place to hang art

Insulation. Not romantic, certainly not pretty, but remarkably thrilling!  Gary Pack of Pack Insulation ( 740-497-1194) came and blew insulation into the wall cavities of our house from the INSIDE . We had installed new siding 4 years ago and coudn’t drill from the outside. What does a girl do who yearns for warmth, quiet and enery efficiency?  She gets Gary Pack (via our contractor connection, Justin Collamore of Collamore Built Design and Construction)!

I immediately noticed the rooms were quieter and within a 12 hour period of having our furnace fan running/heat on,  noticed a warmer more even whole house temperature. Heating and air companies generally recommend running your furnace fan all year long-don’t rely on “auto”. Keeps energy costs down by keeping a consistent temperature and will help  increase the life of your furnace .

Gary drilled approximately one and one-half inch holes along the walls between the studs and, for almost 3 glorious hours, pumped cellulose goodness throughout the interior nooks and crannies of our 194o’s abode. It felt like Christmas. Perhaps a couple of extra gifts this year with our energy savings?!

He then popped in some wooden plugs, did some rudimentary spackling and off he went. With a little shop vac-ing and some additional spackling and sanding  we are good to go. Yes, you have to paint but, really, aren’t you looking for a reason to change that color anyway?

This was pretty painless, I am truly blown away. (couldn’t help it….)

Ok…another bug prevention tip…not an obsession…really. Soon your pest control company(you don’t have one?) will be in the business of insulating your home ,”greenly”, they claim, while preventing the nasty infiltration of bugs. The following is from the T.A.P. website-check it out!

T.A.P.  Insulation offers two sustainable solutions in one innovative product: an environmentally responsible insulation with superior thermal and sound-deadening properties and a unique method of pest control.

T•A•P Pest Control Insulation is made principally from recycled paper that is diverted from landfills.  The paper is reduced in size and then fed through a disc-mill,whose exceedingly fine tolerances explode the fibers into a soft, gray, cotton-boll-like substance. The product is infused with borates through a proprietary process.  The result is a thermally and acoustically superior insulation product that is environmentally sensitive and also helps control pests!

T•A•P is a “loose-fill” insulation, so it is installed by blowing the product into attics on top of existing insulation (it can also be installed in attics and walls of new homes) with specialized machines.  While reducing your energy bills by keeping your home warmer in winter and cooler in summer, T•A•P also controls common household pests that nest in attics and walls like roaches, ants, termites, and silverfish. T•A•P therefore provides a long-term, preventative approach to reducing energy consumption while protecting your home from many common household insects that come in contact with the insulation.

 http://www.tapinsulation.com/residential.aspx

Don’t forget to go see what’s hot in home design at the BIA Parade of Homes in Ackerley Park in New Albany, through August 8. Of course, you gotta like the Georgian…but the location of the development is good, walkable to the library, Rusty Bucket, Starbucks, CVS. All that the strip along Market Street has to offer. Lots of bikable options too. One of the best locations for a Parade development I have seen in recent years.

Tickets are $12 ($2 off if purchased in advance at any Union Savings Bank) hours are:

Monday-Thursday: 12pm-9
Friday and Saturday: 10am-9pm
Sunday: 10am-6pm
No admittance 1 hour prior to closing

PLEASE don’t neglect to see the house by builder Kevin Knight and Company, I believe it is number 4. As in last year’s Parade home he built, some reused materials (flooring) and attention to green elements, including a partial “live roof”. “The House as Retreat” is his raison d’etre . Overly dramatic maybe, but his website does say that as his “motto”–the retreat part. I love everything he does, could retreat all up in that house, furnishings, wine cellar and all. Sigh.

The Maxwell guest cottage. of course it would attract me like a raccoon to garbage (maybe i can think of something nicer) –like a bee to nectar, that’s better.

The  things i enjoy, creative innovative and cost-saving pre-fab construction and my son. But there is so much more…

check out  http://www.cabinfever.us.com/home.html.

This delightful find offers clean, green designs suitable for backyards,  beachy vacation spots and woodsy retreats. Start with a one room but see all of the options. Really fun! AND a great no-permit shed, bath house option (with options of course). I think reasonably priced for the design flexibility, included finishes and its complete awesomeness!

Now, I only need a woodsy yet urban slab of land to “plot” a dreamy hideaway…