Hello everyone. I recently fond this forum while looking for ways to help improve my current house and plan/design the one I want to build in about 3 years. I will probably ask many silly questions and become "that guy again", but I've worn egg on my face before trying to better my vehicle on other forums so it's nothing new. I am going to make full use of the "search" function here to get some better ideas for the current house. What would you all suggest for a start? I was thinking of starting a new thread describing the current house and opening it up for suggestions. There is plenty to be done I'm sure. I'll have to decide on which projects to do first and which can wait a little while. Some I will do as we update the house. I thank you all in advance for the help and look forward to learning and making some new friends while improving this old Cape Cod. Hat_man

Best advice?
1. Spend several hours on this website: http://www.greenbuildingadvisor.com/
2. If you are in the area of a regional energy efficiency conference, GO.
Better Buildings in Burlington, VT (early Feb) and NESEA BuildingEnergy in Boston in March are among the best conferences in the country if you take advantage of the tons of seminars.
3. Read up on High Performance building
4. Do NOT get hung on on high tech insulations. ICFS, SIPS, closed cell spray foam all work well, but they are materials you can use, not methods. Understand where you are going before you decide what materials you must use to get there.

Posted By hat_man on 09 Jan 2014 10:50 AM
...I am going to make full use of the "search" function here to get some better ideas for the current house....

Unless they have fixed it recently, the search function doesn't work worth a damn here.  I would suggest you use google to search the site by putting the following in the search bar along with whatever keywords you are looking for:  site:www.greenbuildingtalk.com

For the immediate I know the general direction I am going. My house now is the same as the day it was built (other than the 20year old shingles that need to be replaced next spring). IIRC it was what was called a 253 home. It was a gov't housing initiative that build cheap "cookie cutter" homes for low-middle income families. When I bought it it had 1 layer of R-11 (Rockwool or Rockwall) batts in the ceilings and the outer walls (2x4). 3/8"gypsum on the walls and 1/2" on the ceilings. Studs and rafters are 16" OC. Single pane/double hung wood case windows with wooden "brickmold" on the outside. Unfinished poured concrete basement with (I'm sure ) no insulation below grade anywhere. Aluminum siding with the only plywood sheeting being in the corners (to prevent racking) and 1/2" Celotex fiber board everywhere else. It probably started out at about R-13 (total) in the outside walls and is less than that now. I know there is air infiltration in SO many places. The NE and SW corners are very cold. In fact you can feel cold air in the kitchen cupboards in the NE corner. If this isn't a worst case scenario for Northern Illinois (Zone 5 I think) I don't know what is.

If I could afford to fix everything at one time I would just sell the place and start a new one, but times being what they are, this isn't an option. I have to decide what to do when and where I can benefit the most. The roof has got to be done next spring ($4000). The Globe brand shingles are done. I'm lucky with almost 20 years on them as most failed in 12-15 years. Before I had ever heard of blown cellulose, I took the insulation in the side attics (Cape Cod with 2 bed/half bath up) and shoved it completely under the floor. The rafter spaces (first floor ceiling space) worked like heat transfer canals from one side attic to the other and with only R-11 you can imagine how hot the upstairs was in the summer. There was no ridge venting so the soffit venting didn't work at all (no air movement). I laid 2 layers of R-19 (one in the rafter space and the other perpendicular above it) in the exposed side attics. I used R-15 in the 5' tall side walls (vertical) and loosely nailed R-19 (horizontally) over it. With the ridge vent I added it seems to work well now, but I know this is not optimal or very efficient.

I know windows and exterior walls will be a HUGE help, but may have to wait until summer or the following spring. Even a middle of the road energy efficient window is going to be an improvement over what I now have. Buying the best isn't really the direction I want to go as I want to greatly improve this house and eventually sell it as a greatly improved house and build a better place. On a scale of 1-10 what I have now is probably a 2 or 3. If I'm going to sell in 5 years, why spend the extra on 9's or 10's when 7's will be a huge improvement and a good selling point. I can spend the extra money on other improvements. My ideas on the exterior are double glazed (at least) low-E windows, new R-15 fiberglass in the walls with 2 layers (1" each with staggered and taped seams) of foiled faced foam which would add roughly another R-12 and help with air infiltration. I really don't like vinyl siding but it IS cheap and looks half-way decent. I would never use it on the house I want to build though.

