Random Thoughts
As things pop-up that don't fit any where yet, they go here. From time-to-time these will get reviewed, cleaned-up, and moveed to some place else.
Found some neat beveled glass
http://www.mcgillswarehouse.com/GroupsList.aspx?CategoryID=102
Perhaps we could use Digg to get idea. let do a DiggTest
When the window guys came out and discovered our masonry house, they told us that in order to properly measure the windows, they'd need us to remove the plaster around the windows so they could see what they were measuring. (They usually measure stud to stud when measuring window opening, but we have no studs in our exterior walls and they'd never seen that before.) So we removed the plaster from around one window and discovered that in addition to not having insulation (something we knew), we had gaps between the window frames and the masonry that were in some spots about an eighth of an inch wide. So in many cases, the only thing keeping the inside from the outside was the half inch thick piece of trim on the inside of the house. Michael had been campaigning for years to get me to insulate the house but I resisted thinking of all the work. Seeing these gaps convinced me; it was worth the work. We've been growing increasingly more environmentally aware and we have been making improvements to our house like a new furnace, etc. A new furnace can only do so much when your house has serious gaps in it's exterior walls. So the demolition began...
We have removed all of the plaster from the house except for the ceilings. We plan on replacing/redoing almost everything, the plumbing, the electrical wiring, the kitchen, the floors, the bathroom, the entryway (creating one, that is), and reconfiguring some rooms and adding built-ins and storage all over. We love our little house, and we definitely don't want a bigger one, but we do agree that we can use the space better. Our little house has also undergone many redos and patch jobs over it's life span. We'd like to pull it all in to one cohesive unit.
Of course, all of this sounds great. It's great to have the whole house gutted so we can start from scratch, right? Well, some times the options can be overwhelming. Hence, the wiki, to help us sort it all out. If it works, we'll be able to trace our progress on this site. Cross your fingers...
We pulled up all of the oak flooring that was in the house: about 500 sq. ft. We might re-mill the flooring in order to use it again, though both of us have been smitten by CorkFlooring and we're looking into that as well.
I also found some RecycledCottonInsulation that's got an R-value of 21 for 5.75" thickness and has "superior acoustical performance."
Michael heard an ad on NPR for LumberLiquidators who according to the ad, have good deals on cork and bamboo flooring. We'll have to look into that...
july 3 random thoughts:
Make concrete sinks and counter tops. Perhaps an integrated sink/counter top in bathrooms where space might be tight.
Use solid wood on some of the kitchen counter tops for cutting boards.
Install a vent/pipe at peak of loft/vaulted ceiling to help with circulating air. Eg: push gathered heat outside in summer and recirculate gathered heat in winter.
Use translucent materials for walls, especially walls running north-south in order to keep lots of natural light around. For example, perhaps use translucent material on the support wall to the east of the basement stairwell and have open shelving for the pantry so light can come through and we won't have such dark basement steps. It would also be cool to incorporate translucent materials on the eastern most wall in the master bedroom (above sight lines for privacy) to get more light in basement stairwell.
Built drawer-only lower cabinets in kitchen to better use space and to save us from having to crawl into the lower cabinets to see what we have in there.
Vent refrigerator outside in the summer and circulate heat that it generates in the winter.
Install a dehumidifier in shower to get rid of moisture and to heat the shower in the winter.
Keep chimney as free-standing as possible as a central element of the house and re-skin it with brick or stone veneer.
Alright, having reread parts of natural remodeling, here are some thoughts:
- no moisture barrier on exterior walls
- solar gain/thermal mass on south side
- grey water re-usage
- building cupola to increase ventilation
- finishing attic/loft (with regard to ventilation/insulation, etc)
- sunlights in attic, tube sunlights to increase light (esp. in interior rooms - like bathrooms)
- plant deciduous trees/plantings/vines on west side
- build and install movable shutters for west side windows
- keep bedroom doorways in line to help with ventilation
- fresh air intake?
- rain water collection
- outdoor rooms/front porch
- loft: use sunlights and small, deep-set windows with light-colored sills to reflect light
September 16 thoughts:
- Shelves in front of window in kitchen to put potted plants
- Make cabinet that sink sits on an inch or two shallower than other cabinets to allow for more knee/leg room
- Use materials not usually used for finished products for walls/cabinetry, etc: for example: plywood cabinets with exposed ply edges, plywood for wall and ceiling finishes
- Use translucent wall materials for wall behind pantry in kitchen to allow light to get into basement stairway
