Work is progressing quickly in the new office.  The project is really a team effort with carpenters working around their own project schedules to get work done.  The partition walls for Craig’s new office are framed and sheetrocked.  Lead Carpenter Don Van Walsen is taping and spackling.  The plaster walls and ceilings throughout the building were patched earlier, so trim can begin in this room shortly.

Lead Carpenter Mike Payne is set up for cutting trim.  The cased opening shown in the foreground is built up to match the existing trim mouldings found throughout the house.  The opening was shifted and widened for traffic flow and sightline considerations.  

Carpenter Dave Wills removes cabinets from the existing kitchen.  The kitchen will receive a total gut demolition.  Peeling off layers of old flooring reveals some interesting tiles.  Anyone for a game of checkers?  

After removing plaster from the exterior wall of the kitchen, framing members are exposed.  Notice the diagonal bracing which provides lateral support to the balloon framing.  Also, notice the total lack of insulation in these walls.  It’s not uncommon in older homes to find uninsulated walls.  Naturally, this makes controlling indoor comfort levels much more difficult.  Also, it leads to a lot of wasted energy throughout heating and cooling season.  

In this case, most of the exterior plaster walls are staying intact, so the best solution is to have insulation blown in.  Blowing insulation can be accomplished from the interior or the exterior, depending on the situation.  We chose to have the insulation done from the exterior because it is less disruptive, and the aluminum siding can be easily removed and replaced after the retrofit is done.  The siding is removed one row at a time as needed.  A hole is drilled for each wall cavity and then filled.  When complete, the holes are plugged and the siding is “zipped” back into place.  

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Yes, tax time is again approaching, but that’s not the kind of audit I’m talking about.  I’m talking about a home performance audit.  The contraption above is a blower door.  The digital unit attached to the door is a manometer.  Together, these tools allow me to depressurize the building (honestly, it’s not as scary as it sounds) and measure how “leaky” the building is.  The test measured 5200 CFM@50.  To put that in context, based on the building’s characteristics, the airflow should ideally be between 1200 and 1700 CFM.  Long story short, we have a very leaky building, and plenty of opportunities for improvement!  

Blower door testing is only one aspect of a comprehensive home performance audit.  As an accreditted contractor in the Home Performance with Energy Star program, R. Craig Lord Construction is committed to helping homeowners save energy.  For more information on our home performance services, check out our updated webpage @ http://rcraiglord.com/home_performance.html.

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Here’s a before shot of the Farmhouse living room.  We’re transforming this space into the main office.  Craig’s office will we partitioned, so some planning is required to make sure everything will fit.  Our architect, Hank Croft, is working on several floorplans for us to consider.  

The existing windows add a lot of character to the building, but unfortunately they are in pretty rough shape.  All the windows will be reglazed and painted, and the exterior storm windows will be repaired or replaced as needed.  Beyond the aesthetic improvement, the reconditioned windows will provide some energy savings which is an important consideration for this project.

This attic window highlights some of the “opportunities” we have to improve the thermal envelope of this building.  Repairing windows and sealing air leaks will go a long way to saving energy and utility costs.  

In the Dining Room, we have an interesting built-in cabinet, adjacent to the masonry chimney.  We’ll try to preserve this detail. ?

  This old farmhouse has a lot of memories for me and my family. We lived here from 1984 to 1997. Both of our children came home from the hospital to this house. I worked on a neighboring farm during the summers of my ninth and tenth grade. The house was owned by Gladys Sheeder then and she was the one who we bought it from. It was constructed in 1860 and features 10 foot high ceilings on the first floor, plaster walls and wide plank floors. While we definitely fixed up the house when we lived there, we never fully restored the place. I knew like an old jewel it would shine if I ever got the chance to do it right.            ?