The goal of this project is to turn our small, leaky, drafty house into a small, cozy house.  We are going to do this by performing what is known as a ‘Deep Energy Retrofit’ (DER).  This involves all the same steps as any typical renovation, with just a bit more attention to detail, some good planning, and a bunch more insulation than is typical.

The house is a 990 square foot house, with one floor of living space.  For such a small house, it has more than it’s share of challenges.  It has an previously (poorly) built addition with minimal insulation on pier ‘footings.’  The original volume of the house was built on a granite foundation with a dirt floor crawlspace. With 12 corners, it is a complicated shape for the size.  All of the windows, doors and most of the siding is in need of replacement or repair.  In short, this is a good candidate for a retrofit.

Just a short word about the process,  I am a builder by trade, and this is my house.  I am doing this DER with the funds and the time that is available to me, which are both limited.  We are a family of three with pets, and we all will be living here during renovation.  This is not recommended!  If you are doing extensive renovations to your house, move on out!  The limited budget, limited time and continuous occupancy of the house means that things take a long time, and are done out of proper construction sequence, and are in general more of a challenge than they need to be.  I guess that is the long way of saying, ‘Don’t try this at home, I’m a professional’