thoughts of green

So, the renos are well under way with MUCH help from friends, neighbours and new eco-minded buddies. The sense of being overwhelmed by a house that has more than a century of history with many of its recent years as a purely rental property creeps up more often than I care to admit.
She's (yes, a house on Maria St is a She) got good "bones" but in dire need of maintanence and in need of (the slippery slope of) upgrading. The eco-dillema thus arrives. A house mostly done up require much less... maybe a better thermostat etc.
The grey area of fixing vs updating etc is something I've been trying hard to resolve for this project. Saving something is more eco-friendly than ripping it out and replacing it with something "eco-friendly". Sounds obvious but much harder to do in this infectious HolmesOnHomes era. Yes, its like McD's....even if you hate it you might catch yourself wanting a Big Mac sometimes.
Also, it is MUCH easier to see what you're dealing with when everything is gutted but suddenly you have more than 2 tons of plaster, paint etc going to the dump. I keep trying to imagine the dump as if it at the end of my street and then think about how much I REALLY need to add to it.
For ease of construction, having a big bin at the back of the property and dumping everything in there is the easiest and fastest way to deal with demolition.
So far, thanks to Rhinobags I've got separate areas for old plaster, painted wood, drywall, metal and lath (and unpainted wood). We're also saving all the old studs and maybe use them for furniture.

So here she is from the front as it was before the snow fell. I know its hard to imagine what the inside looks like and I'll post more as I upload all the photos of the renos onto my computer. The car and driveway are not mine. Like many old Toronto homes, there's a laneway access and as slushy and icy as it gets back there, I do like it. :)






So, on the slippery slope of renovations I've tried to make a priority list:1. Safety (I don't want to electrocute myself or anyone else... ok.. so I've only shocked myself once sofar)
2. Environment and Indoor Air Quality - reduce waste but take out stuff that might reduce IAQ (no, that doesn't mean I'm going to take down all the walls incase there might be some lead in the pain a few layers deep... as long as we're not disturbing it, it shouldn't disturb us)
3. Cost factor - am desi and want to spend in other places... ice cream....mmmmm..... :)
4. Aesthetic - yes, its last on the list but doesn't mean its not a priority... just lower down.


Doh! Its almost 1am... buenos noches all :)