Revell Retrofit
a Two-Family Deep Energy Retrofit with National Grid
Completion
Completion date 12/01/2012
Occupancy
Two-family.
First floor is rented, two bedrooms one bath, one adult and two children, empty during the weekdays.
Second and third floor is owner-occupied, three bedrooms, three baths, two adults and one child, including an office. Owners work from home, so unit is occupied most of the time.
Days per year Building is fully occupied: 365
Scope
Two-family home. Second floor unit is also used as an architecture office.
Entire building was renovated including basement. Third floor (roof and knee wall) was completely demolished and rebuilt.
Type of Construction
Retrofit
Number of buildings
2
Bedrooms
3
Bathrooms
3.0
Stories
3
Conditioned Building Volume
29,200 cu ft
Conditioned Floor Area
3,600 sq ft
Semiconditioned Floor Area
1,200 sq ft
Location and Climate Details
two-family residence
Address
39 Revell Ave.
Northampton, MA 01060
United States
Location Type
Suburaban
Climate Region
Zone 5
Köppen Climate Type
Cfa
Lat. / Long.
POINT (-72.6374918 42.3083343)
Elevation
160 ft
Solar Insolation
3.72 (kWh/m2/day)
Annual CDD and Base Temp
939 | 65 deg F
Annual HDD and Base Temp
6978 | 65 deg F
Site
Site conditions: previously developed land, preexisting structure(s)
Materials and Design Strategy
Materials: As a project for ourselves, we felt we could experiment a bit with materials. We used seconds from the mill of a new material, Boral's Truexterior, and milled it to a modern, square shiplap siding. The mill said they would not accept that job again, as the material is very hard to mill, but Boral is now producing siding profiles that do not need to be milled. Our project helped further this application!
We also used a new material for our front steps: Perennial Wood. It has been completely maintenance free and very stable for this high-impact weather location, but the density of the material also makes it quite slippery when wet. We added walk-off mats and grip strips to avoid slipping.
Special architectural measures: Our main approach was to superinsulate and air seal as much as possible. We also removed a staircase on the south side of the building to allow more south light into one of the units.
LCA Description: No.
Indoor Environment Description: We air sealed between the two units and gave each unit a separate ERV, so there is no cross-contamination. The ERVs provide fresh air without losing much heat (or cool in the summer) which is essential now that the house is super-tight.
We also had a lot of squirrels in residence prior to construction as the house was vacant for a few years. We needed to treat all exposed wood with a bed-wetting solution.
Completion
Occupancy
Two-family.
First floor is rented, two bedrooms one bath, one adult and two children, empty during the weekdays.
Second and third floor is owner-occupied, three bedrooms, three baths, two adults and one child, including an office. Owners work from home, so unit is occupied most of the time.
Scope
Two-family home. Second floor unit is also used as an architecture office.
Entire building was renovated including basement. Third floor (roof and knee wall) was completely demolished and rebuilt.
| Type of Construction | Retrofit |
|---|---|
| Number of buildings | 2 |
| Bedrooms | 3 |
| Bathrooms | 3.0 |
| Stories | 3 |
| Conditioned Building Volume | 29,200 cu ft |
| Conditioned Floor Area | 3,600 sq ft |
| Semiconditioned Floor Area | 1,200 sq ft |
Location and Climate Details
two-family residence
| Address |
39 Revell Ave. Northampton, MA 01060
United States |
|---|---|
| Location Type | Suburaban |
| Climate Region | Zone 5 |
| Köppen Climate Type | Cfa |
| Lat. / Long. | POINT (-72.6374918 42.3083343) |
| Elevation | 160 ft |
| Solar Insolation | 3.72 (kWh/m2/day) |
| Annual CDD and Base Temp | 939 | 65 deg F |
| Annual HDD and Base Temp | 6978 | 65 deg F |
Site
Materials and Design Strategy
As a project for ourselves, we felt we could experiment a bit with materials. We used seconds from the mill of a new material, Boral's Truexterior, and milled it to a modern, square shiplap siding. The mill said they would not accept that job again, as the material is very hard to mill, but Boral is now producing siding profiles that do not need to be milled. Our project helped further this application!
We also used a new material for our front steps: Perennial Wood. It has been completely maintenance free and very stable for this high-impact weather location, but the density of the material also makes it quite slippery when wet. We added walk-off mats and grip strips to avoid slipping.
Our main approach was to superinsulate and air seal as much as possible. We also removed a staircase on the south side of the building to allow more south light into one of the units.
No.