Efficiency (a short rant on)

This was a short outtake from the Lauraville article -- (guess it was the mood I was in)

It seems today that as with the current economic climate, and thanks to years upon years of replacement window talk, our collective mind seems to scroll to and tries to plug in a word here. Many would have us corralled, and I will say it, into believing that “Energy-Efficiency” is nirvana.

Now, you may sense where I am going here, and don’t get me wrong, part of being house smart and responsible, or may I dare say being “green”, is being energy-efficient. But there is so much more to it.

How energy-efficient are you, after all, if your house well-insulated and caulked, sits a long commute from where you work. How house smart is it for us to put up new homes in new communities when there are so many gems still begging to be uncovered and reclaimed?

Efficiency, for our purposes here, is about knowing yourself and knowing your surroundings. It’s about being part of the reality we live in. It is about making efficient, hence economical, decisions to match your home and life plans.

---

More Moxie:

I do still intend to do a post on energy tax credits -- though I am sure you can find this in several places now. . . Here is a link to an article in July 2009 issue of Chesapeake Home. Props and thank you: http://tinyurl.com/n5zgz5

a look at a Lauraville bungalow (Part 1 of 2)

The original efficient home
For Lauraville

Maybe you have seen what is happening in Lauraville. The Red Canoe, Zeke’s Coffee, The Chameleon Café, and others dot the main street landscape. Sure you have, you have seen it. As you quietly make your commute to and from wherever you work in the city of Baltimore, you notice the changes along Harford Road.

Harford Road has always been one of the primary corridors into and from downtown Baltimore. But here, now, you are seeing it, along this strip of roadway: revitalization. And on your next trip through, just past the Safeway and before you hit the park at Herring Run, turn your head to the right. You will find Overland Avenue.

Up that road lined with tall maples, and follow me with a Google-mapping eye, you’ll get a 100-level survey in one of our area’s earliest suburbs. You’ll see Gothic and Colonial revivals, French and Victorian-detailed cottages, your classic foursquare, and a few house styles that I can’t squarely categorize.

And a little ways up and around the bend, packed in a short row of houses that look strangely similar, a breed of house different from the others you have just seen. There, set atop a pitching lot, the windows under a shed dormer stare. They look down on you at the street and proudly say, “I am an American bungalow.”

Continue to zoom, though, moving through to the other side of the front door and in through the living room, passed the dining room, and into the kitchen, you will likely find AJ and Kenneth sipping coffee at the table in their breakfast nook.

Or, at least, this is how I found them on this rainy Saturday morning. This Saturday, you see, I joined a representative of the Neighborhoods of Greater Lauraville (NOGLI) with designs of discussing this bungalow and AJ’s and Kenneth’s remodeling of, their work on, it.

If houses were to have names, we’ll call this one – Anneth

Quickly, I took these guys as renaissance men. AJ’s Lucinda Williams t-shirt said, “I am a musicologist.” It was only few minutes later that this was, in fact, confirmed. A musician and a guitar builder, AJ teaches 3D woodworking at one of city’s prominent private schools. AJ bought this house in 1997, and he is quick to take the lead.

Then, it is Kenneth’s turn. I don’t recall what exactly he said first, looking up from his iBook laptop, but oh, British, I think. My eyes peel back over his left shoulder, from the garden at the rear of the yard, up the steps of the large multi-tiered deck, through the bank of windows that wraparound the addition there. Then, I focus. And after a few preliminary questions, I ask, “So. Is this it? Is this the house?”

Kenneth answers, “People always ask,” and he pauses, “if you could go anywhere, right now, where would it be?” He quickly provides the answer to that question. “I always say, right here,” he said, “Looking out from this table in the morning, I am happy just watching the birds.” Oh, and it hits me: Scottish. And they do have several tall bird feeders planted in their yard often gathering birds with earnest.

Developments in the Northeast (The year after Anneth was built?)

I have read it: I have read Eric Holcomb’s City as Suburb, a well-written history of our place here in Northeast Baltimore. It winds through the years of farming and gentrification, from the time of country retreat, to the full evolution into city suburb.

The year was 1918, and it’s in there; it’s in the book. The year after Anneth was deeded. The country was becoming more industrialized; building systems, too, were finding a new level of standardization and repeatability. With it, Baltimore grew. She expanded into her outlying areas.