We would like to make finishing the basement an ongoing project as we don't use it now except for storage. None of the outer walls in the basement have any insulation on them and I am looking on here to find the best way to insulate them and be able to finish them with gypsum. Also I am looking here to figure out what to do with the floor. The biggest fear I have with the basement, is having a mold problem because of what I do to insulate the floor and walls and selling a terrible house to someone else. As for insulating the basement ceiling as we finish the basement we don't have a clue if it's good or bad, but it is a decision we will have to make as we go.

We have a 90+ GFA furnace that was new in 1997. I don't do HVAC (I'm a 25 year electrician) so I couldn't tell you anything about duct size, air changes, temperature differences, zoning, etc. We keep it warm in the winter (70°) and cooler in the summer. We just grit our teeth and pay the bill for now, but we don't like it.

So you can see where I am starting at and at least the direction I need to go. These are the ideas I have for now. If they are bad ideas please let me know. If they can be improved please let me know. If I'm completely off my rocker definitely let me know. I want to make this house better than it is but at the same time I realize I can't make it right by green standards. I am saving that for the one I build from scratch.

Other than maintenance issues such as the roof, have you considered what the pay-off will be on energy improvements? If you really plan to build new in 3 years, I doubt that you would recoup the costs of energy efficiency, and I don't think that you would get it back in resale, either. I would 'run the numbers' to see if it actually makes sense to upgrade your current home. I recently sold a house in FL that is an energy disaster- no insulation in the walls, R-19 in the attic, single pane windows, A/C ducts in the super-hot attic, etc. Due to comparable sales prices in the area. I wouldn't have gotten a dime more if I upgraded the house. The banks simply won't lend any more than what other houses are selling for. It's a little depressing how little most people (and banks) care about energy efficiency still. Here in SC, they are still slapping together tract homes built out of 2X4's and fiberglass batts, with no other insulation. As far as I know, that doesn't even meet code, but nobody is doing anything about it.

I agree 100% with the above post, you will never get the ROI, buyers and banks don't care! If your selling in 3 years jsut do the required maintenance. John

If the heating/cooling system in the home is out of date, you may benefit from upgrading that in a relatively short time. It's not so much that people will pay more for a house with new HVAC, it's simply that they will ask for an allowance (money off the price of the home) if the system is older.

Start with an energy audit, which will show you where the air leaks are. Air infiltration is as important as insulation, but you can often fix the air leaks for very little cost. They are the likely reason for your cold rooms. You can upgrade the basement, but there are costs and it is critical you do not do things that cause mold as you stated. Third, and because you are already needing to reshingle, look into adding roof insulation above the sheathing; it will have a major effect on the house, but is somewhat costly. Don't worry about replacing the windows, but do think about pulling the interior casings, pulling out the wisps of fiberglass (if any) and foaming the space between the window and the studs.

Then sell the house, and decide what and how you are going to build prior to drawing plans!!!

So 1st: get an energy audit
2nd: buy a foam gun and several cans of foam: http://www.energyfederation.org/consumer/default.php/cPath/21_1177
then $32 gun will work fine, but clean it after use.
this is the foam-buy the PurFill Low expansion: http://www.energyfederation.org/consumer/default.php/cPath/21_4843;

Questions:
What is the ceiling height in your basement?
Do you have working foundation drains?
have you ever had water in your basement?

Thank you everyone, I appreciate the advice.

