Finding Your Comfort Zone

While doing the research to size the heating/cooling units in our remodel, I have found that the heating and cooling load software programs available to the residential owner are mostly unsuitable for a customized home. They can also be expensive and for a one time user rather limited in their format for calculations. In green or sustainable construction, it becomes a bit more obvious that standard equations based on builder construction systems do not allow for improvements such as thermal conduction slabs, solar green houses, or energy recovery ventilation just to name a few items. The only options available to the home owner involve a lot of techinical research and computing. Imagine your local heating, ventilation, air conditioning person going through all of the effort required when it is easier to make a sale based on rules-of- thumb, which by the way typically overheat and overcool your home.

Looking at the software programs available on-line that are based on Manual J, I discovered that the built-in thermal values cannot be changed and there are set system standards in order to keep the price for a one time user low (unless you want to spend over $1,000.00 and spend time learning to manage the calculations.) So if a homeowner wants to figure the size of the heating and cooling unit so that it is not oversized, the options are really limited. You might try using one of these programs or hire an engineer (since few of the HVAC guys actually know how to figure the perfect balance). Usually, what happens is a unit is installed that is oversized (and, therefore, inefficient or does not remove enough humidity from the air making you uncomfortable).

While trying to get an accurate figure with a passive solar or highly insulated home, your best bet is to purchase the Residential Manual J latest edition (It can cost around $140.00) and self-study or take a course at a local community college. Your other option may be to pay a professional HVAC engineer or a HERS (Home Energy Rating Sytem) engineer capable of expanding on those Manual J calculations.

RECYCLING REVELATIONS

Since we started the renovation there have been trials and tribulations with recycling as much construction debris as possible. When we measure what was recycled for re-utilization the tally is rather amazing. Looking back at our journal serves as a reminder of just how much material is involved in residential construction and how much can be saved from landfill while being placed into new use. We are still reaping the benefits of past civilizations even to this day because of this concept. To be a bit more humble, here is a short list of what we have managed to recycle.

• Brick Masonry from interior (fake)fireplaces
• Sliding Glass windows
• Operable windows
• Interior and Exterior Doors and frames
• Door Hardware
• Ceiling Fans
• Light Fixtures
• Water Closets
• BathTubs
• Lavatories
• Laminate Flooring
• Carpeting
• Dimesional Lumber
• Interior Trim
• Kitchen Appliances
• Propane Room Heaters and Fireplace Fixtures
• Sheet Metal
• Copper Water Piping
• Aluminum Gutters and Trim
• Overhead Garage Door
• Electrical Wiring
• Steel Posts
• Landscaping
• 3 Ton Heat Pump
• 50 Gallon Hot Water Heater
• Condensation Pumps
• Ductwork
• Concrete Rubble
• Left Over Paints and Stains (from previous Owners)
• We even managed to relocate thousands of honey bees

Despite these efforts we still had a considerable amount of waste. That waste totaled to close to three full 40 cubic yard dumpsters plus 21 pickup truck loads. Items such as molded fiberglass insulation, carpet pad, drywall, rotted or poorly used lumber , roofing etc. Recycling is not yet perfected but every ounce of saved materials is one less on our conscience.

Towering Trumpet

As we finish the lower level bathroom and tile the utility room (my first time!!), it feels as though we could actually live in the house if we had to (if our current home sold, for example). We decided to pay some attention to the entrance of the house on the ground, this time, rather than the cedar posts and roof. I planted some evening primrose, blanket flowers, balloon plants and pink nancy to establish a few perennials this year. We also wanted to find a plant to grow up the outside column and add color and shade to the front porch overhang.

At our current house, we have a two year established wisteria that we considered splitting and moving. When Sensei nixed that idea, I tried to find some local nurseries with wisteria for sale. Wrong time of year. (Guess it's a spring/fall thing.). Then, as we really considered the solidity of the portico, we began to rethink the wispiness of the wisteria.

Our neighbors have a wonderful patio with what looked like a thin twisted trunk tree that had beautiful green oval leaves and big orange flowers. We suspected it was a trumpet vine of some tree-like variety but could not find anything online to confirm our suspicions. Finally, I stopped by when our neighbor was outside and asked her. Sure enough, it's a trumpet vine. Pure and simple.