Easily accessible home designs were delivered on the backs of improved over-rail and over-road transportation. And Lauraville, annexed by the city that year, was ripe for an explosion of single family homes. One could make the argument now that the development occurring here may have been America’s first housing boom.

As the foursquares began to pop from pages of pattern books and mail order catalogues, another house style was irrevocably affixing itself to the local landscape. With international roots and a strong contingent of vocal proponents, the bungalow was just there beginning its journey to American icon.

At that time, the bungalow turned a modest man’s hope for a little plot of land and a house of one’s own into, well, reality. For many, it symbolized the good life. The bungalow, in 1918, was the embodiment of the New American Dream.

The bungalow – or the ‘low for short

The bungalow by definition is a one- or one-and-a-half-story house; they are still built today. For me, it works. Bungalows or ‘lows (a memory tool) are horizontal, and are low to the ground. They spread typically under a low-pitching roof and overhanging eaves, with most of its mass running from the front of a property to the rear.

Most are adorned with at least a front porch. All are draped with ample windows for air flow and light. In principle, the idea of the bungalow, at least in its day, was to fit as much living as possible into a relatively small space. Typically, as with Anneth, this meant a forward-facing first floor living room and one or two bedrooms nearby.

The bungalows, at the time of their proliferation, were practical. Their practicality, though, in cost of construction and in scale, seemed to extend beyond its physicality. No space designed without purpose, these bungalows lock into their surroundings like few home designs before them.

The idealists would say: This is architecture communing with nature. With foundations built often of indigenous materials, and many meant to stand like they are almost naturally exiting the earth, the exterior dimensions force themselves indoors to create cozy settings for family bonding and other activities.

AJ meet your new old home

Was it an arranged marriage? No. AJ admits when he was shopping some twelve years ago, he was drawn first to row homes elsewhere in the city. Some of these, you may know, have been maintained with a preservationist’s hand. Others, as AJ points out, are tattooed with cheap paneling, and fail horribly at hiding their years of neglect.

With many of these, you get a downtown setting, stretching up three floors. It can be appealing, especially if the price tag is right. And in 1997, for AJ, it may have been. He was ready to go, but he also had some thinking to do.

With three floors come stairs; maybe a few more than one guy needs. You see, AJ knew some things. He knew more house, of course, means more to furnish and clean, more to upkeep, more to heat and cool, and more square footage to use for the calculation of taxes. More house, in general, means more money and more long-term expense. Were there row homes that were priced right? Maybe. But were these economical for AJ? Maybe not.

Then, on the recommendation of his real estate agent, he turned to Lauraville. Was it in the right location? Well, yeah. Close to downtown, and close to Towson. Still only a five-mile drive to work for AJ. This bungalow on Overland Ave. was perfect for him. But still there was a little room to grow.

Home as extension of self

As an employee of Constellation Energy, and working with BG&E specifically, I think Kenneth dropped it first, and my thoughts quickly rolled with it that morning. The discussion turned briefly to the word “Efficiency.” And this piece follows.

And here with Anneth, AJ and Kenneth make a great study. This bungalow suits them well. Efficiency with them has been about designing, and implementing a home plan that flows with their lifestyle. Not just energy-efficient, but totally efficient.

“It’s about freedom and choice,” Kenneth said, “Not being tied to your house and its financial demands.” For him, the Lauraville bungalow gives them the flexibility to travel and to recreate. AJ adds, “You always want to keep an eye on value; you know, you never want to overbuild.”

As they proceed to list of some of the work they have done, (and we will discuss in the 2nd part of this article) it appears these thoughts have never been too far from the backs of their minds. The decking, the retrofitted AC units, and the bathroom and kitchen remodels all fit into the overall goal of making this house a home, and an efficient, energy and otherwise, one at that.

So here, I again ask myself: doesn’t all renovation, and further any home, start with the person(s) and the sensibilities they bring to the various home projects?

The best of both worlds

Holcomb tells us that when Lauraville and communities that surround her were developed, large plots of land were sub-divided and sold to builders in small tracks. (This explains a lot in our area.) Hence, as I have suggested above, some house styles were often repeated one next to the other.

But does this mean that Anneth is cookie cutter? No way. Sure almost identical houses appear on either side of it, but AJ and Kenneth have made this one their own. Then, or now, it has always been about taking it and putting a unique, personalized touch on it.