I had considered the ROI of making the improvements and I realize that I can never re-coup the cost in energy efficiency in a short period of time. I have talked to realtors in our area and have been told that upgrades like new windows will definitely add to the selling price of the house. A finished basement as opposed to an unfinished one ups the price also. As for the basement, I'm not talking about a huge tech filled family room or home theater room. Just finished walls and ceiling with plenty of outlets and space to become family friendly or a quiet area for reading or a play area for youngsters. The siding and exterior walls are something I would LIKE to do, but realize isn't necessary.

When I say I want to build new in three years (I can already see the eyes rolling), what I mean is that if the present course hold constant, I will be in a place that I can afford to build new in 3 years. I have a fall back date of 5 years if need be. But we all know how life is and the curves that it can throw at us. The reason for building new is to have the floor plan that I want and works the best for us. The Cape Cod doesn't work anymore as my wife can't get up and down stairs very well since her health has changed. For now she is relegated to one floor (about 900 sq./ft.). That includes the bath and the eat in kitchen. Finishing the basement doesn't benefit her much, only in the sale. The reason for wanting to upgrade the Cape Cod as much as we can before we sell is just in case life throws a wicked curve ball at us and plans have to drastically change. How many people have been "downsized" in the last decade? I'm sure we all know someone. A full kitchen remodel would add greatly to the asking price, but the money could be better spent in the event that we had to live here longer than planned. If I better insulate in the exterior and basement, it might make life a little easier if we have to stay and will be a slight selling point if all goes well. Do you see where I am coming from?

The only other factor is that when we sell, two of my sons have expressed an interest in buying the house. They are just starting out with life and families, and if I can turn over a better home to them, it just helps them get a better start. When the time comes to sell, if they have found homes for their families and don't want ours, then I hope to find someone in the same boat (just starting out) to sell to.

The unfinished ceiling height in the basement is 7'10". Finished in the areas I can use gypsum would be about 7' 8" ( 1" furring strips perpendicular to the joists and 5/8" gypsum) and about 7' 6" (the bare minimum per code around here for anything other than storage cellars) where there is plumbing above and I have to use grid/drop ceiling. There is one hairline crack in one basement wall that if we get a steady rain for more than 24 hours we might have a puddle the size of an extra large pizza there. This is the only area that I wasn't planning on finishing as it's the laundry/utility/furnace/WH area and I would rather have the concrete floor there. If by foundation drains you mean something like buried drain tile at the bottom of the exterior foundation, then probably not.

You can thank the "tin man" window salesman for the realtor's recommendation of replacement. Sure, it will help, but won't give you or the new buyer the value that the other upgrades would. I'd suggest holding off on that until you get ready to sell, then do it if you need to, but do the more important things first.

Seriously, in a 3 year time frame concentrate only on air-sealing and cosmetic issues. Air sealing is dead cheap and will make a WORLD of difference in comfort and heating/cooling loads.

Finishing the basement without properly air/moisture sealing and insulation would be a crime against the planet, since once finished it's cost-prohibitive to go back and do it right, which means it'll stay uninsulated and moisture prone until something rots or it develops black mold rendering the house uninhabitable. But there's no way insulating the basement correctly will pay off in energy savings in anything like a sub-decade time frame in most situations. You may need surface drains or a footing-level "French drain" on the interior to keep the foundation walls sufficiently dry to be able to close it in, insulated or not. Wet footings wick a lot of unseen moisture into the foundation wall, that can be a real problem when insulating/finishing. This really needs to be done right, and it isn't always cheap.

If it's ducted-air, sealing all the duct joints and seams with duct mastic, and sealing the register-boots to the subfloor/wallboard/whatever is worth it. The system will run quieter and more efficient, and you'll likely spend less than $100 in goop. If the heating/cooling equipment is as old as the house there may be some slight sales advantage to a reasonable-efficiency right-sized replacement, but only if it's a decrepit maintenance nightmare. If it's working OK, leave it alone.

