NRCM Blog

This Old, Old House and Our Energy Audit

In advance of Maine’s winter winds blowing through our 200-year-old house, and blowing a hole through our budget, my wife and I decided to have an energy audit done on the house. We had already purchased our annual allotment of heating oil, but we bought less than usual, figuring that we would undertake some of the suggested retrofits from the audit.

We hired Curry Caputo of Sustainable Structures in Whitefield, who did a fantastic job.  Curry set up a fan in our front door to create a strong air flow throughout the house, which reveals where hot air leaks out in the winter.  (He had a cool infrared camera to see the hot and cold spots.) He visually inspected the house from attic to basement. He checked the efficiency of our furnace and checked for gas leaks from our stove and propane tank.  We followed him around for most of the morning, peppering him with questions.

(Photo above: An infrared shot of a cold spot in our kitchen floor, under the dishwasher.) 

The upshot? Our biggest issue is the air barrier between our house and the cold Maine winter.  You see, it’s all about the air flow.  The air seal in our basement is bad, due mostly to the condition of the foundation under the ell.  (We already guessed that was the culprit of our high oil bills.) In addition, the metal bulkhead needs to be insulated, and the basement under the main part of the house needs to be air-sealed where the foundation meets the sill. As air leaks into the basement from outside, it creates a chimney effect, which pushes warm air up through the house—and eventually out the attic and roof.  In our house, this effect was worsened by a large hole in the ceiling of a second-floor closet—a perfect avenue for warm air to zoom into the attic. That was something we never suspected was a big deal. But with a little drywall we’ll make a huge difference.

Does it help to have your furnace serviced every year? You bet.  I always wondered about this. Curry found that our furnace was running at 82% efficiency—not as good as the newer models, which can get into the high 90s, but good performance for this one, given its age.

Sunshine and a Summer Paddle

In this summer of wet and windy weather it has been a trick to find that weekend or evening of perfect summer weather to get outside and enjoy the warm sun. We have had to just grab them when they showed themselves. And remember that wet misty weather can be enjoyable too. Chris and I had to travel to the Ellsworth area on the weekend of August 16th to deliver some lumber. We piled the kayaks on top of the lumber and headed out, hoping for the best. We dropped off the lumber and had a few hours to spend before our dinner date and decided to find an easy access kayak point and paddle for a few hours. Out came the DeLorme Gazetteer, and we picked Toddy Pond just east of Bucksport right off Route One.

No one was there! Into the water we went, past the old camps and the new ones, paddling along the east shore watching a lone loon dive and come up, dive and come up again. We paddled on down the lake quietly soaking up the passing clouds, the spots of warm sun, and the lap of the water against the boats. Perfectly zen.

Just one more point, just one more point until the lake narrowed so that we were fairly close to both sides and there on the shore…..high bush blueberries hanging over the water! The water in the lake had to be unusually high for August and the benefit was easy access to plump juicy berries. I ate plenty of them while Chris explored around the next corner.

Then we beelined it back to the launch ramp and the promise of dinner with friends. Now that was a perfect summer day!

I would be interested to hear about your favorite kayaking spots around the state!

Leslie Burhoe 

Penobscot River celebration

Last Thursday, many of us from NRCM as well as other partners in the Penobscot River Restoration Project, traveled to Old Town to celebrate the news that the Penobscot River Restoration Trust is exercising the option to purchase three dams on the Penobscot, so that eventually two dams can come down and another can have safe fish passage so that Atlantic salmon and other species can have access to 1,000 more miles of habitat.  I remember when this project first started and it seemed like such a huge task - to raise all the money and do it in what seemed a short amount of time.  I wasn't able to be at the announcement of the project in October, 2003, but to be able to be on the banks of the river with members of the Penobscot Indian Nation, state government, congressional delegates and staff, and just lots of people who love the Penobscot River and want to see it restored - it was a wonderful day.  And the sunny, warm weather certainly added to the celebration!

Governor Baldacci, Chief Francis, Laura Rose Day and others made inspiring remarks during the event, and I feel so fortunate that I was able to be there for this historic occasion.  People have worked so hard to make this project a success - and to have business, conservation groups, the Penobscot Indian Nation, federal and state governments working together on a project is really wonderful! 

The New York Times published an article and an editorial about this project.  I encourage you to read them and to read the other stories about this project on our website at www.nrcm.org.

Beth Dimond