As Seen on This Old House
Architect: Sara Mallio, White Oaks Studio
Builder: Silva Brothers Construction
Kitchen Cabinetry Design: Focal Point Design
Article by: Sara Mallio
When I was told I had received the job of bringing a historic fire-damaged home back to life with sustainable and energy-efficient systems, I was overjoyed. With my passion for old homes and sustainable design, this was the perfect project for me.
Dianne and Charlie came to me after buying a fire-damaged 1894 Colonial Revival in Westford, MA. They had been looking for a property where they could age gracefully with their daughter, but each with their separate living spaces. This Westford home with the impressive main house and large barn in the back was perfect for them. Mother and daughter fell in love with its stately historic character, while Charlie liked the fact that the work needed would expedite his priority to make it as energy efficient and maintenance-free as possible.
They knew, though, that it would require a substantial investment to bring the stately home back to life. In 2016, a fire destroyed the roof and attic. While the fire did not extend much below the attic, water from the fire hoses did significant damage to the interior of the house. Immediately after taking ownership, Dianne and Charlie personally began demolition and clean-up of the property. All the original plaster and lathe went, and all the fixtures, until all that was left inside were the exposed studs, stairs, wood trim, and built-ins.
While they demo'd, they interviewed many contractors and professionals to find the best match to help them restore their new home in a way that stayed true to its history and brought its systems into the 21st century. This is when I entered the picture.
Charlie and Dianne had a grand vision of restoring the house to its former glory and turning the barn into an in-law space for them to live in while their daughter inhabited the house. Charlie also had the goal to have a “Net Zero” home. A Net Zero house uses no energy when averaged over the course of a year. For example, any grid energy used during the winter is offset by excess energy generated by the home’s solar panels in the summer which are fed back into the grid. This would give him the lowest energy costs possible. With my dual passions for old houses and sustainable design, I was thrilled to help them!
First, we took a close look at the home’s thermal envelope, the exterior walls, roofs, and floors that protect the house from water, heat, and cold. Originally, the plan was to build a second wall just inside the original to increase the wall's thickness and insulation value. This is known as a “double-stud” wall. We were going to fill it with dense-packed cellulose. But after discussions with general contractor Charlie Silva, and knowing the exterior siding was all going to come off and be replaced with a low-maintenance siding in the style of the original, we went in a different direction. Zip R6 insulated sheathing was installed over the existing board sheathing once the siding was off, a 1 ½” deep wood furring strip was added to the existing studs to deepen the wall (see photo.) The cavity was filled with closed-cell spray foam. This created a wall with an R-value of R41, 30% higher than the code required R30. For comparison, a house built in the 1990’s was required to have an R-value of R13 by code. Poor installation of insulation often led to even lower effective R-values. The lower the R-value, the more heat is conducted through the walls and out of the house, and therefore, the more energy is used.
To preserve the home’s history while giving it all the modern conveniences, we focused our renovation efforts on the kitchen and bathrooms, leaving the original stairs, built-ins and other wood trim. We expanded the kitchen into an adjacent bump out, as well as the deck off the kitchen. We relocated the cramped basement stairs to the pantry and reworked the bathroom layouts. We created a large walk-in closet for Emily's vintage clothes collection, and the deck off the Primary Bedroom was enclosed to make a three-season sun room.
The remainder of the house was lovingly restored. The exterior, the large portico in front was stabilized and repaired so it will stand another 100 years. A new roof was added to replace the one destroyed by the fire. Historical records and photographs were carefully studied. We recreated the historic hipped roof with the pilaster details around the dormer windows and the large widows walk at its top. Widows' walks were popular in the 19th century. They are mostly found on houses near the ocean, as their original purpose was for the wives of sea captains to look for their husbands’ ships to come in. But as their popularity spread, they could also be found farther inland.
On the interior of the house, the family worked on stripping and repainting the original built-ins around the fireplaces as well as restoring the tile work around the fireplaces. The main staircase with its side bench and sweeping first steps, was lovingly restored to its original grandeur. An artist was invited in to create an original mural in the dining room. Emily did an amazing job selecting all the vintage fixtures and wall finishes to finish out the project.
Photo credit: Mike Casey
This was an amazing project to work on. I felt honored to have worked with Dianne, Charlie, and Emily to give new life to this amazing historic house. And I can’t wait for construction to start on the Carriage House in the back. That will be turned into an ADU (Auxiliary Dwelling Unit) for the parents, Dianne and Charlie to live in. It will possibly be even more amazing than the house!
Definitions:
R-value: The resistance of a material to heat flowing through it. More info here.
Dense-packed cellulose: Cellulose insulation is composed of ground cellulose, usually recycled newspapers, but can be of various other types such as sawdust from saw mills. Boric acid, sodium borate, and/or ammonium sulfate are often added as fire and pest retardants. In dense-packed cellulose the cellulose is packed into the thermal assembly to a density of 3.5-4.5 lb/ft3 . This prevents settling, increases the R-value, reduces air flow and sound transmission, and deters pests from using it as nesting material.
Closed-cell spray foam: A two-component, spray-applied polyurethane foam.
Plans to transform the Carriage House have already been drawn up. We look forward to watching this old barn transform into its new life. Check back for final pictures when it is done!
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