Winterizing your old house: the basics for beginners

Yes, it's almost March, and yes, you're tired of winter, and tired of winter fuel bills.  Just in case you need a few pointers about maintaining your old home during the cold months, here's a link to a concise article from the folks at Project Home on dealing with ice dams, etc. :

  http://www.projo.com/home/content/decor_cagnetta_0212_02-12-11_1GMCMCJ_v16.4d99394.html

More soon about energy efficiency workshops for old house owners run by local historic preservation associations around the country.  

Be well and stay warm. 

Mid-Century Modern Houses: Worth Preserving

For fans of Mid-Century Modern architecture, the suburban Boston neighborhoods known as Six Moon Hill, Peacock Farm, Five Fields, Kendal Common, Wood's End, Spruce Hill, Snake Hill, and Conantum are iconic places.   Developed over 50 years ago as planned communities by Harvard- and MIT-trained architects working to establish a new vision of suburban living, they remain some of the most stable neighborhoods in west surburban Boston.   Houses of this type rarely come up for sale, it is said, because their owners are so attached to house and neighborhood.   These so-called "contemporary" houses are getting on in years, just like the baby boomers who grew up in them.

In this post I'll briefly review the history of these neighborhoods and try to identify some essential design elements of the Mid-Century Modern house.  These homes pose some specific retrofitting challenges.   In some towns they have also become prey to demolition by developers seeking to build larger, grander houses, and this trend has alarmed many in the preservation community.  Finally, at the end of this post, you'll find links to articles on Mid-Century modern architecture and to organizations working to preserve it.

Keeping Warm in Northern Minnesota

I've been visiting friends in Tower, Minnesota, not far from the Canadian border during a stretch of  beautiful February weather.  The bright sunshine, blue skies, and clean white snow up here is perfect for snow shoeing, cross-country skiing, and snowmobiling.   Did I mention it's cold?   Well, they did have a thaw a week ago, but now it's back down to normal--temps around 0˚ Fahrenheit at night, 20˚ at midday.   Pretty reasonable for this area:  in 1996, the thermometer went down to an historic low of -62˚ Farenheit.  In other words, this is the Land O' Cold.   Frostbite's a real hasard.   But outdoor activity thrives and rural life here is vigorous and healthy.  The kids were out shooting baskets in the yard, sliding down a homemade snow hill, and hiking in the woods beyond the pasture.