The peeve of mine that gets the best workout has to be improper detailing of porches or porticos that folks are trying to make appear classically-inspired. Seems like most of the time the lintels are larger or thicker than the column underneath - a big no-no. Then, the entablature is compressed to fit under the eaves or second floor window line so much so that the proportions are further distorted. It is also likely that the columns are some mishmash of style, composition or proportion. If the beam is arched, it appears it was cut freehand with a jigsaw, without regard to any evenness or flow to the curving line. The overhanging portions are quite often botched, too. From zero overhang to a fascia that is equal in visual weight to the lintel, we see it all around here. You might expect this on starter homes or where an owner/builder is in charge, but on houses double the median price? I do go on, but I'll finish with this-- good proportions don't cost more than poor ones. Casey

It was NOPSI when I lived in New Oreleans, and in rental shotgun houses...NOPSI claimed a large part of my paychecks! New Orleans has a lot of Energy Raters, the highest concentration in the state actually. Entergy has made use of some of these raters in their efficiency program Energy Smart. here are a couple of links for you to check out: http://www.energysmartnola.info/one-stop-shop/ http://www.energysmartnola.info/for-your-home/ not being in that area anymore, I don't know how this program works..but you can find out if you are interested. my only advice would be to involve yourself with an experienced rater there in N.O. someone with experience in old homes...the newer raters I met may have the training... but couldn't tell gas from electric heat systems, or know how to identify balloon framing. so look for someone who has 10+ years of experience. La. DNR also has list of energy raters state wide, their efficiency incentive program isn't still in effect...but last time I checked the list of active raters was still online. DNR(dept natural resources) provided the training for all of us back in 1999. so they have a good handle on who knows their stuff...and who doesn't. it is hard to see detail in your posted plans. so I'll keep my questions fairly general. my first two concerns are air sealing & hvac system. I know you have a partial ' basement' (LOL) are electrical & plumbing exposed? was there ever a central hvac system installed? if basement isn't full size of house...what access is there to the part of the house without basement? how much room is there between ground & house? 3'...4'....more? is house all electric or is natural gas provided? as to heating...do you have a prefrence? if all electric..then look research heat pumps...great wintertime savings in our area. (I'm south central La these days) have you looked at mini split units? condenser unit outside, individual air handler units that hang on walls in rooms. I can't tell if your layout would work for this or not. is there a space in your home you could make into heating system closet? have you had any hvac companies come out to look at the house yet? involving hvac company never starts too early. it may be that ductwork will need to be installed during the reno. if you can't give up the sq ft for system inside house...I've seen people put the heating system in the 'basement'. quite a few flooded after katrina, but its not an everyday occurrence, and depending upon what part of town your house is located in...flooding is something to consider. I know uptown floods in a hearbeat with heavy rains...but areas like bywater stay dry. the top floor...full attic or are there walls of the living space that are shared with attic space? is attic space large enough to house heating system? air sealing.. there are really two ways to air seal. caulk, backer rods & more caulk which can be diy..or foam insulation. one is inexpensive & time consuming...the other expensive & fast. foam insulating the roofline will be biggest bang for the buck. then putting heat system & ductwork in attic keeps it in a semi conditioned space, so that you don't have ducts to cool the house in a 140 degree attic. by moving air & thermal barriers to roofline, a lot of the air leakage sites in ceilings are depressurized, so that house isn't sucking hot dirty humid attic air into the house to clean, dehumidify & condition when central unit is running. as most of our heat gain/cooling loss is through the ceiling into the attic space creating a tight air barrier, and thermal barrier (insulation) is very important. we use open cell in the attic roofline, depth to equal R-value required ( R-25 for cathedral for example is 6- 6.5" deep) also if house is balloon framed, foam seal at eaves to attic floor will stop air movement in walls. we need to air seal our walls...but insulating walls here isn't high on our list of things to do. foam in walls...is a huge waste of money. the next place for foam is under the floors. here we use closed cell. to keep moisture from ground from being sucked into the house. 2-3" is sufficient. this will also seal bottom of balloon framed walls. I've had issue with some of the foam insulators in N.O., because I am one picky b!tch. unlike most energy raters I oversee install of foam and test for air leakage with foam co on site, so that they can catch any leakage sites then without an added trip. as these companies expand into my area...they don't stay long. over the years I've learned which companies will actually create air tight seals...and who doesn't. and fyi...it isn't always the big companies that do it right. owner/installer companies are more willing to learn how to do it right. and the install of foam, just like the install of the hvac system is the key to the whole thing. ok...there are your questions to answer & things to think about for today. I'll check back after you reply. and think about investing in a blower door test of the house at minimum. this will identify leakage sites that need to be sealed. if you have ductwork, spring for the duct test also. better to know what you have to start with..what you need to do... and have it tested when completed. this way you have a goal to work towards...and an idea of how to do it. best of luck