Through the years, the bungalow’s exterior has been dressed with elements from almost every significant architectural movement. With Anneth, these guys added a large multi-tiered deck stepping down to a well-groomed garden. A great investment, in style, and Now, of course, but that project in all ways exemplifies the early architects’ vision of house connected with nature.

But let us take it just one little step further, and provide the 21st century urban take. Kenneth continues, “It’s the best of both worlds. Community and Privacy.” House connected with not only nature, but also with community. And in Lauraville, you will find that, not just on Overland Avenue.

Note there is a little uncertainty surrounding the year that Anneth was actually built. If new discoveries come to light, I will provide. Please see Part 2 dedicated to what AJ and Kenneth have done and still plan to do (Coming on or around May 1). Thanks to Kenneth too for providing pics.

Next in this Series: The Bridge :: http://www.agentsofmoxie.com/2009/05/look-at-lauraville-bungalow-bridge.html

---

More Moxie:

Greater Lauraville Home & Garden Tour (June 13th, 2009): http://www.greaterlauraville.com/HGTour09.html
Eric Holcomb's book City as Suburb: http://www.upress.virginia.edu/books/holcomb.html
For a Great Overview on Bungalows: http://www.ambungalow.com/AmBungalow/home.htm
Your Local Lauraville Agent: Jennifer Ingool -- jennifer.ingool@longandfoster.com
Google Maps -- Street View: http://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&tab=wl

(If Albert Einstein was a Builder)

PSL – Plumb, Square, and Level
When you say “PSL” around here and maybe in your city too, everyone’s first thought goes to “Personal Seat License.” You know that ridiculous fee you must pay that gives you the right to buy tickets for events at a stadium near you. In this case, where I come from, I am talking about the Baltimore Ravens and M&T Bank Stadium.

No, I won’t let this turn into some diatribe about what us Baltimoreans know as the PSL, instead let me drop right into my topic for this piece. When I say PSL here I am using it instead as an acronym for the construction ideal of Plumb, Square, and Level. When you live and work in home improvement and/or building, these three things are your friend. Every nanometer that you move closer to these states, your life and the balance of it become much more true.

Ok, that might have been a little over the top and maybe even a little “mystic”, but the point is: When constructing anything you are very dependent on who, what, and how things came before you. Let’s for example say, while it is not totally impossible, it is certainly much easier to install a perfectly level tile floor over perfectly level subfloor. And it is much easier to install a perfectly level subfloor over joints that are true and perfectly level, and. . . ., well, you get point.

But let’s run with that. Plumb, Square, and Level are really only relative states. And this becomes all the more clear when you live and work in old houses. (I will get back to that in a bit.) But let’s think about it. Aren’t these ideals really just judged in relation to, well, the earth and the movement of time?

The earth and the world we live in
Plumb, for example, is the state or description of being perfectly vertical or perpendicular, yeah, to the earth. Level is the state or description of being perfectly horizontal or parallel to the earth. These things are true. But as Einstein might want to tell us, these things are also totally relative.

For us, our time-space curve here is drawn on a very localized scale. So stop. Think about it; Einstein was right. Everything, including those things we measure with tools and instruments, is relative, and must be viewed with that knowledge in mind.

Plumb and level: there, that takes care of two planes for us. Oh, but wait, there’s a third. That’s right, square. As if there wasn’t enough pressure for your home project already: Plumb, Level, and now Square. Yep, in my big monster truck voice, “It’s in 3D Dee Dee Dee. . . .” As level and plumb as you can make things, they won’t be right unless they are also perfectly square.

And what is square? Well, other than that cat who doesn’t smoke cigarettes, of course, a square is a shape. A square is, in fact, a polygon (meaning it has multiple sides) for which all angles are 90 degrees. These angles are called, strangely enough, right angles.

Enough with the geometry, and in the fear that this might turn into a study of etymology, I move on. Square for our purposes is when two surfaces (usually with some substantial vertical definition and hopefully plumbed) oppose each other at exactly 90 degrees.

Simple enough, right? (It’s rhetorical.) Well, not when you live in an old house, and especially not in mine.

Props to Einstein
In my line of work (I am trying to be funny there), I get this question occasionally. “JB,” people ask, “I live in an old house. Should I be worried that the floor (in this or that location) sags a little?” My answer usually starts with a question of my own, “How much does it dip?” The answer usually is something like, “Well, I can feel it,” or “I can see it, but what do you expect; my house is 70 years old.”

