Green Home Tour Redux

Despite Chicago receiving a record-breaking rainfall last Saturday, we finally had our Green Home Tour. After weeks of preparation, it was great to finally take a step back and take in what we accomplished, and show off our home to the 60+ people that came through to learn a bit about green building.

Looking back at where we were a month ago, I'm amazed at how much work we were able to get done in preparation for the tour. We'll detail most of these projects in upcoming blog entries, but here's the quick hitlist: Exterior painting, stucco painting, replacing broken glass and re-puttying our porch windows, interior staining and sealing of our kitchen trimwork, wallpapering, major ceiling and wall repairs to the dining room (and adding a tubular skylight), installing an arts & crafts stair banister, and putting together a rough landscape in front of our home. Wow.

In particular, the exterior painting turned out to come down to the wire. We had finished painting on Thursday, but it started raining that night and didn't quit until the day after the tour. This made it quite difficult for the paint to dry. In fact, two hours before people were scheduled to show up, Kenny was helping us dry the paint of our front steps using Jen's hair dryer. We had tented off the steps to prevent them from getting wet for two days, but there was just too much humidity in the air. It's amazing what a hair dryer and a little patience can accomplish! As always, Kenny deserves a big shout out for all the help he gave us to prepare for the home tour.

And for all of you wondering how our colors on the house turned out, we managed to snap a photo during a brief break in the rain on Saturday. Here's before, and now our house looks like this:


I also wanted to summarize some of the things we pointed out about our green home. Thanks to Michelle at Seven Generations Ahead for organizing this list and producing a nice tour program for our home and the others on the tour. I'm sure it will be a great resource for the visitors and their future green remodeling. Here is Humphrey House's "green" resume:

Energy Efficiency

• Over 40 CFL's in the house
• Soy foam insulation in gutted walls
  
• Blown-in cellulose insulation in existing walls
• Daylighting tubular skylights
• Tankless water heater
• PowerZoning air recirculation
• Market-based electricity pricing
  

Water Conservation

• Rain barrel
  
• Low-flow plumbing fixtures
• Low water usage laundry machine

Healthy Air Quality

• Low VOC paints
• PhotoHydrolonization (PHI) cell air purifier
• Zodiaq recycled content / low VOC countertops
• Reclaimed flooring

Resource Efficiency

• Salvaged vintage doors
• Salvaged appliances
• Reclaimed windows

Rapidly Renewable Resource

• Soy foam insulation

Locally Sourced Items

• Soy-based paint stripper
• Oak trim from regional forests

So, that's the virtual Green Home Tour of Humphrey House in a nutshell. We don't have some of the fancy "green bling" such as solar panels (yet), but we like to point out things that show that living or remodeling green doesn't necessarily have to cost a lot of green.

Green Home Tour Coming Up Soon

We've been working oh so hard over the past few weeks to whip Humphrey House into shape in preparation for the Green Home Tour this weekend.

It's been a nearly murderous pace as we tackle all of the exterior painting, finally fixing Scott's hole and other repairs to the dining room, and finishing the woodwork and stairway trim in the kitchen/family room. I'm sure I'm missing a few things here, but we have been documenting the work and will post individual stories in the weeks to come once the dust settles (literally).

In the meantime, if you are in the area and want a tour where the money goes to a good cause, be sure to check out our home (and six other green homes) on the Seven Generations Ahead green homes tour.

Tour Humphrey House on a Green Home Walk

On September 13, we'll be opening our doors to some of our Green-ovations and remodeling as part of a local non-profit group's Green Home Tour for houses in the Oak Park and River Forest area. Seven Generations Ahead is sponsoring the event. Here are the details:

September 13, 2008
Green Home Tour

The Seven Generations Ahead Green Home Tour, sponsored by Community Bank of Oak Park River Forest, will feature the most effective products, materials, technologies, and strategies for making your home green. Get an exclusive look inside high end and everyday Oak Park and River Forest homes that look great, save money, and are easier on the environment. Discover how to green your home-regardless of your budget or taste. Learn from homeowners and building professionals who have built and remodeled green.

A wine and cheese reception will be held immediately following the tour at the new green Marion Street Cheese Market from 4:00 to 5:00 p.m., where drawings will be held for a variety of green gifts. Tour guidebooks will be available at each home on the day of the tour, and all attendees will receive a free copy of Seven Generations Ahead's Remodel GREEN CD, an interactive green home product resource guide valued at $15.

Green Home Tour tickets are available for $40 in advance of the event from Green Home Experts or online at www.sevengenerationsahead.org. Tickets will be available for purchase at each home for $45 on the day of the event. For ticket information or further event details contact michelle@sevengenerationsahead.org.

I think the key phrase for us being included was "how to green your home-regardless of your budget" When Michelle approached about this, we were a bit hesitant until she insisted the goal is showing how you can be Green with attainable, little changes that make a difference, without spending a lot of money on the "green bling" of a wind turbine and solar panels or super-fancy (and expensive) IceStone countertops. As much as we'd love to have that "bling", we have to make choices that realistically fit our budget.

This tracks very well with our own philosophy on green building. Our addition to the Green Home tour is as much about making those choices as any of the actual technology we used. In fact, it also tracks well with a popular phrase in USGBC circles.. "If it's costing you more to build green, you're doing something wrong."