This profile is part of a showcase of Maine retrofits. Learn more and see the rest of the profiles here. THE PROJECT: Transform a 1960s split-level into a comfortable home that meets the rigorous Passive House EnerPHit standards. Completed in 2015, the home won an AIA COTE Merit Award (for sustainable design excellence) the same…
This profile is part of a showcase of Maine retrofits. Learn more and see the rest of the profiles here. ALICIA AND MICHAEL ROMAC purchased their 1822 cape in 2014 and spent 14 months renovating it before moving in during the fall of 2016. Their goals in the rehab were to create a warm and…
This profile is part of a showcase of Maine retrofits. Learn more and see the rest of the profiles here. DESIGNED AND RENOVATED by Jim Bahoosh, a builder specializing in small houses, the Unity bank project is a story of taking care of what we have, revitalizing rural downtowns, re-imagining existing space and showing what…
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.…
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…
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.…
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…
By Amy Paradysz Matthew Brown is a financial planner as well as a home brewer. But not just any home brewer. Brown is so invested in his craft that the Maine Brew Bus made a stop at his house in Portland’s Back Cove so customers could visit his basement brewing operation during Portland Beer Week.…
The case for whole-house ventilation By Tim King Across the United States, building codes are (slowly) changing to encourage the construction of tighter homes. That is, homes that incorporate new materials, designs and construction techniques that drastically limit the amount of naturally occurring airflow between indoor living areas and outdoors. The rationale? Reducing the amount…