New York Renovator

This is rather disturbing. It’s a mindless, meaningless USB gadget. Don’t we have ENOUGH gadgets clogging up the world yet?

This time it’s a little LED message board. It can be programmed to display any message and even bother you with audio. It’s touted as a way to “leave a message” when, perhaps, you are away from your computer for a while. Helloo?? Energy crisis? Do we really need to waste energy for something so trifling? What’s next, USB-powered handcrafted jewelry with neon lights? If you have to leave a message while you’re away, why not just write a note on paper?

Here’s the video, see for yourself.

The reason why such clutter is becoming more aggravating to me is because my area in New York State is the target of a proposed behemoth power line transmission path. A company wants to invoke eminent domain to slice through our towns so they can install a 200-mile path of power lines to New York City. They say that NYC is running out of power, and Upstate towns must bear the burden. Boy, that steams me like nothing else! Grrrr.

I’ve mentioned the weatherization grant for which we were approved. It’s sponsored by my power company, National Grid, and my county (Oneida) in New York. You can read about the energy audit I had here, and a little more about the grant here. I am very grateful that something like this is available; even the smallest efforts have helped immensely. I received up to 10 of those fancy compact flourescent bulbs (they last as long as ten years and save scads of energy), and had some insulating done here. They would have insulated the walls of the house, but because there are bricks in between the studs, they coulldn’t. That would have saved me $7,000. Oh well.

So they pulled into the driveway this morning with their huge van that looked more like a New York Moving Company van. All their “stuff” was in there. The two workers were very friendly; they took all day but the job looks so good! And it costs me nothing! They insulated the rim joists, which is that area where the top of the stone foundation and the bottom of the wooden structure of the house rest. It’s a major heat sink. I think they did a marvelous job! I’m so glad I didn’t have to do it, lol.

I am especially happy about the rim joist insulation. I never would have done it so well like they did (with reflective foam board). They did accidentally spray foam on some of the wiring, though. I’ll have to replace the foam when I pull out that wiring, when I update the electric (someday, lol).

They also screwed thick foam onto my basement doors and my attic hatch, and re-cemented the hole in my chimney where the hot water tank pipe goes in.

They even cut holes for the lock latch and for the kitty cat pet door we have, for our kitty.

I haven’t had much time to post here. We went on a short trip to the Erie Canal Village on July 4th, and I’ve been preparing my photos for my blog post about that. And today, we have some sub-contractors doing some weatherization for me. I applied and was accepted for the Mohawk Valley Community Action Empower Grant, sponsored by my electric company, National Grid, and my county. I’d been on the waiting list since Februrary. An appraiser walked through the house several weeks ago, inspecting all the areas where the house wastes energy. Something like 100%, lol.

Today, a small crew came over to do things like add insulation to the rim joists in the basement (the connection where the top of the foundation and the wooden foundational sill of the house is a major air leak area), add foam board to my attic hatch and my basement doors, spray expanding foam around electrical wiring and plumbing holes, etc. It’s saving me quite a bit of money and the real great thing is that I don’t have to do it myself!

So, I have had a little time to work on jobs on my laptop, but I am trying to make the best of a very sunny day today by doing outside jobs. I’m repairing my garden fencing this afternoon. I’ve got two strapping young sons who are assisting me.

Your county may have some kind of similar program as mine. Check with your power company– maybe their website will have a link to a weatherization program. Or, call your county clerk or check the phonebook for social services. Most of these services are income-eligibility based. I got my grant because we have received assistance from HEAP in New York. At the very least, someone from the power company can meet with you in an informal consultation and tell you where your house is wasting energy. Anything helps!

I hate vacuuming. I always have. When I was a kid and my mother wanted me to vacuum, I pulled out my secret weapon: my cockerpoo. Do you know what a cockerpoo is?

A cockerpoo is a dog, half cocker spaniel and half poodle. We loved that little mutt. His name was Skippy. And he ate EVERYTHING. Crayons, balloons, potato chips, the yukky peas that we kids tossed on the floor during dinner. (The stuff that came out the other end of Skippy was always very colorful and a bit of a scavenger hunt). We were bad, I know. And I still hate peas, to this day. But I no longer toss them under the table! Instead…. I…. vacuum. *sigh* but I still hate vacuuming.

At least, I DID hate it. I have seen that vacuums are finally starting to improve. For one, they are smaller and easier to handle. (Those avacado green canisters of the 70s were monstrous– remember those?). Another important feature is energy-efficiency, which I haven’t seen on too many vacuums. The Dirt Devil vacuum crushes all competition! There’s the new AccuCharge Stick Vac and Hand Vac! The AccuCharge is the first cordless machine to get Energy Star approval. The Dirt Devil uses 70% less energy– amazing!

Now, the Dirt Devil is not as cute as Skippy was. And Skippy was pretty energy-efficient, too, although I doubt he would have received an Energy Star rating. But let’s face it, what housewife really wants a dog’s saliva slobbering all over her floors? Not me. I’ll have the dog in the doghouse and the Dirt Devil AccuCharge in the broom closet! And seriously, any new appliance that saves energy– and energy is very expensive here in New York State– is worth it’s weight in gold.

New York State offers a grant to have your home inspected by a contractor from the power company to do an energy audit. They visit your home, look around, and offer suggestions and services needed to make your home more energy efficient. I had been on a waiting list (well, two, actually) since February, and my turn for the first grant rolled around last week. The contractor was here much longer than I anticipated, but I think the audit was informative. The final result?

Our 1855 home is hopelessly inefficient and wastes a ton of energy.

Duh.

This is what an energy audit entails, and this is how the house fared.

