Can This Home Be Greened: Big Problems, Small Budget
Even an eco-savvy homeowner can use help fixing whole-house problems such as poor insulation and room design.
July/August 2007
By Marc Richmond
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This four-bedroom, three-bath Monterey house is being remodeled in stages, as budget allows. Phase One, done in 2003, involved creating higher curbs and the yellow retaining wall to keep stormwater from washing off the street into the yard and driveway.
Batista Moon Studio
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Healthy living isn’t just a passion for Belinda Icenhower—it’s her profession. As a naturopathic doctor, Belinda specializes in environmental medicine, so in 2003 when she bought a 2,300-square-foot home in a charming old neighborhood in Monterey, California, she recognized its flaws: old carpet, dark rooms and inefficient heating. However, the house’s location and coveted Monterey Bay views were irresistible to her and her two sons. She set about remodeling in stages, as her budget allowed.
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Phase One—correcting poor drainage on the property and redesigning the landscaping—went well. Then Belinda contacted Natural Home because she wanted someone with green expertise to reinforce her decisions as she dove into Phases Two and Three of her remodel.
Belinda wants to use sustainable, healthy concepts, but her budget ($100,000—small in this wealthy area) was unattractive to most contractors. So she became her own general contractor. It took significant time to juggle work and family while also researching, planning and overseeing the project’s subcontractors—but she got the results she wanted.
Phase One: 2003 Solve the Drainage Issues
PROBLEM: Upon moving in, Belinda discovered that stormwater from the street washed into the front yard and driveway, causing water to leach through the soil and into the crawlspace, downstairs bedroom and garage.
SOLUTIONS: Belinda’s contractor installed a paver sidewalk with a street curb that directs water down the road to the storm drain. He also built a concrete retaining wall in the front yard, a water-permeable paver driveway, a driveway drain and a French drain (essentially a complex ditch filled with gravel and rock that redirects surface water away from the house) around the entire home’s perimeter.
The work stopped the water damage, allowing the downstairs to become a family rec room and the garage to serve as the boys’ game room.
COST: Pavers: $10 per square foot. French drains: $10,000.
Phase Two: 2006
Priority 1: Win the Cold War
PROBLEM: The home was chilly, with little heat coming out of the forced-air furnace. A bank of bay-view windows—and other poorly insulated windows and doors throughout the house—contributed to heat loss.
SOLUTIONS: Belinda removed the old heating system and cheap, flexible ductwork, some of which was disconnected or ripped. She replaced the open, wood-burning fireplace—which lost more heat than it contributed—with a sealed- combustion gas fireplace that heats the kitchen and living room.
Belinda replaced the floor-to-ceiling, aluminum-clad windows with custom French doors and three-quarter windows made with high-performance glass and Forest Stewardship Council (FSC)–certified wood. The insulated windows retain the ocean view but create a warmer, more private living area.
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