Wow...it's great to see what everyone is doing/has done. Moonkat--you are my hero. I LOVE what you did!! I got rid of my chimney about 2 years ago and it was one of the best decisions I've made in regards to the house. I have a small kitchen (maybe 10 x 10?) and the fridge was basically in the middle of it. Getting rid of the chimney meant we could build a "built in" cubby for the fridge and open the space in the rest of the kitchen. I've posted some photo links below.) I agree with what most posters have said--esp regarding an engineer. We could also see from the attic that there was space all the way around so it wasn't holding anything. We had 2 people look at it just to triple check. In terms of the process, it wasn't *nearly* as hard as ripping out my awful, awful kitchen tiles. :-( They were 18 x 18 and it took about 16 hours to get them all up. It was back breaking and mess and with none of the thrill of the chimney demo because they wouldn't "pop" up the way the bricks would "pop" off. :-) (The key to that, if nobody has said it, is to place the chisel right at the mortar seam where it meets the brick. It worked 90% of the time. We used both electric and human powered tools and it moved amazingly quickly.) Other thoughts... The worst parts were (1) patching the roof---this job isn't bad **but** we were working in summer. It gave us a new esteem for roofers--it must have been 120 degrees up there. So, I'd say work in a season when it's cool, if you can. In a cooler season, this would have been easy. (2) Dust. We put down drop cloths but not enough and although we hung plastic "drapes" dust really got everywhere. Keep in mind that we'd have to open the "drapes" every time we wheeled a new load of bricks outside so the dust in the air could float. An old theater trick--have a spray bottle handy and spray the air. The dust settles. And, maybe some kind of hepa filter. Keep the air-con *off* so the dust doesn't get into the system. You might even cover vents. Put a fan in any windows facing out so the dust gets sucked out. Oh yea...buy the best air mask you can! Next time I would probably *move* the furniture into other rooms. All in all this wasn't that bad. The plaster was heavy as heck and poured into the wire so that was worse than the bricks themselves. That part I rather liked (but I'm weird.) At the time, I didn't have a shopvac. I can see where that would be useful. For anyone interested, here are some photos. Sorry I can't get live links but you can cut and paste. Some of the photos on this page are obviously staged, but if you scroll through, you can see the heavy plaster, chicken wire stuff, etc...as we go along. Sorry that I can't seem to aggregate them. -->Old chimney behind the pot rack: http://s77.photobucket.com/albums/j49/andi956/?action=view&current=IMG_1664.jpg CHIMNEY GOING DOWN: http://i77.photobucket.com/albums/j49/andi956/IMG_3095.jpg http://i77.photobucket.com/albums/j49/andi956/IMG_3098.jpg GONE: http://s77.photobucket.com/albums/j49/andi956/?action=view&current=IMG_3100.jpg http://s77.photobucket.com/albums/j49/andi956/?action=view&current=IMG_3099.jpg (It was very tempting to keep the space open.) NEW FRIDGE CUBBY: http://s77.photobucket.com/albums/j49/andi956/?action=view&current=IMG_3120.jpg http://i77.photobucket.com/albums/j49/andi956/IMG_3132.jpg In the 2 years since I posted, the kitchen has had yet more remodeling. If you look at the album in general, you can see a side door, etc. I walled that up, put in cabs, moved the stove, cut a pass through into another wall, gutted the tile, added a dishwasher, added crown moulding, etc. (Well, *I* didn't do all that...I needed help...much better at *destruction* than construction.) Lastly, here's where we talked about it in 2006. http://ths.gardenweb.com/forums/load/remodel/msg071448024576.html Good luck!! Andi

Old is subjective. I tend to use methods of construction more than age as a guide. Age is useful for determining whether there is lead paint or asbestos present. Many local building codes require different levels of remodeling when working on structures built many years before the remodel. Example: Locally, if sheet rock or lath and plaster wall coverings are removed, any framing/electrical/plumbing issues must be brought up to present code status. Not a problem for a house built in 1975 in many cases, but electrical in houses from 1965 can be substandard for present codes. We bought our first house in 1969, it was then over 80 years old. In 1979, we built a brand new house. From the angle of construction, the older house was better built(our contractor did a good job on the new one, but materials were not as good). There is a huge difference between wall studs that are 2" by 4" and made of white oak(old house) and 1&1/2" by 3&1/2" and made of fir(new house). We now live in a house built in 1965 and I tend to think of it in terms of the first house, since is was constructed much like the first house, but using materials similar to the new house(just built more solid). Looking at the three: First house is now 127 years old and still standing and being lived in), second house is 38(still lived in) and current is 47 years old and I view it as being newer than the second house, due to how well constructed it is. I did extensive work on both second and present houses.