Deep Energy Retrofit

I've been googling "deep energy retrofit" and reading about homes renovated from the outside by having their siding ripped off, their walls built out several inches with insulation, then new siding put on.

It's the kind of thing that should be done to big old Victorians like ours, although it'll cost you. I particularly like this piece about how historic preservation and energy retrofitting needn't be at odds. We owners of our world's housing stock need some whopping rebates, breaks, and grants to bring existing buildings into line with green values, and training programs for builders in deep energy retrofitting are probably necessary.

Of course, new homes can be built to be superinsulated, like the ones in Darmstadt, Germany that are so tight they run on the body heat of their inhabitants. I have the dream of building a home from scratch just like anybody, but I still think the 'reduce, reuse, recycle' rule makes as much if not more sense when considering home ownership as it does when deciding whether to buy rice in a plastic bottle or bring a bag from home and get it from the bulk bin.

I haven't stopped thinking about the "faux Hispano-Moorish Society for Creative Anachronism" house. I have a tremendous urge to buy it, rip off the plastic shakes, lay on the foam bigtime, re-do the roof with good rain catchment, stick some solar panels up there or in the yard, and knock bigger windows out of the south side. Re-side in cedar and you've got a great-looking house steps away from a beautiful stretch of creek for kayaking. (I didn't mention over a thousand square feet of shag carpeting and acoustic tile ceiling that have to go, too, but for the right person it's a workout plan: ripping out carpet is probably what, 50 calories a square foot?)

After the last few months, I have to admit I'm tired of endless making nicey-nice. I wouldn't mind finding a place I could move into and just live for a while.