Being green

I mentioned that at the PAII conference in April, the Pine Hurst Inn did a presentation on green building principles. In fact, their mission statement is:

To be the best bed & breakfast in the Chequamegan Bay area, providing the highest level of hospitality and guest experience while preserving and promoting the unique historical and environmentally sensitive nature of our property and the area. We are committed to sustainability in all practices.

I've always tried to be cognizant of the long-term consequences of my actions, and like to consider myself environmentally benign, and the restoration work was really weighing on me. In my defense, I had talked to a company that installed solar electric in Lancaster, but he told me it wasn't worth it. Lancaster is one of the few places that doesn't subsidize solar, and to meet the peak demands of a B&B would require such a large installation that we'd never recoup our investment. (Incidentally, he said most of his work was installing solar panels for Amish families.) We also looked at aerobic treatment units, which treat the septic on-site (rather than having it pumped and taken away). Again, the salesman talked me out of it - too expensive, and since we don't have any restrictions (small lot, buried system, etc.) it wasn't worthwhile. I tried to find a contractor who had experience with "green" building, but of the two or three I found, none of them had much experience with historic buildings and, unfortunately, in our situation historic had to take precedence. Finally, I looked into geothermal heating/cooling systems. These work by drilling wells, and tapping into the constant temperatures underground. Alas, I've gotten very mixed reviews - some love them, some hate them - but the first bid came in at an astronomical amount, so it may not even be an option. We're in the process of getting a second bid. Of course, when we open, I'll try to use non-toxic and organic products (I've found a line of "organic mattresses" that look pretty good, as well as organic cotton towels and sheets) and we'll buy Energy efficient appliances, gardening, composting, etc. But in terms of a meaningful commitment in the home restoration, my failure has been complete.

Final Answer

After talking to a dozen references, we finally chose Olde York Homes as our new contractor. In the end, it wasn't the references, but the attitude -- Gary was so open and matter of fact, we couldn't help but trust him. (Of course, if his references hadn't been impeccable, he wouldn't have even had a shot.) It also didn't hurt that his assistant, Toni, was a pleasure to deal with. We let Gary know today, and he's already scrambling to get subcontractors so he can put together an estimate. This is a good sign.

Meltdown

The boiler in the mansion cracked. They are having to add water twice a day to keep the radiators going. (Of course, I'm in Los Angeles in 70-degree weather, wondering what the big deal is.) As long as they keep adding water, it should limp through to April, and we can turn it off. (Of course we'll replace it before next winter.) After sitting quietly for twenty years, in the last year we've had:

• A limb fall through the roof of the Paymaster's Office
• A leak in the mansion roof which destroyed the walls around the staircase
• The furniture warped and buckled from the humidity
• And now the boiler cracked

I don't know if we're a little late, just in time, or this is the mansion's way of telling us to go away.

Endangered Species

We had a "PNDI hit," meaning the state was concerned our septic field would impact an endangered species. But here's the catch: they won't tell you what the species is, or where it is! Fortunately, the septic engineer is experienced in this, and told us it was bog turtles. We googled them and found they are 2-3" long, live in waist-deep muck, and hibernate for five months of the year. Not exactly a tourist draw. So now we have to hire another consultant to write a letter to the DEP saying that bog turtles live in streams, and our septic field is a quarter-mile away on top of a hill, and we aren't likely to impact them. Another $300 well spent.