Al Gore's utility bill in perspective....

[roseBudd]

I have a brother who drives a behemoth SUV even though he only has 1 child. He knows how I feel about SUVs. Though he did not say it to my face, he once accused me of being a hypocrite for the energy my house uses.

You see my brother lives in a newer home. My house is a 2.5 story brick house built in 1910. Brick houses have no spaces in the exterior walls for insulation. Other than storms or new windows and insulation in the pointy part of the roof above the third floor, you can't insulate a brick house with plaster walls.

The faultiness of my brother's argument is that he made a decision to purchase an SUV which is how the auto industry decides to produce that particular source of pollution.

My house will be sittting here with uninsulated brick walls no matter who lives in it. Unless we advocate the teardown of our architectural history, these buildings will use more energy to heat and cool than the newest Tyveced 2x4 studded Pink Panthered McMansions.

I am not positive, but it looks like Gore's home belongs on the historic register. Those of us who take the harder route of loving and caring for older homes should be applauded, not denigrated.

BTW I even have a wool blanket hanging over my basement door and I do use CFLs so I do what I can. The rest is those brick walls, large and numerous double hung wooden windows and high ceilings.

[lisby]

1. The difference is...

you're willfully protecting and preserving this nation's history; he is willfully destroyng its future.

HMO.


Lisby

[johnaries]

18. ? That makes no sense whatsoever.

For one thing, Gore uses 100% Green Power Switch. That means ALL of his energy usage is green. As a matter of fact, since NES sells the GPS in blocks, he actually buys more blocks of green energy than he uses.

His home energy usage is carbon neutral.

[flamin lib]

2. I applaud your dedication to preservation of architectural history.

Buildings are the largest consumer of energy we have, much more than cars. The difference is, as you said, buildings last a long time and retrofitting to cut energy usage is not only expensive but could destroy the historic value of the property. Solar panels on the roof of Monticello just doesn't seem right.

Cars, on the other hand, are more temporary and as such can have a much faster impact on climate change.

All that said, while I detest McMansions the new energy efficient designs save a lot more energy than switching from a Lincoln to a Prius.

Suggestion: legislate low energy homes. Make builders install solar water heaters, CFL lights and passive solar heat into new construction. Australia has outlawed tungsten light bulbs. Manufacture and sale of conventional lights will phase out over the next few years.

[Labors of Hercules]

4. hit two birds with one stone: place moritoria on building new homes on undeveloped property.

In addition to promoting investment in historic properties, it would promote redevelopment. And by subsidizing the demolition and reuse of materials from substandard houses (individually or in decaying neighborhoods of no historical significance) allow investors to rebuild to sustainable environmental standards. And for those owners of undeveloped property who are just waiting to sell out to a developer at a higher price, too bad, so sad.

[flamin lib]

5. Well, that opens a whole different discussion of property rights and

eminent domain. Such moves can be encouraged without drastic measures. The city government where I live has several programs to revitalize older, non historical areas. If they declare eminent domain to buy up dilapidated properties for public use (including low income housing) they pay fair market value plus 10%. In some areas the city will provide up to $10,000 in assistance for low income buyers for existing homes. The county also has a program for up to $10,000 on new homes built by the county in "renovation zones". The homes are sold at cost and qualified low income buyers can double dip. A new 1600 sq ft 3/2/2 with market value of $155k can be bought for $110k with as little as $3k out of pocket.

At this point it is still cheaper to demolish and dispose of the debris although some of the refuse is recycled through private re-sale. Antique brick is a high dollar option for new home construction and fire stained brick is more expensive yet. Old solid wood doors, mantles and antique bathroom fixtures are also in demand.

It's one city's approach.

[kestrel91316]

3. Replace the windows as you are able. If any particular room

needs redoing, then consider ripping out the plaster in it, putting in stud framing, and insulating - one room at a time, over time. You lose a little square footage doing this, of course. Look into a heat pump for heat and AC. Install a fireplace insert of woodburning stove for supplemental (or even primary) heating (wood does not cause a net increase in atmospheric CO2). Super-insulate the attic space. Be sure you have an attic fan (solar powered). Look into those leased solar power systems to help with your utility bill and decrease your carbon footprint.

Make up for the CO2 you generate by excess heating needs for the house in other ways. Eat local food. Where local is not available, eat organic. Replace your car with a Prius when your existing car wears out. Think about the energy saved by NOT tearing down the old house and building new - all those construction materials took energy to produce and transport and erect.

I love old homes. When I retire I want to buy a 1900-1915 little Craftsman somewhere in the Midwest and fix it up. I hate tract homes.

[roseBudd]

7. Just one of my rooms has 10 windows, there is a leaded glass door...

sidelights and transom. You don't remove oak and southern pine double hungs for vinyl replacement windows. In addition my windows are so large everyone of them would be a custom built size.

I have a boiler and radiators so my house uses a more efficient source of heat than forced air. I have no duct work.

I have an 11 year old Subaru wagon but I rarely drive more than 1/2 - 3 miles in a single trip. I'm not a white flight suburbanite who travels 20-30 miles each way to work.

I need my wagon because I garbage pick and either reuse, freecycle or sell at a yearly yard sale what everyone else is throwing away.

[TankLV]

11. Yes you can - I have done it many times.

Oak trim and casements are very easy to remove and replace. The original oak trim can be removed, saved and reinstalled when finished...

