Today I was reading a posting on Facebook by one of our
selectmen in our small town at home. There’s been discussion lately in town
about requiring all future building to be “green.” Some people are pro - environment-friendly, ecologically friendly
– while others point to increased cost.
Coincidentally,
this particular selectman owns a lumber supply house and at a recent gathering
of lumber manufacturers, the opinion came up that new houses of today are
already too tight. They’re seeing issues with moisture and poor air quality.
Many new products are doing what’s called “off gassing,” which can stick around
for a while.
Compounding
this, apparently some communities require fire suppression from the basement to
the first floor, which means manufacturers add chemicals to floor joists to
slow the burn.
My Guy and I could have
used this kind of leverage months ago when we first put our own 50 year-old
house on the market in August. When the weather cooled, I would have instructed
our agent to point out the refreshing breeze around some of the window frames.
And twenty
years before that, our previous house from 1926 could even have had competing
bids, what with the drafts that would occasionally travel across the living
room.
Houses are
particularly on my mind today, since tonight is the final walk-through for the
buyers (please don’t notice that crack in the garage floor, or the
temperamental hinges on the kitchen cupboards) and I’m a bit jumpy.
Tomorrow is
the Big Day – the closing. My Guy and I will either be dining out, or shopping
for sackcloth and ashes.
I hope it all goes well, and that you'll be dining out! :-)
ReplyDeleteI really hope that this is it and your house sells. They put an awful lot of crap into the building of a house these days.
ReplyDeleteFingers crossed for dining out then :)
ReplyDeleteI don't understand people who expect a 'used' house to be perfect. fingers crossed the show up to close. as for airtight houses, I think they contribute to poor health. our hundred+ year old house in the city provided for plenty of airflow! haha. this 60 some odd year old house is pretty tight as the previous owners installed storm windows and doors but weather permitting, I've got doors and windows open.
ReplyDeleteAgreed. Everything needs to breathe - even houses.
DeleteOne of the inspectors of our house threw a temper tantrum over a potential buyer who wanted all the electrical circuits upgraded to state of the art. "If they want new build, they should buy new build," he roared. All of our circuits were upgraded to code when we bought the house, and then some made even more current with renovations. All the best!
ReplyDeleteThat's an inspector after my own heart.
ReplyDeleteHope it all works out:)
ReplyDeleteI'd marry an inspector like that. He gets it, doesn't he.
ReplyDeleteAnd yeah, we have one of those houses that will breathe the hat right off your head! I spend quality time every November when the wind blows, with newspaper, plastic store bags, and a kitchen knife, finding the cracks and gaps and drafts. One of life's little rituals when you live in a old house, for sure.