Old House

In addition to being a huge fan of architecture and old houses, I have a serious weakness for old-fashioned television shows where the underdog always wins. After getting hooked on a few seasons of Leverage on TNT, I started to notice that occasional scenes were filmed in a very nice hotel, one that had more than a few historic features. Was this a real place or just a very clever set?

The Governor Hotel. Image Credit: Hotels.com

After a few minutes of surfing message boards, I was reminded that yes, you can find anything on the Internet. That includes the history of the Governor Hotel in Portland, OR.

The history of a hotel

Originally known as the Seward Hotel, the swank downtown hotel opened in 1909 to fanfare and accolades. During that time, guests paid between $1.50 and $2.00 for a room that included luxurious and edgy designs for the time, including stained glass, terracotta and fine handcrafted details.

On the other side of the block, an entirely different but no less respected establishment was taking shape. In 1923, the Portland Elks Lodge was built. The Lodge was built in the style of the Farnese Palace in Rome, which was largely created by Michelangelo. The very classic look included coffered ceilings, inlaid marble and frescoes.

During the Depression, the Elks Lodge lost their Portland building. Over time, the majestic space underwent some serious changes, including the construction of an office building inside the structure. Fortunately, the architect who created the interior office building kept the original walls intact. That turned into a very significant choice years later, when the owner of the hotel saw those walls and realized there was great potential there. Though the buildings had been joined in the 1980s, they were not seamlessly integrated until much later. In 2004, the former Elks Lodge became the new entrance of the Governor Hotel.

Careful renovation achieves a work of art

Architectural details. Image credit: Governor Hotel

Architect Barry Smith led the 2003 renovation, which posed a significant challenge: how to update the building for today’s modern hotel yet keep all of the historical features intact? The job was wide-reaching and included everything from hiding modern lights in old-fashioned ceilings to installing stained glass that had been removed years prior. Through the use of old photographs, dismantling layers of wood and carpet and doing plenty of old-fashioned research into the nooks and crannies of the hotel, the renovation team reclaimed the 1909 grandeur of the Seward Hotel. Contractors worked tirelessly to restore, renovate and improve every part of the building, including a few spaces that had never before been opened to the public.

One of the most interesting parts of the hotel is a mystery that hangs right out in the open–tall figures that look more like robots than gargoyles grace the top of the building and appear to be looking down at passersby. These figures are completely out of place with the architecture of the building, yet make for a lively conversation piece from a hotel that already gives guests plenty of things to talk about.

One of the "Robots." Image credit: Governor Hotel

Being featured as a set on Leverage is just the latest claim to fame for this hotel, which has seen a great deal of movie-making magic within those historic walls. Now on the National Register and listed as one of the top hotels in the world by Travel and Leisure Magazine, the Governor Hotel is proof that a multitude of styles, details and histories can weave together to form one truly beautiful work of art.

“What’s the most environmentally friendly way to remove the snow from my sidewalk?”  This is one of the most popular questions that I get from readers.  My favorite answer is “wait till spring.”  If that’s not practical for you then try these methods.

1.  Shoveling, plowing & sweeping:

Now stop your whining.  I know this is not what you wanted to hear.  But, without a doubt, human-powered removal is the only 100% eco-friendly way to get rid of snow.  There are no downsides for the environment, your family or your lawn.  A simple shovel and broom are the cleanest, cheapest and most effective to keep a safe walkway and you can save a ton by canceling your winter gym membership.

There are many creatively designed (and expensive) snow shovels available.  But, my favorite is still the simple snow-plow style aluminum shovel with a wooden handle.  You can make easy work of it by angling the blade toward the grass and plowing the snow forward rather than the conventional shovel, lift & toss method.

TIP:  Get the snow cleared early in the day and let the radiant heat of the sun warm the surface to keep it safe and dry.   Shovel before the snow reaches more than 3″.  It’s easier to shovel 3″ of snow three times a day than it is to shovel 9″ of snow once.

