Old House

On a distant corner of my grandparent’s farm, there was a slab of concrete in the middle of a field. When I was very young, I fancied it was a landing pad for aliens. When I finally asked my grandfather what it was, he told me it was the basement of an old house, one that had been torn down many years before.

So much for that alien theory.

But my grandfather cautioned me not to play there, because there was something even more sinister lurking, something that was just as invisible as aliens from other planets. Radon, an odorless, colorless and tasteless gas, was in the soil underneath and around the basement.

Popular Radon Test Kit. Image Credit: Radon.com

Understanding what radon is

Radon is created by the natural breakdown of uranium in soil, water and rock. If this happens out in the open, the radon quickly dissipates and poses no risk. The problem arises when radon gets trapped inside a structure. Radon levels can build up to a point where they are dangerous for humans. In fact, radon gas is considered the second leading cause of lung cancer in the United States.

New construction homes can be properly ventilated to direct radon gas out of the living area and into the open air. But houses built before 1970 probably don’t have any sort of mitigation system in place, as the gas wasn’t considered a threat until studies were done in the 1970’s. The true implications of radon buildup in homes weren’t known until 1985.

The highest concentrations of radon are found in the Appalachian Mountains, Pennsylvania and Iowa, but radon can cause problems anywhere, as evidenced by the abandoned basement on my grandparents’ farm in Kentucky.

What to do about radon in your old house

The test for radon is very simple and inexpensive. Some states offer radon testing programs for free. The test entails hanging a radon-sensitive packet in the lowest livable level of your home for several days, then sending it in to a lab for analysis.

The EPA has in-depth information on radon, including information on how to get a test kit and what steps to take if your old house does test over the acceptable limit for radon.

If your home has high radon levels, don’t panic. This is something that can be remedied. The EPA approves numerous methods, including radon sump systems, improved ventilation techniques and sub-slab depressurization. There are also a few do-it-yourself radon mitigation options you can try, but you must closely monitor radon levels if you go this route. Professional mitigation costs vary depending upon the area and the situation with the house itself; however, expecting to pay between $500 and $1,500 for mitigation is a good rule of thumb.

Most radon mitigation requires the help of a professional. Some states require radon mitigation contractors to be licensed, registered and certified, while others have more relaxed requirements. Contacting your state radon program can give you more information about what to expect from mitigation experts in your area. Be sure to check them out before you hire them, just as you would with any contractor.

Communities usually start with families. One family builds a home on a piece of land and moves into it, then within a short period of time, another home pops up nearby. Soon there is development happening everywhere, and those first residents sit back and watch as their little community grows by leaps and bounds.

In the case of Levittown, it was the houses themselves that launched the community.

The year was 1945. World War II was ending, and at the same time, residents in the tiny farming town of Island Trees, New York were selling off their property as fast as they could. The golden nematode had decimated the valuable potato crops, making the land useless.

The floorplan for an original Levitt house. Image Credit: University of Illinois at Chicago

Golden nematodes lead to golden opportunity

Bill Levitt, one of the sons in building firm Levitt and Sons, was finishing up his Navy service. Seeing a unique opportunity, Levitt talked his father into buying up the old potato farms, dividing them into tracts and building cheap yet sturdy homes for the returning soldiers. The GI Loans offered to the servicemen would make these homes an affordable option. The homes would also have a very simple floor plan that would allow the owners to easily build onto the home in future years.

The mere promise of affordable homes was a success. On May 7, 1947, Levitt and Sons made a public announcement of their intent to build 2,000 homes for returning soldiers. Two days later, 1,000 of those homes had been rented. The homes were yet to be built, but the soldiers needed housing right then.

The solution? The first mass-produced homes in America.

The homes were built on a concrete slab foundation, forgoing the basement that was so common in homes of that time period. All of the lumber was pre-cut and shipped to the site. Brochures from that time period show walls, stairs and other elements of the homes already assembled and waiting to be put into place, making Levitt homes one of the first examples of the modular construction technique. In fact, these techniques were so successful that soon, the company was building 30 homes every day.

In the end, over 17,000 Levitt homes were built. The community had its own schools, shopping centers and post office. In honor of the astounding accomplishments, the new town dropped the Island Trees name and became known as Levittown.

A community still going strong

Today, most of the Levittown homes have changed from their original look, thanks to remodeling that added more rooms, changes to the exterior and sometimes significant changes to the surrounding area, such as homeowners who bought neighboring property in order to tear down the original house and expand their own homes. However, the homes are such a part of American history that the Smithsonian has long been on the prowl for a homeowner willing to donate their original Levittown house for exhibit display.