If it's like most Capes you have head-banger sloped ceilings and kneewalls in at least part of the upstairs? Those are notoriously difficult to air seal properly, and usually have thermal bypass air-leaks in the floor joist bays. Most of that leakage can be reduced by air-damming the joist bays (stapled cardboard, sealed with can-foam or FrothPak works), and some sort of sheet-goods air barrier on the exterior side of the kneewall insulation, which usually leaks like hell even if the batt-facers are on the attic-space side. The air barriers should be at leas semi-permeable to water vapor- housewrap can work, but half-inch OSB or wallboard is probably better (if more expensive per square foot.)

What climate/location/zip-code is this gem?

Basement wall cracks are easily solved with the injected epoxy for a modest amount of money.

One thing you can do for someone "starting out in life" is not run up the cost of the house. There is very little you can do that you will realize more than 100% return on dollars spent, so you could just do nothing and let the buyer get their own sweat equity. If anything "must be done" it can be handled by a seller's allowance (money off the sale price) and therfore you never actually open your wallet.

Joe; great comment. As an appraiser, I see this all the time. Many home flippers swear they "get double the money you invest in improvements." And many people believe that is true for cosmetic items like new grass, clearing weeds, flower beds. But most sellers do the labor themselves. They don't add the cost of their labor to the investment. If they did, the ROI is lower. Buyers often have an idea of these common fix costs, and are willing to pay upfront for those fixes.
Yet for the kind of fix we are talking here, buyers 1) may not know the material costs 2) definitely don't know the labor cost 3) most importantly, probably are less likely to want the change as much as a seller who contemplates the work. This discussion usually devolves into the issue of " why can't appraisers and banks value energy improvements at what they are worth?" Well, your comment is germane at this point also. If your kids want to do it, let them pay for it. Sell the house to them at a lower price, and if you want to, help them afterwards with the cost of renovations. That option provides more flexibility; if the kids can't buy, you have not added to the price by doing the renovations and left part of the remaining market "in the cold".

I've got a lot of good advice to mull over I see.

Joe.ami-----can you give me some insight into the injected epoxy thing. I guess I have never heard of it. This is a rather "backwoods" area of Illinois even though we are near Rockford and only 3 hours west of Chicago. We don't have a lot of "up-to-date" contractors. I asked my good friend that wants to help with my new home in a few years but even he is unsure of exactly what you mean. Maybe I need to find a new contractor for the new home. Hate to do it because I have known this guy for a long time, but the new home is to be "greener" than most around here.

http://www.appliedtechnologies.com/home/concrete_crack_repair_materials.html

McFish, you put it perfectly when you said " if the kids can't buy, you have not added to the price by doing the renovations...."
With housing price collapse, many folks become real estate prospectors and more than a few lost some of their savings by doing more renovations (on a project house) than the market would bear (those TV shows make it look so easy to profit). If some one called me for a new furnace and air for their project, I would suggest (as long as the current system was safe) they offer the upgrade to a buyer for x amount of dollars vs top load the expense. With my sticker on an old furnace I'm likely to get work out of the home sooner or later and prefer to give my clients the best possible advice.

After talking things over and taking everyone's advice to heart we have decided to only make the improvements necessary to make the house livable and let the new owners, whoever they may be, make the cosmetic and energy efficiency improvements they want. The one thing we definitely want to do though is fix the small leak in the foundation wall. The amount of water getting in is very minimal, but it can only get worse. How do I go about finding a contractor to help make this repair. If anyone is in the Northern Illinois area (60 west of Rockford) and knows a reputable contractor, please let me know. I visited the link provided by joe.ami and see it can be a DIY project but I would rather have a professional do it and have some sort of a warranty. I like the idea of an epoxy or other product over the old fashioned "water putty". Unfortunately the majority of contractors around here still use it. Other than that I think I will close this thread and begin researching how to construct the new home. I still have 3 years in which to make plans and do research and I realize that by the time we finally start building, technology may have changed but I have to start somewhere. I will probably be asking many questions in more threads over time. I hope to learn more. Thank you all again.