Eco-Friendly Renovations Part 5 – Oakshire Road
This is the fifth 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
The Art of the Small (Green Project)
Renovations projects do not have to be large and conspicuous to help lead us to a greener future. This is illustrated by a series of projects completed by Greenbuilders, Inc. over the past two years at the home of Merritt Pridgeon and Phil Closius on Oakshire Road in Mt. Washington, each at a cost of $7-15,000.
The first call was for a drainage problem. Experts had informed the owners that their main storm drain on one side of the house was clogged and could not be repaired without costly digging up of the vegetated hillside between the house and the street storm drain. We proposed instead to create a new drain from the downspouts to the vegetated hillside, with the end area protected with broken rocks salvaged from an earlier project. This was inexpensive and, most important, stormwater dispersed this way into vegetation returns to the aquifer where it’s needed, not to the Chesapeake Bay, where it is too rich and polluted to be useful.
While we were there, we installed a whisky barrel as a rainbarrel, on a drystacked platform of local stone, and two small fountains to give interest and the sound of water for the homeowners’ favorite patio.
The second project was to create a special space for the woman of the house, on the third floor in a little-used room. Merritt wanted to keep the original floor of wide boards, so we sanded lightly and added several layers of nontoxic finish in tints of natural with purple and sand overtones to remind her of a beach cottage from her childhood. The finishing touch was an oversized sunflower painting in the middle of the floor, honoring Merritt’s fondness for this flower.
Next to this private space was a guest bathroom. We had many ideas for rearranging and expanding this space, but the clients eventually decided to conserve materials and money by leaving everything where it was. We replaced what needed updating and added a shower with glass wall and door, mounted European style on the edge of the tub. This looked great but took up no additional room.
For a green finish, the clients decided to try clay plaster in a sea foam color. Clay plaster is made from — clay (from New Mexico) and a natural colorant. The material is trowelled on by hand as a sanded primer and two coats of clay, then hard trowelled to produce a smooth but textured finished surface. The material is completely nontoxic and acts as a natural humidifier, absorbing moisture when there’s dampness, and releasing it when the air is dry. Best of all, cleaning is a snap.
Most recently, the clients called Greenbuilders just before putting in a concrete parking pad next to the garage. “Is there any way to do this green?” was the question? We thought a few minutes and asked “What about cobblestones?” The result is beautiful with salvaged cobbles in a subtle shading of stone tones, set in stone dust so the surface is water permeable.
Green “points” are earned for the reused material and for avoiding the use of concrete (making concrete is one of the major sources of pollution in the US). Reduction of stormwater runoff and an appearance consistent with the historic neighborhood were also project benefits.
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