So….I cut a cabin in half and moved it. Yes, i’m crazy. I have some questions about how to proceed. Just to give a brief summary: I plan to do the lion’s share of this work myself. I cut the house in half, I paid to have it professionally moved, I am hoping to sub out the foundation but may end up doing that myself as well depending on cost. I’ll also add that I was in the trades for a few years as a carpenter for a green building company and I did a full passive certified house remodel as one of the projects with them – this is to say that i’m familiar with basic energy efficiency principles though by no means an expert. I fully understand that I will not get a superinsulated/highly energy efficient home here. I have read a lot of literature here and understand the inherent constraints of a log cabin….I am just trying to get to the point of diminishing returns here, do the best with what I have, and hopefully have my first home when I otherwise couldn’t afford to buy or build in the area i’m in (I lived last winter out in a mongolian yurt which was destroyed by a bear….so I think this will be an improvement).

The Cabin: 2 stories, 1/2 of it is an 80 year old historic log cabin with an addition built 30 years ago, log as well. Interior of old part is furred and insulated with fiberglass, interior of “new” part furred and spray foamed. Underneath the drywall in the old part (between drywall and insulation) is a layer of plastic. Roof is 1″ t&g, tar paper, 2×4 on side, 3 layers of rigid foam, metal. The old side is insulated with fiberglass again instead of spray foam. The inspector here stipulated that I must add insulation to the roof, though he will let me slide below code with it (r-49 here)…he said if I spray foam that’s good enough for him. We are in zone 6b. Inside the walls and under the roof I opened up everything was in good condition – didn’t see any mold or rot anywhere. The cabin has baseboard heaters and wood stove – I plan heat with wood primarily, but would also like to take a break here and there or be able to leave and not have insane energy bills or the house freeze. I am hoping to put the house on a basement as well.

Questions:
Roof: What should I do here? Should I just do the minimum and spray foam the 3.5″ cavity per the inspectors request and save the money for heating? I can reuse the facia if I don’t add depth. Or should I take this opportunity with the metal off add insulation and do something else entirely? I would prefer not to insulate the interior because the bedrooms are only really partial height anyways – I don’t want to lose space if at all possible, and I do like the look of the exposed t&g.

Foundation/Basement: I am hoping to convert the basement into a separate rentable space down the road. I’m wondering if I should put heat in now that would help heat the upper floors and keep the house more comfortable in the long winter. Should I put heat in now or does it matter? I guess the reason I was thinking now is in floor slab heat – does this make sense as a heating method in 6b?

Walls: Interior I’m basically thinking caulk and spray the hell out of everything. There is no trim on the walls or windows now, so that’ll help. Anything else I should do here? Would ripping off drywall on the old section and spray foaming be worth it for increased air sealing?  Exterior: I’m sanding or media blasting it, staining, and chinking the whole thing. Should help with air sealing a bit right?

Windows: There are some large double pane non-opening windows on the old side. Last year I bought like 40 non-opening double pane windows from a buddy – can I put multiple double pane windows in the same opening and increase energy efficiency that way? Will having a gap between two non-opening double pane windows cause problems? There’s no trim on them and the bucks are basically trash so i’ll be redoing them anyways. I was thinking along the lines of building an RO for multiple smaller windows that would go in the same openings in front of the existing window. Don’t need comments on looks – I’d make it look cool (to me) with nice wood/trim carpentry which I already have. 

Any help is greatly appreciated – Thanks!