This project was ideal in its scope, planning and execution. Built in the 50’s, the house was purchased from the original owner, and, with the exception of the heating system, was pretty much intact as built. The owner held off from a piecemeal approach until he was sure of what he wanted, so the design work was fairly straightforward, and there were very few changes made to those plans (changes can be expensive and slow a project down).

Since the renovated house would be very airtight and better insulated, the first order of business was to deal with any moisture issues. We coated the inside of the foundation with a waterproofing product, installed a new sump pit and pump and exterior perimeter drains that led to daylight.

 

 

Drainage and other excavation work
completed, ready to remove roof.

 

 

 

 

Before removing the roof, we framed the new stairway and installed the new 2”x 10” floor joists alongside the existing 2”x 6” joists, and then much of the sub floor. We also framed most of the second floor walls on the ground, in 12’ lengths, so that they could be slid up a couple of planks and installed without the aid of a crane, which could not be used due to space limitations and the location of power lines. Once the roof was off, we were able to install the walls and trussed roof with five men in three days.

 

 

 

Second floor on, installing windows,
rigid insulation, and siding.

 

 

 

I don’t normally like to use rigid foam on the exterior of a building, but the owner wanted to keep most of the interior of the first floor intact. Since the first floor walls were constructed of 2”x4”s, the only way to meet code was to install 1 ½” rigid insulation after the first floor walls had been insulated with dense pack cellulose, resulting in a R-21 wall. The second floor walls were framed with 2”x6”s with an R-value of 28. Attic insulation is loose blown cellulose with an R-value of 60. On the basement walls and rim joist we installed 2” (R-13) white faced Dow Thermax rigid insulation.

First floor renovations included a new kitchen with custom cabinets made locally, and a new bathroom.

To ensure air quality, we installed high quality exhaust fans and back draft dampers in the bathrooms and kitchen and a heat recover (HRV) ventilation system.

 

 

 

Renovation/addition completed

 

 

 

 

First year energy consumption records, even with only 90% of insulation upgrades installed, indicated a drop in oil consumption of 33% with more than double the volume, which means the square foot heating costs dropped 66%. The first summer, the owner hardly used the AC, and summertime electrical usage dropped 75%.

The upgraded insulation and mechanical ventilation package may have added around $7,000.00  (3%) to the cost of the project. That was immediately recouped, since those improvements allowed him to keep his existing heating system, even though the volume of conditioned space more than doubled, a savings of at least $6,000.00.