Eco-Renovation: Recycling or Toxic Madness

Many of the articles here are devoted to some very explicit technical information related to green building and healthy housing. In this feature  we depart from that cutting edge techno-rap to talk about our experience of remodeling an older home in Benzie County.  In the midst of such a project, one can’t help but reflect upon the values and challenges inherent in such a huge undertaking.

Remodeling is a strange dance that some of us are drawn to for many reasons.  And although there are those who swear they will never do it again, others of us can’t help but envision new possibilities for the beauty that a space can become.  The thrill of transformation beckons us as well as the commitment to reduce, re-use and recycle.

Is it possible to renovate in an earth friendly manner?  What does it take and why bother?  Isn’t it easier just to tear it down and start over?  The impact upon the earth’s resources in terms of “total embodied energy” is greatly reduced by repairing what already exists as opposed to building new.  The costs associated with bulldozing, landfilling refuse and sourcing all new materials and labor to rebuild are high.  Even considering all the hassles of dealing with a building that may not have been well-designed to begin with, that has been altered periodically to suit popular trends and materials, that is no longer plumb or level and has substandard structural, electrical or mechanical systems, recycling an existing structure can make sense.

Maybe it’s a masochistic rescue mentality or some incurable, domestic romantic virus that keeps us doing this for others, and now for ourselves, after all these years.  It’s dirty tough work and you may wonder if it is really worth the effort to tear out materials that may expose us to a plethora of toxic dusts from previous building practices.  We use high quality dust masks and take ample doses of vitamins and herbs to bolster our immune systems while doing this work!  

We embarked on remodeling a home for ourselves that was first built in the 1940’s.  A lot of those awful layers have had to be removed and cleaned up before we could began to rebuild.  Getting down to the essence of the house and recreating a place of beauty is gave us the opportunity to reclaim the house as home and to remove impediments to the energy flow.  It is a process that puts at bay the forces of decay and unconsciousness compiled there over the past 60 years.

So how is our eco-remodeling going?  Since we, like most people, are on a limited budget, we must sometimes delay our eco-ideals to meet our current reality.  Our new electrical service isn’t off the grid, but we have decreased electro-magnetic fields by using shielded MC cable throughout the house and paying careful attention to wiring runs.  Electrical currents in the bedrooms can be switched off completely at night, and a having dimmer switches helps to reduce indoor EMF exposure. 

Plumbing service was upgraded to copper supply and ABS plastics for waste piping.  PVC is very toxic to manufacture and can impact indoor air quality with off gassing.  All of our plumbing fixtures are reclaimed and in perfect shape.

Sub-floors and roof sheathing are one inch-plus-thick rough sawn planks.  Wood framing materials are about half recycled/reclaimed lumber and half new (probably not sustainably harvested).  Wall insulation is straw clay.  Cellulose was blown in the ceiling cavities and miscellaneous fiberglass batts from the existing structure are being re-used in floor and wall cavities for soundproofing.  Land filling the torn out material made little sense when there certainly was still a place for it here.

Many windows and doors are reclaimed.  Interior and exterior wall surfaces are clay and lime stucco plasters rather than drywall.  Wood finishes are from Land Ark, who make high-quality, natural finishing oils and waxes.  We used AFM  hypoallergenic, low VOC paints, Bioshield and American Pride paints and glazes tinted with plant and mineral pigments for the plaster walls.

Exposed rafter tails and board roof sheathing eliminated the need for soffit and fascia.  Floor coverings in the bathrooms are ar ceramic tile and real linoleum made of cork, linseed oil, chalk, pine resins and jute.  Refinished wood floors are on the main floor and local hardwoods on the stairs & second level.  Cabinetry is a variety of locally grown solid wood.

This project, like most, is full of compromises.  The house came with a forced air furnace —our least favorite way to heat.  We had pre-plumbed the new upstairs for hot water baseboard heat.  Within a few years the forced air furnace was indeed replaced with a hot water boiler.  The well-insulated, passive solar qualities of the structure and a  wood stove minimize the use of this system.  We were not pleased to report that we settled for an asphalt shingle roof—again the least favorite option.  We would have preferred a recycled rubber tile roof or concrete tiles but our budget would not allow for it.  We would also love to be generating our own electricity.

Feng Shui and sacred architecture have influenced the 10,000 decisions we have made, but it will never be perfect.  Still, our 800 square foot cottage is became a 1600 square foot bungalow with our name all over it.

Yes, some things cost more.  Working with reclaimed lumber is slow and labor intensive.   Thank goodness for our friends who came and helped us pull nails from our stack of old (but full sized) boards.  The work of mixing straw clay and stuffing it into wall cavities can be fun with many hands.  We invited our community together and 50 brave souls showed up to get really muddy and get well fed!  Hand plastering walls takes time.  Extra detailing throughout takes planning and patience.  The struggles and stresses involved in this work teach us to be gentle with ourselves and each other while drawing forth the courage to create that which has real substance and value for the long term.

These are some of the things that make a house into a hand-made-with-love home that is kind to the earth.  The creation of home nurtures the soul.  Creating beauty and living lightly nurtures our planet, which nurtures us as well.

There’s no place like home.

Audrie Brown contributed to this article