That’s right, what would you expect?

At this point, I always bring up the case when I was tasked with installing a mirror above my youngest daughter’s dresser. Equipped with my screw gun, my drill bits, some hollow-wall anchors, and with a two-foot level, I went to work. I found the center point, leveled my hangers, and hung the mirror – perfectly level to, well, the earth.

I stepped back as I always do for a look. Man, it looked off, but the mirror was perfectly level. What is the problem here? Well, you see, the floor in my daughter’s room was, guess what, out of level. In the back corner of the house, it pitched downward by about a quarter of an inch or more. The floor sags there. And with a mirror -- perfectly level, hung in relation above a dresser sitting on that out of level floor, the perception was that the mirror was “out of whack.”

This really was an easy enough fix. I guess I could have propped up the dresser, but for me on this day, I instead threw my level aside and simply measured from the top of the dresser. I aligned the hangers, that’s right a full 1/4” out of level. I re-hung the mirror and I stepped back. That looked perfect.

The gravity, or is that the gravitation, of things
This effect is referred to by engineers as deflection. For a textbook definition, deflection is the degree to which a structural element is displaced under a load. In this case, with the saggy floors in our houses, this is the force applied from what is called a dead load, and a certain unrevealed weight.

Some of you reading this might say, “Oh, settlement.” Yes, settlement, that uncontrollable phenomenon that occurs pretty consistently throughout the life of a house. Most commonly, settlement, not to be confused with the expansion and contraction of wood products, manifests as cracks in wall surfaces and in doors that no longer seem to close just right. Settlement.

Settlement is the product of course of a force that we sometimes take for granted: gravity. Gravity, oversimplified, is the effect or phenomenon by which objects of mass attract each other. And as smart as we the builders are, we still have not quite figured out how to neutralize its effects. We simply plot against it, and sometimes, as is the case with my mirror from above, just have to roll with it.

PSL – Perfectly Sensible Livability
When I was doing service work for builders, I found myself saying this frequently; I was trained to do so, “That’s within tolerance.” Whose tolerance, what tolerance; I mean, I am pretty sure that there is not a section in the International Residential Building Code labeled Tolerances.

Ok, I guess what I mean here is that in construction there are certain deviations from the expected ideal of Plumb, Square, and Level that are, well, tolerable. Of course, if you slap a wall up (and again relative) on an unlevel surface, and don’t focus on plumbing (making vertical) that wall, you might be at the mercy of the center of its gravity and some lateral movement in the future. Over time, that thing in theory could fall over.

With our deflecting floors, though, what are the options? Deal with it, or not. And what does the “or not” mean? Well, I really haven’t expended that much thought on this topic, but I have to assume we are talking something like “house jacking.”

Yep, jacking the house up and addressing the issues. In cases, of course, where you cannot access framing members, this might mean the removal of wall, interior or exterior, and/or ceiling material.

In extreme cases, this of course may require the participation of a structural engineer. And structural engineers, these people are smart. And smart people usually make good money. So. . .as always, me and with my wallet, I will usually choose to live with something like that sagging floor.

Jacking it up aka remodeling
In remodeling, however, you usually get opportunities to square things up. Make them true, usually by adding to a problematic area. With an out of plumb wall, for example, this may mean adding additional studs; with a floor, this might mean installing a sleeper system (define), and so on. The point here is that it is usually a good idea to plan and budget for (what I usually write into my schedules as) “Floor Prep” and/or “Wall Prep”.

Though it usually is the most labor intensive and the most frustrating portion of any remodeling job, I just can’t skip this step. I know that so much depends on what came before, and/or what is immediately below, in front, or perpendicular to us.

And so if Einstein was a builder, his postulate might read:

PSL is relative. We, as members of all collective humanity, are really the only items that need be Plumb, Square, and Level. Take one for the team, and always, always, trust your eyeball.

---

More Moxie:
I have heard that the inventor of the modern day level was the founder of this company: http://www.empirelevel.com/

For an overview on choosing and using squares: http://www.thisoldhouse.com/toh/article/0,,403568-2,00.html

One of my favorite tools -- the plumb bob: http://www.bobvila.com/HowTo_Library/The_Plumb_Bob-Hand_Tools-A2055.html