She claimed that it just grew up that way all by itself, mentioning that it is messy, since the big flowers plop down on her deck, but are easily swept away due to their size. When she added that hummingbirds love them, I was hooked. Sensei had found a plant at the Asheville farmer's market, so he brought it home and we planted it next to the post so that it could begin to settle in this year. Since he is recovering from foot surgery, the plant will have 3-4 weeks of peace before we return to disturb the quiet of our new space.

The Swarm Part 2

About 21 days AFTER the Swarm Part 1, Sensei was, once again working on the house. This was about 10 days after we had decomissioned the heat pump along the side of the house, next to the infamous camilia (which is supposed to be hard to grow in the mountains, so we preserved it through every bit of painting, window installation, metal bending, etc. cursing each time we had to hold it away from the house and climb around and through its scratchy branches. It's thriving though!!). We sold the pump and the furnace to a guy working on affordable housing, so they found good homes.
The reason the timing is important is because during those 10 days, approximately 10,000 honeybees gathered near that spot and began to create a cone/hive. This humming was equally loud (but less threatening, since he wasn't staying there at the time). The swarm inside the house occurred the same way with the same number of casualities.
I called Extension Services for help. They gave me 4 numbers of local beekeepers who often assisted people like us with bee swarms. This was on a Friday afternoon and I left messages or spoke to each person and none of them was in a position to help us. They wished us well and we swept up more bees.
On Monday, we received a call from a local pastor who was one of the people who was sorry not to be of help on Friday. His hives had all been full at the time. Over the weekend, some cold weather had killed one of his colonies and he had room for ours!! We were sorry for his loss but anxious to find a good home for our collection!!
We'll post a slide show of that event (soon) when the bees were swept off their feet (all together in a clump) and moved to a happy hive. Ah, the natural world is so fascinating!! I so enjoy it when it stays outside!!

The Swarm Part 1

Around Easter, Sensei was camping out at the house for a few days. On his last day there, he heard this loud humming in the room he'd used for sleeping. When he lifted the tarp flap, (no walls, it was cold, it kept the heat from the propane fireplace in) and discovered 1,000 bees swarming against the door wall. Even when he managed to open one side, he could not get them to leave. These Kamikaze bees were bent on self-distruction, to the point that they didn't even notice him when he entered the room.
He called Terminex for their opinion and they said they were endangered honeybees and they couldn't do anything to them. It didn't matter, they all died in a sad pile on the floor and we swept them up later. So strange!

Insect Insight

This renovation has brought even greater appreciation for the natural world since we have only had windows/doors for a short time and we don't bother with screens yet. We never know what might flutter or float into our space so the surprises are many. Most of them have been interesting; a few dangerous but the dragonfly was my favorite.
One day, Sensei noticed this large creature poised on the french door, inside the house. It rested there as if it were home and I took pictures quickly, assuming that it would run for safety outside. It did not. Then I started to worry that it was going to get sick inside but I couldn't get it to budge. Finally, Sensei took his hand and brushed this gentle giant out into the sun once again. I was tickled by the experience and the size!! I'll include pictures soon.

What will make the house sing?

Now that the cedar is backed by the black cement board and the brick red windows are adding another touch of brickishness (like the original, common brick foundation), I am forced to consider that maybe blue inside will not be the color that pulls the outdoors in.

We have collected blue in many incarnations: couch/chair, art clock, throws, vases, flower pots. In other words, our lives have been joyously expressing blue for the last 6 years. Sensei has resisted my monochromatic obsession, but it brings me joy, so he has let me go with it.

Now, the flooring issue (wood?, cork?, tile? marble?) has brought up his penchant for connecting the natural world to our unnatural interior in an attempt to merge them. This means that, unlike the bright blue red accents we've connected with our blue furnishings, we are now looking at more of a rust color which is way out of my color palette!! To further confuse the issue, we both love a marble we've found (called "Rain Forest" = some green = uh oh!!) which we would use on one or two accent walls. It would definitely connect with some rusty tile we've found that has the look of wood, but then how do we move into blue from there??????

Any suggestions??