Week 3: Everything seems to be about things made from metal…

The second floor is REALLY progressing, with the spaces being defined by the framing. We discovered that the storage areas behind our future master bedroom closets are large enough for a person to stand in—more than adequate amounts of storage that should be easy to get to if the HVAC system doesn't disrupt them too much.

HVAC: we had a meeting to address concerns that too long a run of ducting would result in an inefficient system, particularly since the duct diameters are limited by a lack of space. The solution involves high-wall vents and some re-arrangement of ducts in the closets. We are also considering the alternatives for the HVAC system itself—debating the merits of a no-CFC (chlorofluorocarbon)—but likely less efficient—system to a CFC-charged, more efficient system. 

We have chosen a steel roof for the house. This is more efficient and environmentally friendly than composite shingles, and will last A LOT longer. Metal is also consistent with a Texas aesthetic, and the neighborhood has a number of examples as precedent. I have done some Photoshopping of a photo of the house to get an idea of what it will look like. (This will help us choose colors for the outside of the house, too.)

We have discussed a rainwater collection system, and I fantasize about a yard that is watered 100% by rainwater that is collected and distributed by a drip system as needed. We will investigate the options. 

We have spent time this week considering appliances—looking at those that have the highest efficiency ratings, particularly. Also choosing bathroom fixtures—a tub, toilet (low-flow!), a sink, countertops (recycled glass/terrazzo-style!) and tile.

—Michael

Photo by Kenny Braun

Here's how things went on week 2:

Construction is proceeding strikingly rapidly...

The roof is breached, and the new upstairs gables have made their appearance. The stairway leads to the new second floor! The LVLs and structural members have all been installed, and the subfloor as well (made from a green composite board material). The old kitchen has been dismantled, and the closet removed, and we can see for the first time how spacious the new kitchen area will be—it's wonderful. We have uncovered more history mysteries of the house—where previous walls existed, or may have existed. We have interesting discussions about the original layouts of the house, reflecting on how folks lived earlier in the century. 

The leveling of the house on top of the piers is proceeding along with the construction. The house needs time to settle into a new position, and it IS taking its time. We'll have to keep watching it and hoping it settles well. It's like reshaping a parallelogram, or trying to get a box with 4 corners to sit flat—sometimes the sides have to be coaxed to settle, and it just takes time. Bill Moore, our contractor, is a patient man, and he understands the house. I'm confident.

We visited Discovery in Gonzales, Texas, and met Brad, the owner. He buys and collects building materials, architectural details, and components from old houses, and refurbishes and resells them for renovations and additions. He has plenty of reclaimed long-leaf pine flooring that we could use for the new upstairs floor, as well as doors, doorknobs, even siding. A good resource for this job!

—Michael

Homeowner Michele Grieshaber with green builder Bill Moore
Photo by Kenny Braun 

How do you get the best and "green-est" builder in Austin to work on your project? You beg.   

We met Bill during a green building tour this past summer. He was stationed in the kitchen of an incredible house on the south side of town. There was a crowd surrounding him, asking questions about the strawboard cabinets (his cabinet guy hated every minute of it, but they looked beautiful) and the difficulties of sealing a flat roof. It took us awhile to make our way towards him.

When you first see Bill you notice three things: his height (he's very tall), his beard (think Amish or captain of a whaling ship) and his belt buckle (bronze version of carpenter's tools). 

We told him about our project and asked him if he'd consider taking it on. We expected to start in August (the best laid plans...) and were days away from making our final choice on contractors. He was already very busy. Several projects in the works. But a plea from a friend of ours who had Bill put a gable on her house 18 years ago caused him to consider us seriously. He visited with us at the site. He spoke old Austin house dialect (pier and beam, shiplap walls, box construction). We sensed he'd be sensitive and understand the soul of the house. A few days and many phone calls later he agreed to take us on.

Our instincts were right. He and his crew really care about this project. They are professional, extremely skilled and FAST. Austin has the oldest Green Building program in the country and Bill was the third guy working with it. He thinks outside himself. He really believes in sustainability and social responsibility. It's not a business model, it's genuine. 

And, he has a sense of humor. After all, he posed for this picture with me—a parody of American Gothic, complete with a carpenter's level in place of a hay rake.

Thank heavens he agreed to work with us. He had me at the belt buckle.

—Michele

photo by Stephen Karlisch

On October 2, This Old House began filming, and the house began to be transformed. Michele was very concerned at first—she LOVES this house—and she refused to go over and see the holes in the ceilings. But about a week after the first filming session, when things REALLY got moving, she did come over. There was trepidation, but also excitement, I think, in seeing the design beginning to come to life.

The house was being leveled. They built the stairs first, removing a downstairs closet. We found the old tacked-up wallpaper still on the ship-lap boards that formed the walls of the house. The historical nature of the building was being uncovered, layer by layer. We will preserve samples of the old wallpaper, of course.

The wood throughout the house—framing and finishes—is longleaf pine, from virgin-growth forests that used to cover the southeastern part of the US. It's dense, with a beautiful tight grain. But it's extinct today; there are no forests like this left. So it's important to us to preserve as much of the wood as possible and re-use it in the construction, both to satisfy our desire to recycle, and to preserve this extremely beautiful, difficult to find resource.

—Michael

photo by Stephen Karlisch

[Ed. note: This is the first post from the homeowners of the newest TOH TV project, in Austin, Texas. To get a little background on this renovation-in-progress, click here.]

We launched our project on October 2. The house is a 1920's 2/1 Craftsman bungalow (meaning two bedrooms, one bathroom) in the historic Hyde Park District in Austin, north of the University of Texas campus. Michele has owned the house for 10 years, and I have owned my larger house in Northwest Hills, six miles away, for the same amount of time. When we got married last spring, we decided we would to add a second story to her house. We wanted to be near the center of town, where the houses are closer together, in a neighborhood where we could walk or bike to grocery stores, coffee shops, restaurants, parks and, of course, to our friends' houses.

We're downsizing, but that's good because we want to reduce our dependence on physical "things." We want to live a simpler lifestyle than the ones that seem to be more and more prevalent around us. We tend toward reducing consumption in general, so we really need a house that we can cool without using a lot of air conditioning. That means screened porches and windows and doors that we can open and leave open.

But that's not our only concern. We need to accommodate my two sons in the house, and a 2/1 bungalow is just not enough. Not only that, but we enjoy entertaining—and I like to cook—so a kitchen that lets us socialize during meal prep is important. So we're putting on an addition and redoing the kitchen.

We want the addition to seem like it's part of the original design of the house, so we've hired an architect with a portfolio that shows he knows how to maintain some stylistic integrity and be respectful of the neighborhood look and feel while still meet our space needs. David Webber provided a design for an 800 square foot addition to the 1500 square foot house that did this in a way that we think will work perfectly. Keep following our renovation, and you'll see what we mean.

—Michael