I just toured a house with some folks who I believe had been on the Deutschtown House Tour. It soon became apparent these folks had minimal appreciation for old houses and instead wanted to remove all the interior walls to create large, modern spaces. I really wish people who appreciated the antique nature of our homes could be found to live in them. I don't see much point in living like a Victorian, but I don't understand the desire to make these old townhomes look like a downtown condo with an old stairway. There's a certain charm in the antique, and unfortunately that seems lost on many of today's urban homebuyers. I'm big on city life, but there are those who are better suited to the suburbs. If you want big expanses of space, better to build new and slap in an old mantle.

The Wall Street Journal recently publiched an article about green building running head into historic preservation. I have two basic thoughts on this. First, you don't have to get carried away with either, and second, like historic preservation, green living is a mindset rather than a strict set of guidelines that must be adhered to.

Regarding the article the author fails to consider that restoration itself is a green practice because it involves recycling and hey, you can have a much greater impact recycling a home than you can a plastic bottle. More, in the case of townhomes, I would be an uninsulated townhome attached on two sides could use less energy per square foot that a fully insulated house with five sides (roof) exposed. Its also about the size of your living space. An uninsulated smaller space will use less energy than a green palace that's way oversized.

Saving energy is great, but I don't think we need to get really crazy with the energy-saving stuff. Putting windmills in the yard, solar panels on the roof and collecting rainwater is nice, but doing the little things, insulating the attic and filling cracks matters most. There's a diminishing return when you go too far beyond that. Remember by living in an old house instead of a new one you're already keeping alot of debris out of a landfill.

I had replaced some of the windows in my home, and while they aren't bad now I wish I hadn't. I wasn't aware of the alternatives available then, and as the article points out there are even more available now. A company called Jeld-wen will create a new sash for old frames that's insulated. A local company called Allied Millworks will also build a sash to fit an old frame. No, in terms of energy-efficiency, they might not be as good as replacement windows with frames, but in terms of historic preservation they're not as good as old single-pane windows with wavy glass.

They are a good way to embrace two worthwhile fields of thought.