Going green while maintaining a building’s historic integrity

By Connie Zeigler

New thermal glass is being installed in the existing wooden double-hung sash windows in the Gramse building at 22nd and Broadway streets.

WITH GREEN AS OUR NEW watchword, those of us who own historic buildings want to be envi- ronmentally conscious. However – both by personal preference and by preservation commission mandates – we must also keep from losing the historic fabric of our buildings as we go green. About a year ago this column suggested that we don’t have to and shouldn’t sacrifice the original fabric of our homes as we become better stewards of the environment. Here are some options for greening your historic building and the hopefully compelling arguments for making these changes.

Buildings account for 40 percent of the world’s energy con- sumption, according to the World Business Council for Sustainable Development. That’s far more than the 25 percent used by industry. So it is vitally important that each of us takes control of our private building’s use if we want to step lightly on our world.

Owners of old houses can start to go green with the “lowhanging fruit” that sustainability types are fond of discussing. One of the easiest changes, replacing light bulbs with more energy efficient choices, is common knowledge at this point but still bears repeating. The federal government says that if each American home replaced just one regular light bulb with a Compact Fluorescent Light bulb (CFL) it would save energy equal to the emissions of more than 800,000 cars. CFLs are not much more expensive than a regular light bulb – and they last much longer while using less energy. Just remember to take those CFLs to a toxic recycling drop when they burn out, because they contain a small amount of mercury. Or, even better, use LEDs, which according to the bulb manufacturers, use half the energy and emit half the carbon dioxide of a CFL. And LEDs can be recycled in your curbside recycling bin.

You do take advantage of curbside recycling, don’t you? For $6 a month you can be green, promote recycling, and save the time – and energy – required to take your empty bottles and cans to a drop-off recycling bin.

About the Author: Connie Zeigler, owner of C.Resources, Inc., is an architectural historian and a consultant who helps developers and homeowners in historic districts find green solutions that retain their homes historic fabric.

Another easy and inexpensive way to conserve resources is to spray cellulose insulation into your attic. Between 25 and 35 percent of a building’s heat and energy loss is through the roof. Cellulose insulation is a “green” product. It’s made from at least 80-percent post-consumer recycled newsprint. In fact, the Cellulose Insulation Manufacturers Association claims that using cellulose insulation in a 1,500-square-foot home would recycle as much newspaper as the average individual uses in 40 years. Cellulose, a highly efficient insulator, is good for you as well as your pocketbook because it is treated with non-toxic compounds to resist fire and insects. It also requires less energy to make than standard fiberglass insulation. From a historic homeowner’s perspective, it’s a change made internally that doesn’t require approval or consultation by any commission or city entity.

If you live in an old house, you’ve probably noticed the drafts that come with most old windows. If you live in a historic district, the Indianapolis Historic Preservation Commission (IHPC) will probably prevent you from removing your original windows in favor of new super-efficient ones. Those old windows are key elements in your home’s architectural history. But there are still good options for making old windows more efficient, especially for those of us with wooden double-hung sash windows.

Casa Verde LLC and King Park Area Community Development Corp. are in the process of a LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certified rehab of The Gramse apartment building at 22nd and Broadway streets. Constructed in 1915, the Gramse is eligible for the National Register of Historic Places and was determined to be locally historically significant by IHPC. So the developers were charged by the preservation commission with retaining the building’s amazing old windows, while trying to find solutions that would also satisfy LEED requirements to make those windows energy efficient.

According to Casa Verde partner, David Kadlec, the wooden doublehung sash windows are getting new thermal glass to replace the original, less-efficient single-pane glass; the counter weight openings will be filled with thermal foam to seal leaks and the windows will remain operable with spring-loaded counterweights added to the lower sashes. Kadlec’s initial calculations indicate that by taking these steps, The Gramse can retain its original windows and still achieve LEED Gold certification.

IHPC has lately addressed the place of rain barrels in historic districts, issuing a statement that allows for their installation so long as certain important criteria are met, including that they should be placed at the rear of the house and shouldn’t result in cutting off historic downspouts. If you can’t meet those criteria or opt not to have a rain barrel, you still have options for conserving water at your historic home. You can attach PVC pipe or those expandable extenders to your downspout to direct the water from your roof into your flower beds; once they are buried no one is the wiser and you are at least putting some of that free water to good use before it runs into our storm sewers. If you make your flower beds into a rain garden, you can also filter the water as it’s absorbed into the soil. And consider installing a landscape that uses Indiana native plants, which require much less maintenance and virtually no watering after the first year. Coneflowers, red twig dogwoods, columbine and a vast array of other plants grow here naturally. They can take whatever an Indiana summer or winter can dish out while putting on a beautiful display year after year.

If you still feel that suburban compulsion to grow a groomed grassy yard, well, first give up on the idea of perfection, at least to the degree that you stop using chemical fertilizers and weed treatments. Try to settle for an old-fashioned kind of yard, even if that means you have a few of those non-native but well-adapted wildflowers, the dandelions. And consider a reel-mower, which not only saves energy by using human power rather than gasoline power, but also saves your neighbors’ ears. If those neighbors are sitting on their Aunt Martha’s antique furniture, they’re being triply green, meeting all three of the environmentally friendly “R”s: Reduce, Reuse, Recycle. A second best option is to opt for furniture made from recycled products and which does not emit harmful chemicals into the air.

There are many ways that historic homeowners can green their homes and their lifestyles. We have already accepted the responsibilities that come with maintaining an old home as preservationists. That doesn’t and shouldn’t mean that we don’t also have the responsibility of being green, especially when so few changes can make such a big difference.

Connie Zeigler, owner of C.Resources, Inc., is an architectural historian and a consultant who helps developers and homeowners in historic districts find green solutions that retain their homes historic fabric.

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