Personally, I don’t find mechanical blowers any easier to use than a shovel unless there is a huge snowfall.  By the time you drag the thing out of the garage and mess with all the moving parts you could have finished a small driveway and sidewalk.  That said, if you’re looking for an eco-friendly snow plow you’ll have to choose from the lesser of the evils.

An electric blower is the cleanest, quietest and easiest to maintain (especially if you have solar panels).  But, they are not as powerful as their fossil-fuel powered brethren.   If you need more power you can find a diesel powered blower and use a bio-diesel.  I once road in a car powered by leftover oil from a churro factory.

If you are still addicted to dirty foreign fossil fuel you have one more lesser evil. Honda makes a hybrid snow blower with emissions 30% lower than EPA Phase 2 standards.

2.  Get Some Traction:

Sometimes simply keeping the surface from getting slick will do the trick.  Try putting down an abrasive material like sand or wood ash to help get some traction.  The black wood ash will also absorb some heat from the sun and help melt and evaporate the snow during the day.  Sand should be used sparingly since it can clog local storm drains and create excess silt in local streams and rivers.

One interesting product is EcoTraction.  It’s made from a volcanic material that is lighter than sand and has none of the disadvantages of chemical ice melts.

In 2008, the town of Ankeny, Iowa got deliciously creative.  They used garlic salt donated from a local spice-maker to spread on the roads.  That winter they had some of the tastiest road-kill around.

3.  Ice Melt:

We all wish there was some safe and effective chemical that we can toss on the ground and make the snow or ice just disappear . . . but there just isn’t.  Despite the growing chorus of wild claims of “green” or eco-friendly”, there is no perfect ice melt out there.  Municipalities are studying the best approaches and looking for healthier alternatives.  De-icers should be considered only as a last resort.

Let’s take a look at some options:

De-icers commonly contain either chlorides or acetates.  Ingredients like Sodium Chloride, Potassium Chloride, Magnesium Chloride and/or Calcium Chloride are all salt.

Salt is bad for your pets, will kill you grass and plants, is corrosive to cars and will pollute nearby streams and rivers.  Other than that . . . it’s great for melting snow.  Use it rarely and very, very sparingly.

Products containing acetates are noted for being less corrosive than salts.  Potassium acetate, often used at airports, has come under fire recently after research showed that it is toxic to fish and other marine life.

As they say, life is messy.  So is snow removal.  Slow down.  Enjoy the morning.  Take your time to shovel and breathe in the quiet snowy day.

Matt Grocoff, Esq. LEED is founder of Thrive – Net Zero Consulting Collaborative, host of Greenovation.TV, a contributor to The Environment Report on Public Radio, the green renovation expert for Old House Web, and a sought after lecturer. His home is America’s oldest net-zero energy home and was called “Sustainable Perfection” by The Atlantic, honored as one of USA Today’s “Seven Best Green Homes of 2010? and Preservation Project of the Year.  He has been featured in hundreds of publications and news shows including Washington Post, Detroit Free Press, Preservation Magazine, Solar Today, Fox Business News, Huffington Post and more.  Join him on Google+, Twitter and Facebook

Every few weeks there will be a nice write-up, complete with video, of an old house lifted onto a platform and rolled through the streets to a new property. Just as common are the heart-warming stories of historic homes saved from the wrecking ball by a group of concerned citizens and a few hefty donations.

The lovely house that will move back to Sag Harbor. Image credit: Robert Strada and Sag Harbor Express.

But it isn’t every day that you hear of a historic home that was literally taken apart, piece by piece, in order to save it. That’s what happened with a 1740’s home in Southampton, New York.

A labor of love

Robert Strada and his wife Michelle learned in 2006 that the home was to be demolished. Unfortunately, there was nothing the historic commission could do, as the home was just outside of the designated historic district. Ironically, “outside of the district” meant literally right across the street.

After a bit of legal wrangling, Strada secured permission to remove the home, one stick at a time. It took a month to dismantle the house, and then it was stacked neatly in a warehouse in the hopes of one day finding a new home. After several years of looking for the perfect place, Strada and his wife took out an ad in The Sag Harbor Express explaining the situation. Two friends they had known for decades stepped up with the offer of property, and the rest, as they say, is history.

