This profile is part of a showcase of Maine retrofits. Learn more and see the rest of the profiles here. BUILT IN 2005 and situated in an open field on a windy ridge in Palermo, Denise and Barbara’s 2,400 sq ft home suffered air leakage that caused significant comfort issues, frozen pipes and near-constant boiler…
This profile is part of a showcase of Maine retrofits. Learn more and see the rest of the profiles here. RENOVATED TO Passive House EnerPHit standards, this 2,890 sq ft Northport home, owned by Chris Corson of Ecocor and his wife, Alexa, is a great example of what is possible in a deep energy retrofit.…
Sometimes the greenest house is the one that is already built By Dan Kolbert & Heather Chandler Those of us who renovate houses for a living like to say that the greenest house is the one that’s already built. The energy it takes to produce, finish and transport the materials in a house, not to…
This profile is part of a showcase of Maine retrofits. Learn more and see the rest of the profiles here. THE PROJECT: renovate a 1970 12’x58’ mobile home with a 12’x24’ bump out into a state-of-the-art, superefficient tiny home where empty nesters David and Christine Gallant could downsize. Motivated by a desire to spend more…
By Joe Rankin A.E. Sampson & Son produces wood flooring in as many varieties as ice cream has flavors. Co-owner Paul Sampson runs down the list. “White ash, sugar maple, cherry, aspen, butternut, red maple, ‘roasted’ or heat-treated birch, ‘red’ birch, red oak. African mahogany, South American mahogany, teak, walnut, wenge, white birch, white pine,…
Maine offers a wealth of green retirement options By Andrea Lani Maine’s retirement-age community is robust and growing, with a quarter of the population aged 60 years and older and around 5,700 people 55 and older moving to the state in 2016, according to the US Census Bureau’s most recent data. As Baby Boomers enter…
Good “fit” in small-space renovations By Christy Crocker THROUGH-WALL ENERGY recovery ventilation (ERV) units are relative newcomers to the residential ventilation and high-performance building arena, offering a practical ventilation solution when full-size units aren’t an option. The units are designed to blow in for 70 seconds and then reverse and exhaust out for 70 seconds.…
By Lloyd C. Irland INCREASINGLY, BUILDERS, HOMEOWNERS and contractors are looking to purchase locally-produced wood that is harvested from sustainably-managed forests. They are also interested in supporting small local businesses. In a perfect world this would be easy. Unfortunately, in our current system it is not. But we can provide some guidance for those seeking…
By Lee Burnett WHEN CHILTON FURNITURE changed hands four years ago, nearly three quarters of its furniture was being built outside of Maine. Today, more than half the furniture is made in Maine, and the percentage keeps climbing. “It was a very deliberate choice,” said co-owner Jennifer Levin of the decision to shift production to…
Text and Photos by Amy Paradysz STEVE KONSTANTINO, the 55-year-old founder and owner of Portland-based Performance Building Supply, considers himself a bit of a futurist technologies geek. Being ahead of the curve occasionally means he’s moved on to something else before the market catches onto what he’s selling—as was the case with heat pumps in…