This 100+ years old house in Bridgton, Maine was leaking like a lobster trap, so much so that we were unable to take blower door measurements. After doing much work in sealing the basement and attic we were finally ready to run a blower door test. We knew that the work is far from finished but we wanted to take a baseline measurement.
Tom ran the test. The manometer (used to measure air pressure difference between inside and outside of the house) could only reach 45 pascal (50 pascal is standard for measuring air leakage). The air leakage reading was 6202 cfm. Our target is between 500 to 1000 cfm so obviously there is still a lot of work to do. Fortunately, Tom already knows several areas, such as the foundation perimeter, and some other uncovered areas that his crew will be working on. We are determined to push the air leakage to be as low as possible. We know that air leakage is the worst culprit in home energy effiency.
There is progress and plan changes from other fronts too. The downstairs windows have all been replaced with all triple-pane windows. Upstairs we kept the double-pane windows. While the crew was repairing and getting ready to paint the roof and siding, they found some water damage underneath of the roof and siding. Theirs and Tom’s assessment was that it is most cost effective to replace the whole roof and all the siding. Reroofing is now complete.
As the cold weather in Bridgton sets in, the temperature can get to the teens and even below zero. But as energy efficiency improvements are made, a portable heater is sufficient to keep the work going.
Coming next:
See also: Partnering With Green Hearted Companies and the entire From Foreclosure To Green Home series.
Here are some pictures of perimeter and interior sealing.
Coming next: Getting the Right Roof
See also: Partnering With Green Hearted Companies and the entire From Foreclosure To Green Home series.
