As much as we love retrofitting homes to make them more energy efficient, there is quite a thrill in building from the ground up because we can build them tighter than we can ever fix them (unless you want us to strip you down to the framing and redo your foundation!). Here is a countdown of the 3 houses we've built with jaw-droppingly low "air exchanges per hour." (under pressure) #3 Nelson County Cottage 1.5 Architect: Frazier Associates Photo Credit: Kevin Blackburn This a

William and I met at a Scottish Country Dance at Sherando Lake. We both instantly felt there was something between us. I was certain he would come to the Scottish Ball just 2 weeks later. When I was met with disappointment I went to the internet to find him. We had a mutual friend on Facebook, so I friended him and sent a bold message. Then, I perused his pictures and searched for his company website to get a better feel for him. Drumeller Construction was the name of the com

There seems to be an assumption out there that your high heating bills and drafty house are caused by your windows and the solution is to replace them. The trouble with this is two-fold. First, even the best windows will not perform significantly better than the ones you have. The most expensive, most insanely technical and energy efficient window out there is the equivalent of an R7*. Ordinary windows are the equivalent of an R2 to R4. For comparison, the typical attic with

Ewww! Look at all the nasty insulation being hauled out of my basement. I feel like I can breathe better just seeing it go. Guess what good it was doing me? Not a bit! It wasn’t keeping my floors warm, it wasn’t keeping the damp basement air out of our lungs, it wasn’t keeping my heating and cooling costs down. To be fair, it was a nice cozy home for the mice (I guess the scratchiness doesn’t bother them). #1 Cut off Rodent and Bug Access While we were planning and saving for