Architects refurbishing old home with new green technology

BEAUFORT -- Although environmentally friendly homes have been built locally from the ground up, a home in Beaufort is undergoing a green renovation.

Mike Frederick said he started Island Green, a new division of Beaufort-based Frederick and Frederick Architects, to do something that would save existing homes, help save money for middle- to low-income families, and bring in revenues during a slowdown in thearchitectural business.

"With things slower, it seemed like a good time to start something we'd been thinking about for a while," he said.

During a blower-door test at 1711 Camellia St., a 1950s-style ranch house, auditors checked air flowing in from the outside through cracks and leaks. This let them know which areas to plug to reduce inefficiencies, said Bryan Cordell, executive director of the Charleston-based Sustainability Institute, which conducted the test.

Island Green, which purchased the house to renovate then sell, will caulk and fix areas of the home that leak.

But that's only the first step toward making the home green.

The renovations are being done on a $50,000 budget, so the team has to prioritize what it will fix, said Jane Frederick, the other half of Frederick and Frederick.

The hardwood floors in the living room will be moved to the master bedroom and replaced with bamboo flooring, which is an eco-friendly resource. In the master bathroom, the toilet will be replaced with a dual-flush toilet, which saves water by using different amounts of water to flush either liquids or solids. A newspaper-based insulation will be added to the walls, which weren't insulated.

Other improvements not tied to being green include installing new plumbing and a new heating and air conditioning system and replacing the electric hot water heater with a gas one that heats only when hot water is being used.