Though it is common to see the forerunners of today’s more modern homes–for example, a look at a Frank Lloyd Wright “Prairie” house has the first elements of a modern open floor plan–it is rare to see a particular house and construction style change the way the world lives. Today’s rapid construction techniques for modular homes and subdivisions began with the need for quick and affordable housing, and Levitt and Sons found the solution that influenced the history of our communities.

A photograph from Levitt and Sons brochure. Image Credit: University of Illinois at Chicago

Shortly after moving into a home in Georgia, I was delighted to see little brown bats careening around the lawn at dusk. I was very afraid of them as a child, but my patient grandmother explained that they were perfect little pest control machines. They wanted nothing to do with humans, but would be more than happy to eat as many mosquitoes and other annoyances as they could before they went back to their roosts to wait for another nightfall. I was no longer afraid, but mesmerized as I watched them swoop and swing back and forth through the trees, capturing bugs with every glide.

A cute little fellow. Image credit: Robin Robinson Photography

Watching those brown bats swooping around my house in Georgia was a nice bit of nostalgia. But then I noticed that they were flying from under the eaves of my house. Upon closer inspection–and one moment of sheer terror when one of the little fellows swooped right at me–I realized they weren’t just flying around my house.

They were living in my house.

Bust out the bat brigade

I already knew that bats were often considered endangered and therefore, getting rid of them would require some careful finesse. It would definitely require the help of a professional. Though I could see a few places where the bats were getting in, I had watched a neighbor deal with the bat issue in the past, and I knew that just when you thought you had sealed up every possible opening to the house, there would be another one waiting for the bats to find. After all, they can fit into a space about the size of a quarter or less.

Since I already had a pest control service, I called them the next morning and explained the situation. By that afternoon they had contacted a wildlife removal specialist, and he was at my house evaluating the situation. Within a few days after that, I had little pieces of netting stuck in various places around my roof–this netting formed a kind of one-way door, where bats could get out but they couldn’t get back in.

I was also the proud owner of three new bat houses, placed strategically around the yard. I didn’t want to deal with the bats in the house, but I did want to keep them around. They moved to the bat houses with relative ease, and there was little left to do in way of cleanup, as they hadn’t been around long.

There’s more adventure where that came from

I thought that was the end of the adventures. We happily coexisted with the bats, our houses sitting side-by-side, and the mosquitoes around the pool were virtually non-existent. But one night a few weeks ago, I was walking down the stairs to the basement and heard a scurrying sound. When I paused, it paused. When I moved, it moved faster.

I traced the sound to a hole in the wall, right next to an old window, almost hidden by the generous frame. I wandered around the wall, then went outside and wandered around there, where I found a few tiny holes in the vents. There was also what appeared to be a piece of vinyl siding that was pried up a bit in one corner.

More than a little suspicious, I placed another call to the pest control company. The exterminator took one look and nodded.

“Just the right size for a little squirrel,” he said.

Here we go again.

Recently I wrote about 3 Green gadgets Steve Jobs would have loved.  One of those was a smart thermostat that was easy to program.  Today I found another thermostat that really does have an Apple pedigree.  The guys who helped create the iPod and iPhone have come up with a product so pretty it makes Tyra Banks insecure.

Most people don’t think about their thermostat.  Yet they control about half the energy use in your home. That’s why I always encourage programmable thermostats to help lower energy use.  But, I never found one that the average person could actually understand.  In fact, as many as 90% of homeowners with programmable thermostats have never programmed them.

Thermostats have gone more than thirty years without any serious innovation.  Then along came Nest.

It is just freaky-deeky gorgeous.  I’m talking I’ve-fallen-and-can’t-get-up beautiful.

It learns from you as you change the temperature.  So, there is nothing to program.  You adjust it as you would a normal thermostat during the first week.  Then it learns your habits and will start making those changes for you.  It’s like Santa Claus.  It knows when you are sleeping.  It knows when you’re awake.  It knows when your away for goodness sake!  You may want to consider a nanny-cam to keep an eye on this thing.

It’s a little creepy, I know.  But, the potential energy savings here are bigger than Snooki’s . . . err . . . hair.

The Nest connects to your home wifi.  So, it knows the weather and can be controlled from your phone, tablet or laptop.  Think of the possibilities!  Want to mess with your babysitter?  Simple – just turn down the heat while you’re at dinner and she’s with the kids watching So You Think You Can Dance?

If this thing works as well as advertised, then we are the verge of a home-comfort revolution.

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