Chibimimi and Southern Canuck: The house will keep the timber frame, wall strip sheathing, flooring, rafters, strip sheathing on the roof above the rafters, the ceiling joists, and strip sheathing on the joists. The siding is ALL going to be donated (at least what doesn't need abatement (50%) - it is coated in many layers of lead paint that is cracking) and needs to be removed to place the exterior insulation. The gingerbread will stay. The returns will go. The trim will be similar. The porch trim will be similar. The windows will be as close to their current layout as possible, but the windows currently upstairs do not meet current egress requirements, so that is why I am enlarging the gable window. The plan that shows the door entering directly into the kitchen is the current house (as it sits now/before renovation). Not what it will be after - see the other layouts for clarification - hope you can actually read them now (I am new to this forum, and am trying to get you the info the best I can....) Yes foundation walls and floors, crawl spaces, and dirt basements really do or can account for up to 30-40% of heat loss. They are the largest window in your home. Especially if they are uninsulated, and air infiltration is not managed. Just because you highly insulate you ceilings doesn't mean you don't have heat loss through the ground. Yes heat rises, we ALL know that, but what many don't understand is how heat follows a cold gradient also. For instance when you lay directly on the ground you must insulate yourself from the earth nearly all year round or you will have either moisture problems or hypothermia problems. The earth absorbs your body heat, just like it absorbs the heat from your house. - check out Green Building Advisor or the Building Science Corporation for further documentation and in depth analysis of this phenomenon. If you get your hands on a thorough whole house wall/energy (BTU) calculator, you will see just how much energy is really lost through the foundation walls and floor. OR you will see just how much you will save, by insulating your basement walls and floors............you need to manage moisture, vapor and air though too or can create a massive petri dish inside your home. Those aren't architect drawings - they are mine..... Earthen or bermed homes use the earth as a consistant energy mass, that regulates temperature - the ground is an insulator, but also a heating or cooling mass - which is why geothermal heat/cooling works. It is true documented science that many are confused by. My hope is to keep the essence of the original home, maintain it's look, but tweak it just a bit to fit the needs of my family, while striking a fine balance between making equitable, sustainable, healthy design upgrades. I will have a Venmar ERV to do my air exchange (ERV because the geothermal provides cooling too, and the ERV can help with moisture too). The fireplace will also have outside air exchange.

I should have updated this thread again. In June, our air conditioner died. Something electrical - it would run for 5 minutes, make a loud grinding sound, and then shut off and trip the switch on the panel. Called an AC company out to repair it, said that he could repair it but that it was on it's last legs. Didn't surprise me - it's 8 years old, extremely cheap builder special, and we used it year-round, almost every day, both day and night. Life of a normal use AC unit is 10-12 years. So, we opted to replace it, and got an American Standard unit - very nice. This thing is silent - our old unit sounded like an airplane roar. No joke. We had a very hot summer again, September being the worst. Rates did go up too as they said last summer. Last summer we hovered between 750-900, and this summer? The September bill was $495. NO JOKE. And that's even AFTER the rate hike. I can't even imagine if we had the old unit - it would have been well over a thousand dollars. Our new unit will pay for itself very quickly. Moral of the story - if you are running a builder special AC unit and your bill is high - replace it. It'll be worth it.

Some people HAVE to feel/know they saved money. I pointed out to my mom once a long time ago that by the time she drives from Kroger (where she did all the other grocery shopping) to a different market that has meat on sale, she'll spend the savings in the gas tank. Have customers that are loaded, including family, and pay for anything they want but are always asking for a discount. They drive Mercedes, Lincolns, and other fine cars, they take the whole family on cruises, they own several homes, furs, you name it but want me to help them pay for their orders. Do I sound resentful? Yep, I am. And, so are they when I tell them no. I cannot stand in line for two hours for anything. Will if I absolutely have to, as in under duress LOL, but I don't absolutely have to have that pizza.

Ladylotus if you look at the Mills Fleet and Farm site, who is the primary distributor of Cherry Stone #2 you will see that the stores are in the northern / central region. I am sure it gets distributed to locations on both coasts but so far nothing in the nearest 100 miles of me. I just purchased 200 pounds of it online which brought shipping cost down to $10 for each 50 pound bag. I won't have to buy it again for 2 years. LOL