Eco-Friendly Renovations Part 2 – Crest Road
Completed Addition
2005: Crest Road
This is the second in a series of articles about green building and renovating in Mount Washington. The articles were all written by Polly Bart, a PhD who has been working as a builder for more than 20 years. Polly founded Greenbuilders, Inc. in 2004. The company mission is to help change the construction industry to better preserve and restore the environment. Greenbuilders accomplishes this through “green” home renovations and additions, and through consulting on commercial projects. Each story will focus on a different project in Mount Washington; as each home and family in Mount Washington is different, so are the green choices and impacts of each of the projects. – SK
David and Amanda Conn loved their home on Crest Road, which had belonged to David’s step-mother, but with two lively children and visits from family, it was just not large enough for the family’s needs. With architect Julie Gabrielli living next door, it was easy to get help. Julie made a sketch plan for an addition next to the living room. Not only would the new space expand the family’s living room, but it would also form a perfect guest apartment when the door was closed with a Murphy bed that could be pulled down from behind mirrored doors. A modern guest bath and space to make a cup of coffee or a snack completed the floor plan for the addition.
Completed Addition Exterior
Going green wasn’t originally the couple’s primary motivation for their design. However, when work began with builder Polly Bart of Greenbuilders, that changed. Amanda and David were soon happily bringing home spectacular cherry flooring and energy efficient French doors to provide a separate entrance, all from a supplier who specialized in small quantity sales of materials which otherwise might not have been used. They found good value and also minimized their use of resources. The team reused elements from a small room that was torn down from the existing house for the new space, including all the windows and two bookcases which were reconfigured to create floor-to-ceiling built-ins for the addition.
Completed Guestroom
The greatest builder challenge was matching the historic extra-long shingles on the original house. This had Polly’s carpenter talking to himself and writing calculations to get the look just right. The Conns also requested that existing old brick from a walkway be salvaged to connect the new addition with the same look as the rest of the house; Gary the bricklayer worked hard to make the patterns and colors match. The extra effort paid off when the Mt. Washington Improvement Association visited the property and recognized it for an award. The Mount Washington newsletter from Fall 2006 reported that “The judges commented that the entry was a ‘sensitive addition that could easily be mistaken for part of the original house. [The addition] ingeniously accommodates a variety of functions in a very limited space.’ ”
Damaged Porch
The green movement has spread because it feels good and one action tends to lead to others. The following year the Conns were back with a new project, and this one turned out to be “deep green.” The Conn house is graced with a large traditional porch overlooking the back yard, with handsome curved wood railings and columns that span the whole rear of the house. There was water damage, and conventional builders recommended removing the wood railing and replacing it with a synthetic. David and Amanda consulted with Greenbuilders and learned that for half the cost, the damage could be repaired by a local craftsman, Mark Supik, who specializes in woodturning, and the wood railing and columns could be restored and retained.
Porch Under Repair
Curved Porch with Wood Repaired (before painting)
The result is lovely, but it is also a lesson in how we spend our renovation dollars. Instead of burning their money in fuel to bring a synthetic product in a container ship from China or Brazil, the Conns’ investment in their house was also an investment in supporting the work of skilled local craftspeople like woodturner Mark Supik, the bricklayer who laid everything by hand to create the matching walkway, and the carpenter who worked so hard to get their shingles just right. Buying local isn’t just about food!
Completed Back Porch
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