Old-house renovation discussions and critical constructivism

Water is a part of our environment and if the last 100 years have shown us anything, they have proven that water cannot be completely contained by human-made structures. Perhaps we have gotten a b.t ahead of ourselves in our engineering.  I recently read a story that stated the Mississippi is 1/3 of its width and several feet higher than it was before the lock-dam-and levee systems currently in use were constructed some 100 years ago plus more recent modifications. That is a lot of water to change that drastically.

So what is my problem? Well, my understanding of human history gives the majority of wins to nature – not humankind. Constraining a river like the Mississippi to those parameters gives me images of the first 30 minutes of any disaster flick. Everyone lives around the source of the disaster thinking they are in harmony with it and that nature has been conquered. The people in the movie then get an immersion re-education (no pun intended) starting at 28-40 minutes into the film. See “When Time Ran Out” trailer.

Now- we have levee breaks, catastrophic flooding, sewer backups, failed infrastructure, and basements filling with water. How do we stop this?

Here are some things we can do at home:

• Make sure there is plant-life growing everywhere you can.
• Install a rain-barrel to divert some rainwater out of our sewage system and use that water to irrigate your yard or garden.
• Daylight-drain your gutter downspout. I say this with some caution- not near the house. Drain it into the yard several feet from the house and make sure the ground doesn’t slope back toward the house.
• Reduce artificial irrigation whenever possible. The more saturated your soil, the more likely it will not take much water in rainstorms and that water will be diverted into your basement or into the sewage system (back to the river).
• Avoid unecessary water use (use water-saver appliances and make sure the DW or washing machine is FULL when you use it).
• Install a vegetative (or green) roof. This does not mean you have to do it all at once! Put ONE plant on your roof and see if it is something you can keep up with. Then expand!

Here are some things we can do locally/regionally:

• Encourage that new buildings be required to use sustainable building practices.
• Encourage others in the responsible use of water.
• Meet with local leaders to discuss ways to return the watershed to more traditional levels.

Here are some things we can do nationally:

• Stop building in flood plains
• Stop thinking levees will prevent flooding (you know who you are STL County Engineers!) See Gumbo Flats…I mean, Chesterfield Valley.
• Encourage vertical living and responsible land use.
• Stop beating up on the Core of Engineers for doing what they were asked to by the People! Work to solve the lock-dam-levee problems.
• Spend money to improve infrastructure. Yes- I said spend money. Probably tax money. Probably tax money from NEW taxes. This is how we built the infrastructure in the first place. It is now out of date and must be renovated.
• Stop looking for who’s to blame and start fixing the problems.

The only way we are going to get ahead of our problems is with action. Do it nationally, do it locally, do it at your house. Every little bit is a step in the right direction.

When you sign a contract with someone, this is a legal document that obligates both parties to do what is in the contract. Some states have rules about what can and cannot go in a contract, but from a protection standpoint, don’t assume anything. The general contractor is obligated to do what is in the contract. Only what is in the contract. He/she is not obligated to do what you want, wish, hope for, expect, dream, plan to squeeze out of him/her, unless it is in the contract. A good contractor will follow the contract, and a smart client will read and know the contract.

By read and know, this means read the fine print and the bold print. If you hire a contractor to change a light bulb, you cannot specify how he should change it unless it is in the contract.

If you tell a contractor a project is taking too long, they may not and more likely won’t care, unless it is written in the contract clearly how long it should take.

If the contract outlines payment terms, you cannot just change them later because you don’t agree with them or don’t like them.

And if you intend to rely on the courts and an attorney to fight on your behalf, you should review and know your obligations as the client. Have you met them? Have you paid your bills fully and on time? Have you fulfilled YOUR part of the bargain?

If not, you may be setting yourself up for a very expensive education in your local civil litigation system and a destroyed business relationship.

If you are unsure of a contract or what it contains, have a QUALIFIED (someone that handles construction contract law) review the contract before you sign it. After you sign it, you are as much on the hook for the contents that relate to you as the contractors are to those that relate to them…..

This concludes the first installment of this segment. However, I will leave this with one additional bit of advice-

Don’t sue someone, unless you are ready to be sued back.

The end of 2010 is coming fast, and so are the tax credits for the energy efficient window upgrades. In this period, lots of retailers and vendors are and will be blitzing the market with “BUY NOW” info to get sales.

But there are a few things you should consider first:

1. There may and likely will be some form of similar tax credits next year (although the requirements may get a bit more strict), these tax credits existed before 2010, and they will be back in 2011 or 2012. The current lot of credits are popular because the qualifying product requirements are a bit relaxed and the applicable caps have been expanded. But keep this in mind, the Fed does not want to punish or stifle the economic recovery. Combine with that the fact that energy efficiency has not been nationally achieved (and really never will) as it is a moving bar. Once we achieve all 90% efficient heating systems and low-E glass in all our windows, other areas will need to be addressed.
2. THIS IS IMPORTANT- make sure the windows meet the criteria for the tax credits! Just because it is Low-E does NOT mean that it is tax-credit-approved. The windows that are approved generally cost more than those that are not. Any window upgrade in efficiency is a good one, but don’t get stuck with new windows that you thought would get you money back and find out that they do not. Your vendor should be able to answer this question, and the manufacturers are so keyed into the saleability of the eligible products that the windows will likely have the paperwork stapled to them if they are approved!

I am not saying that you shouldn’t hurry to upgrade your efficiency.

I am not saying that the tax credits next year will be just as good and seamless as this year – in fact I am not promising tax credits in 2011. But I am saying that the tax credits will be back.

The tax credits may not even return in their current form. They may return as a rebate from your local building authority or a local utility.

Just remember this- there is a “sale of the century” every weekend somewhere. If it were true, then each sale must be progressively better than those of the last ten years. I think of this every time I see a cheesy, high-pressure-sales remodeling company billboard that says “Last Year For The Window Tax Credits”…..