But this isn’t the first time the house has been moved. It was originally constructed in Connecticut and then moved to Sag Harbor, where it remained for many years. At some point a woman from Texas fell in love with the home, and her devoted husband agreed to move it to Southampton for her. The move was made much the same way the current one was–painstakingly, piece by piece.

The art of taking a house apart

Taking houses apart to move them happens more often than you might think. It is not unusual to see ads in newspapers or online for homes given away for free, assuming they can be moved by the new owners. A good contractor and their team can make short work of a small house, but for homeowners intent on doing the job themselves, the work could take months.

Long before modern conveniences made lifting a house look easy, homeowners were taking apart a house one piece at a time, starting with the siding and ending with the plumbing and other major internal systems of the house. It was all slowly shipped to its new home and assembled with painstaking care. Other methods included rolling houses, or large sections of them, on a series of logs stacked side by side. Sleds pulled by strong horses or oxen were sometimes used to carry parts of the houses just as they had once carried parts of the trees that made them. Timber carriers allow large logs and stacks of lumber to be moved by hand with relative ease.

Keep in mind that taking apart a house, even if you are doing most of the work yourself, is not a cheap proposition. In many cases a contractor must be employed to help put the house back together, and some areas of the house might need to be upgraded after years of neglect, making that kitchen remodel or new bathroom an absolute must. Though obtaining a historical home for a few thousand dollars might be tempting, it pays to consider the additional cost, time and effort that must be poured into the home to make it livable again on another piece of property.

The holiday season means colder temperatures, and that means heating your old house. But this can be trickier than simply flipping a switch or dialing up a thermostat. Every year about this time, there are horror stories in the news of homes that burned to the ground, families that were devastated by the loss and historical gems that vanished in a pile of ashes.

Image credit: Country Living

Hopefully, your old house is in better shape. But there are still a few special precautions to take when the winter winds try to get into your house.

1. Get a thorough chimney inspection. If you plan to use the fireplace, have it checked out, cleaned and if necessary, repaired by a professional contractor. This is an important step to take even if you don’t use your fireplace. Plenty of warm air can escape your home through a faulty chimney, and that means higher heating bills.
2. Have the furnace checked out. If you use an electric furnace, a maintenance check can help ensure that it runs efficiently and safely. Some furnaces are old workhorses that have worked well for years, but they still need some care in order to keep up that sterling track record of service.
3. Be careful with heaters. During my first year in an old house, the wiring was rather iffy and the furnace didn’t work. I was nervous about using the fireplace, so I went with electric heaters instead. If you are in the same situation, keep in mind that vigilance is key. Choose heaters that shut off automatically if they tip over or overheat. Place them strategically around the home, always away from curtains, blankets or carpets, and keep an eye on them at all times.
4. Don’t overload the outlets. This is an important thing to remember during the holidays but it holds especially true for old houses, where the wiring might not be the best. In many cases the breaker will trip or the fuse will burn out, but if it doesn’t, you could have a serious fire hazard on your hands. Never overload extension cords.
5. Put safety measures in place. This is one of the most important things you can do to keep your family safe. Install smoke detectors and make sure they are in good working order. Install carbon monoxide detectors as well. Don’t forget to invest in fire extinguishers. I once had a kitchen blaze that was quickly handled with a fire extinguisher; if I hadn’t had it handy, my old house could have been lost.
6. Have a plan to get out. If the worst happens, have a plan to get out of the house quickly. If you are living in a fixer-upper, keep in mind that some windows might be painted shut and other routes out of the house might be compromised. Have a plan that takes all of these possible issues into account. In one of my former old houses, I purchased inexpensive ladders for every upstairs window rather than rely on the kids coming down the narrow spiral staircase. Though we never had to use them, the peace of mind worked wonders.

Staying safe during the winter months takes a special kind of vigilance, especially in an old house. Now is the time to call a contractor to handle any issues with the furnace, wiring or fireplace. As the old saying goes, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.