-based polyurethane that does not outgas harmful volatile-organic-compounds (VOC’s). We kept the old wooden kitchen cabinets, sprucing them up with new pulls and the lowest VOC-emitting paint available which is often chosen by hospitals due to its low toxicity.
All appliances were selected for Energy-Star efficiency and were electric to exclude gas fumes. The plumber installed a new low-water-use toilet and a tankless, on-demand water heater. As many of the original wood-framed windows were retained as possible and updated with new triple-track storms as required. Window draperies are 100% cotton denim. All exterior walls and attic floors were insulated with non-toxic cellulose. The gas bill was a remarkable $160 for January 2006 and $130 for February 2006!
These renovation choices were energy-efficient and cost-effective. They also were not high-tech or complex to implement. For any of you wishing to undertake such “green” remodeling, a good resource is the Cleveland Green Building Coalition at www.clevelandgbc.org. Also, to keep up with a variety of green issues in Lakewood, check out the Committee for a Greener Lakewood at www.ci.lakewood.oh.us/citygovern_council_greenteam.html.
Volume 2, Issue 7, Posted 9:09 AM, 03.21.06