And nobody is saying you have to replace them with vinyl - wood works just as good - just needs more maintenance. But wood window muntins and mullions can be sized for 1" insulated glazing - some manufacturers required you only to replace the sash - not the frame connected to the walls of the house...

Trust me - your brick walls from a 1910 home are NOT load bearing and are backed-up to a stud wall...stud wall framing has been around since before the mid 1800's...

The steam and hot-water based heating systems are some of the most efficient - my father replaced a room sized boiler/furnace with a suitcase one for not too much cost - turned the remainder of the basement into a "train room" for me!

You can keep all the radiators and pipes as they are - recommend a thorough flushing and cleaning of the radiators and pipes to clean out all the residue that has built up and reduced the space of the pipes and radiators, and is acting like insulation between the steam or hot water and the metal...try stripping the radiators of all old layers of paint to get closer to the original metal, too...

[roseBudd]

14. I know it can be done, I just can't afford it due to the size & number of windows...

I have storms, I wedge styrofoam ropes into any gaps, have the brass strips around the perimeter of doors, utilize the southern exposure, keep it dark in the summer.

When my bathtub was removed from an exterior wall, demoing the tile required taking it down to the brick wall and there were no studs. I did take the opportunity to wedge pink panther under the bathroom floor and around the plumbing pipe behind the tile that was built out to allow plumbing on a solid exterior wall. I have Romex in PVC pipe on an exterior wall because the only other way is to gouge a channel in the plaster.

In addition the middle of my house has a loadbearing brick wall. My basement is actually 3 separate brick walled rooms and the foundation is rock. Built by Germans I believe.

When my dad installed 8" baseboards for me on an exterior wall he had to get those masonry screws in the brick. When I hung a cabinet I had to get the masonry screws into brick. The plaster is applied to the 2nd layer of brick. The outer layer is the fancy hard yellow brick.

[kestrel91316]

13. Sounds like my sister's house in WI full of original leaded glass windows.

Oh, well.

I can think of a lot of people who need a drastic change in their lifestyles, and you don't appear to be one of them! Enjoy the house.

I have an 18 yr old Honda Accord, and like you only put really short trips on it for the most part. It's only got 150k miles, lol.

[MasonJar]

6. As I understand it, Al Gore has high utility bills because he uses

more expensive, more energy efficient utilities.

[Clark2008]

8. I have a 2.5-story brick home built in 1944.

But I have insulation.

Is the difference because I have drywall?

I'm sure the walls and ceilings were redone at some point - they look newer than the age of the house.

[roseBudd]

9. I just know the brick houses built around the turn of the century have 2 layers of brick

and the plaster is directly on top of that on the exterior walls. Even though it's solid apparently brick walls lose heat, I guess because they are porous.

The reality is some of the worst insulated houses are owned by the people who are least able to afford to do anything about it.

[TankLV]

12. Not so. Read about it some more...stud wall framing was very prominent during the mid 1800's...

Even if by some chance YOUR particular house has NO stud framed walls, you can add a rigid insulation to the interior side and replace the plaster/drywall interior finish - only need a couple inches of insulation to get great insulation value - they have done it in Europe ever since WWII.

But it does take a bit of doing and it may not be as expensive as you fear...

The windows on the other hand would not be inexpensive if you want to be true to historical detail...

But, on the "good news" - double masonry wall DO provide "insulation" - the mass of the masonry does hold heat longer in the winter and stays cooler longer during the hottest part of the day in summer - the "time lag" effect of solid masonry and the "heat sink" theory of energy storage...

[roseBudd]

17. Plus I have 3 Burr Oaks, a Maple & a Cherry on the west that someday are going to greatly reduce

cooling. I say someday because those Burr Oaks are going to take awhile.

Oh and my roof is original slate with only a few tiles that are newer.

Old double hungs with storms can be quite efficient if you fill all the gaps in the doublehungs. I also cut old wool sweaters and place wool in the bottom between the storms and the window.

[lumberjack_jeff]

16. Bricks are poor insulators *because* they are solid.

They conduct heat to the colder outside soil/air.

I have to agree with Tank, that a house made of nothing but bricks - no structural members (that could be insulated between) - is unusual. Perhaps it is cost effective to talk to a contractor about your options. In my area the public utility district will do an energy audit and give advice.

[roseBudd]

19. I called my dad & he agreed with me, as he has seen it with his own eyes and drill...

that the whole house is supported by brick sitting on stone with only the middle of the house having studded walls. Because a back porch was enclosed and a butler pantry added, I even have an exterior very thick brick wall on the inside of my house. It's 15" thick. My interior studded walls on the first floor are 12" thick. On the third floor they are 8" thick.

There is no way you would want to pull all that woodwork off to build out the walls.

[TankLV]

10. The brick is just a veneer - you still have stud walls - you can inject insulation into the cavity

between the studs with small 1" holes that can be easily patched.

You can retrofit and retro-insulate an older house...

Not to mention REPLACEMENT of older doors and windows with new insulated ones that are duplicates of the original...

it might not be as expensive as you might imagine...

Just sayin...

[roseBudd]

15. There is no brick veneer, there are 2 rows of brick. I have seen enough demo in my neighborhood

to know these houses are 2 layers of brick thick. The plaster is applied to the brick on the exterior walls. Interior walls are studded with plaster & lathe.

This is an old German city, maybe Germans did it different.