I own a 100 year old home which I adore!  After 100 years, it is standing with less then 1/8th of an inch settling.  Sometimes sustainability requires more time and better materials.  I am pro-purchasing old houses and restoring them using as many good materials as possible.  (The neighbors balked when I opted to replace all the missing pipes with copper instead of plastic! )

I would be interested in how other nerd girls are reusing as a source of design and sustainability!

I also have a house that is over 100 years old! It’s funny, though we still have almost all the original windows/storms, our heating bill is much less than many of our friends in new houses.  Right before we bought the place two years ago, it was gutted.  New electrical, plumbing, insulation, vapour barrier, and drywall.  There had been a big sag but it was jacked and a new steal beam put in.

When I watch the new suburb developments go in near me, I laugh at the fact that the wood in my house could build at least five in the development! I have always believed in buying quality the first time and using the best materials that will last.  Sometimes it appears less environmentally friendly at first to produce these materials, but what does that matter if the “friendlier” stuff ends up in the dump in half the time?

I’ll admit the idea of learning to restore a house is fascinating. (With skills like I’d be able to fix anything in the house should it break.) I just shy from embracing the idea for the cost and time investment.

janell - 20 July 2008 12:56 AM

just shy from embracing the idea for the cost and time investment.

I don’t blame you - I don’t think I could have done the updates to my house myself.  The fact that they came already done (and after any previous tenants lived there) made the house a must buy :)

At first I thought it was better to leave it to a professional. Then one professional took off with 3/5ths of our home equity loan (we are now aiming to put him in jail) , abandoning the contract and leaving the outside of the house in worse condition then it was in before. Then other workers did not install our bathroom floor correctly. It was a mess.

So my fiance and I decided to reclaim the reigns and now we have happily learned how to lay a ceramic floor (which would probably survive in one single peice even if a bomb went off in the room) and bathroom fixtures. We also know how to drywall.

In the end, we are saving money doing it ourselves. However, it takes a LOT longer because of the limited amount of time we can focus on the projects.

We randomly post about the work at:

http://www.xanga.com/homegrandeur

I agree, the best way is to do it yourself.  I am so stubborn and stingy with my money that I built my own house from the ground up (no I didn’t excavate and pour my own foundation).  I would get home from work and we would fire up generators and lights and frame away into the night.  It’s nice to know that I used plywood instead of OSB and that I can picture where just about every wire and pipe runs through my house.  And it is amazing that with some simple household tools, you too can build your own crane to hoist fully dressed end trusses to the second story top plates!!!

Truthfully, after sitting through the theory of shock and vibration, building your own house is a breeze!!!  The only trick was that I decided to start grad school at the same time!!!  Looking back - it sure is worth the $40K + of equity!!  Girls CAN do ANYTHING!!!

Julie - 28 July 2008 05:20 PM

I am so stubborn and stingy with my money that I built my own house from the ground up

Impressive!

I’ve always loved remodeling.

Something I noticed recently is that the farmers in my area build new barns but let the old barn just fall down. I wonder how difficult it would be to get those farmers to allow you to salvage the old barn and how expensive. I think you could get some really cool materials that way.

Restoring homes and converting them to more sustainable energy is amazing ! When I own a house those will surely be top of the list. For now anyway I find small things I can do to make for a more sustainable earth friendly life style. I stopped buying new clothing about 2 years ago. It’s amazing how much clothing is discarded in our consumer culture .Not to mention the new clothing is usually made in countries with disgusting labor laws.  I’ve also started growing a good portion of my own produce .  Getting rid of your car if it’s at all reasonable depending on where you live is great. I just traded in my car for a bicycle last year and it was the best thing I ever did.

I will inherit an old house and I can’t wait to have it and remodel it! We (my boyfriend and I) want to put solar sheets, we want the inside of the house super modern and ecologic and it also has a great garden were I want to plant vegetables and have some animals (not to kill them!). It will be like having a small and modern ranch in the city :D

Actually owning an old house is way more expensive for many renovations are to be considered in the house...I’m thinking that i would rather design a new home than buy an old house which i probably won’t know what are those other things that needs to be fixed.

Regards,
farrahdews
Prêt travaux

I’ve been living in a coop for 4 years now and its been such a good model for living sustainably. I’ve learned how to make it work even in a big old city!

I live in a house that has been 40 years old. Not yet 100 years old.:) Now I’m repairing the house because there is a need to renew. And I recycle items in my warehouse to make accessories on the wall. :)

remodeling is nice… if it has a new beautiful design

I can’t wait to remodel my first house! Solar panels and compost heaps and gardens oh my! But for now, I try to use up things around my house. I made my old band pins into cool refrigerator magnets, and a blanket out of my old band tshirts. Although I admit I’m still a shopaholic, I’ve started sewing a lot of my own clothes and refashioning old favorites. If you have even the teeniest bit of craftiness in you, I highly recommend giving it a try. I get most of my free patterns and inspiration at burdastyle.com
Working as an electrical and lighting engineer for an engineering firm that designs buildings, I have lots of opportunities to throw in energy savings. For example, I always spec florescent fixtures, and fight with the architect until they see things my way!