1. If your home in not insulated, the company will insulate it for you.

How I WISH I could do this! However, our home has bricks in between the studs (called “noggin”) and therefore the walls cannot be insulated. Also, we have the old knob-and-tube wiring, and it is illegal to insulate with this outdated kind of wiring (fire hazard). Insulating the walls would save us a lot of money toward our very high heating bills, but I cannot insulate until I gut the entire home. *sigh* Below is a photo I took of the living room walls, after I removed the plaster and lathe. The bricks are in the exterior walls all around the house, up to the top of the first floor. The second storey does not have these bricks. This may explain why the upstairs is absolutely FREEZING in the winter. And the lack of furnace registers may contribute, too. lol

2. If you have an old and inefficient furnace, hot water tank, and/or refrigerator, the company will purchase new ones for you.

Because of the flooding we had in 2006, we got a new furnace then. And our water tank is not terribly old (it’s been under a few floods but works well enough). And we bought a fridge about three years ago. So I missed out on the big-ticket replacements. If only they had offered to gut the house or re-wire!

3. The power company will replace all your incandescent light bulbs with the new compact florescent bulbs (we got six replacements, saving us $60 in bulb costs!) These bulbs generally last for up to ten years and reduce energy consumption. This makes me very happy. They are brighter than the bulbs we had, too.

4. The company will seal all air leaks (holes through which plumbing and electrical wires go, from the basement to the attic). Because of our plaster walls, bad plumbing which needs replacement, and 1920s wiring, this is not possible. The contractor did say he would insulate the rim joists in the basement (the wood sills which rest on the foundation walls). These have big gaping holes and I am thankful that they will do this for me.

5. The power company hands out brochures and information on how you can save energy and save money.

This we already do. We live extremely frugal. It’s the house itself that is wasteful. The house was built before electric wiring (even before gas lighting!), before indoor plumbing, before energy efficiency. They did not foresee needing to insulate the walls or making the walls thick enough for vent stacks, etc. Like the contractor said, “Those old guys didn’t make it easy, did they?”

Conclusion: I am doing everything I can to be as energy-efficient as possible, but the house is leaking energy like a sieve. It’s recommended that we renovate.

I repeat: duh!

I’m trying, I’m trying! lol We’ve got one room completely restored, and two rooms with completely new wiring. Two other rooms now have switched lights (see my post about that, here) but share one electrical receptacle. Like I’ve said before, it takes a TON of money to renovate a home these days.

Also: The contractor does check for natural gas leaks, and he found that we had THREE. Old pipe fittings (”old” as in 60 years, maybe) were crumbling. These were fixed in a day. These guys work fast- a sub-contractor came, shut off the gas, replaced the pipes, and was gone in two or three hours. It was amazing!

The energy audit was at no cost to me– it was part of a county-wide grant for eligible homeowners. They will assess your energy needs (”needs” not “wants”: they won’t install cable patch panels or luxury stuff) and help you out. They also give tips on saving energy (hang your clothes on a clothesline, shut off your “vampire” appliances like TVs and computers, etc).

If you are interested, contact your local HEAP office or Community Action group in your county. The second grant, which I hope to participate in soon, will inspect my windows, doors, etc. I am hoping they will replace my windows for me. These windows are 100-years old; some are cracked and many are moldy from age.

One of my favorite Upstate blogs, Northview Diary, has a wonderful post with a treasure-trove of links about home-style agriculture in the United States. One link led to an article about the World War II Victory Gardens. I’d never heard of such a thing! Does anyone remember these?

As part of the war effort, the government rationed foods like sugar, butter, milk, cheese, eggs, coffee, meat and canned goods. Labor and transportation shortages made it hard to harvest and move fruits and vegetables to market. So, the government turned to its citizens and encouraged them to plant “Victory Gardens.” They wanted individuals to provide their own fruits and vegetables.

Nearly 20 million Americans answered the call. They planted gardens in backyards, empty lots and even city rooftops. Neighbors pooled their resources, planted different kinds of foods and formed cooperatives, all in the name of patriotism.

I think this is a great idea! I mean– the concept of everyone having their own gardens, even city-dwellers. There really is no reason NOT to grow your own food, because there are abundant resources available today, from potting soil to all kinds of seeds to available water to fertilizer.

I was saddened to read the end of the article, though:

When World War II ended, so did the government promotion of victory gardens. Many people did not plant a garden in the spring of 1946, but agriculture had not yet geared up to full production for grocery stores, so the country experienced some food shortages.

I’ve been singing the same again and again: we need to change our lifestyles in order to keep up with the radically-altering changes in the world. Fuel costs are not going to go down. Energy rates are going to go up, too, and conservation will be forced upon those who haven’t adopted it as a lifestyle. It’s hypocritical to be “green” for a day and shut off our computers and lights for 24 hours, then drive the SUVs to the malls and schools. By the way, did you know that schools keep their lights and furnaces running 24 hours a day for most of the year, even when no one is there?

I don’t want to be a “fair weather” patriot and change my lifestyle temporarily until it is no longer convenient. Look at the lifestyles of the WWII generation and their children– as soon as the war was over, they threw away their lifestyle of thrift and became the modern generation of uber-consumerists. Look where it has gotten us- foreign oil dependency (with foreign tensions), excessive waste, profligate debt (just look at all the balance transfer credit card offers we get now– banks and governments are spoon-feeding us into dependency on them. They call it “capitalism” but it’s not– it’s “consumerism,” something akin to fascism. I think it’s time that we throw away our consumerist/materialist mentality as quickly as the Victory Gardeners threw away their gardens after the war. Before it’s too late!