Along with a slew of awards and nicely-done integration of green building and historic preservation, this custom retrofit has some great lessons learned.

Honoring an amazing 100-year context

This renovation project took place in the Druid Hills Historic District in Atlanta, Georgia, and entailed the expansion and major renovation of the entire structure. Druid Hills was designed by Frederick Law Olmsted, designer of Central Park in New York City). The neighborhood was the location for the filming of “Driving Miss Daisy” with Jessica Tandy and Morgan Freeman. The house was built in 1918 and had to go through a historic preservation committee approval before construction began. Shortly before construction was scheduled to start, a 120-year-old oak tree fell and damaged the rear of the house, including many of the clay roof tiles. All the salvageable clay tiles were reused, along with several thousand additional vintage tiles purchased that matched the house perfectly. We thought the existing buff-colored brick on the house was going to be hard to match, so the original plan was to stain the new brick to match the existing. But when delivered, the new brick was a perfect match for the original brick.

Efficiency by design

One core concept of the project was to reuse as much of the existing structure as possible while expanding the house considerably. Starting with three bedrooms and two baths, the goal was to expand to five bedrooms, including a large master suite, and to redo the kitchen in such a way that a state-of-the-art family room could be added. The solution was to convert the entire attic to living space, adding just three dormers, and to add just a very small addition to reconfigure the kitchen into the new family room. Except for the small addition, the exterior wall surface on the first floor remains unchanged. A screened porch, a new garage, and completely upgraded systems and equipment rounded out this project.

Efficiency in materials

One key job site practice employed throughout the project was extensive reuse and recycling (scroll far right). All the unpainted wood from the site was reused on other projects or ground into mulch and used for erosion control. Extra bricks and broken roof tile were ground on site and used as gravel below the driveway. The concrete removed from the drive was hauled to a recycling plant and ground into base for underneath the rest of the new driveway. Most of the cabinets, counters, plumbing, and electrical fixtures were recycled through individuals and organizations. Job site recycling included all drink containers and corrugated cardboard.

Low-VOC paint and floor finishes, and MDF and finger-jointed wood products were used throughout the home’s interior. And despite its environmental stigma, PVC was selected for the exterior trim based on durability and moisture resistance.

Energy efficiency

Our focus on materials certainly did not come at the expense of energy efficiency. We dropped the air infiltration rate by two-thirds. By my best estimates using 4-month before and after data (including adjustments for square footage, heating degree days, and cooling degree days), our work reduced heat and hot water by 68% and cooling, lighting, and plug loads by 54%.