This Old House Magazine – Beloit WI

Well we didn’t get featured or even mentioned for that matter in the This Old House Magazine for their March “Best Old House Neighborhoods” issue. Oh well.

Of the fifty-one neighborhoods (one from each state) that were chosen and presented on their website only the “Editors’ Top Six Picks” were featured in the March issue of This Old House. Of the six neighborhoods that were featured in the magazine five were from major metros.

I can certainly appreciate their needing to feature the major metros but it sure would have been nice to see our humble burg in type. All the same, This Old House is a great magazine and we’re grateful for the honor. If you take a look these are some wonderful and dynamic communities. We’re in very good company.

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This Old House Magazine March 2010 – Best Old House Neighborhoods – Featured Communities

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• The Villages – Detroit, MI
• North Mayfair – Chicago, IL
• West Adams Heritage Association – Los Angeles, CA
• Junius Heights Neighborhood – Dallas, TX
• Stuyvesant Heights Historic District – Brooklyn, NY (no website)
• Old Town Historic District – Brunswick GA

If you’d like to pick up a copy they special ordered some in down at Turtle Creek Bookstore and have them on hand. Y’all know where they’re at. 

Read about our nomination and selection here.

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This Old House: Beloit Among Best Old House Neighborhoods

Yes, that’s right. We’ve been noticed.

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This Old House in association with Preservation Directory has selected Beloit Wisconsin to be among the 2010 Best Old House Neighborhoods in the US.

…what we looked for was simple: oft-overlooked neighborhoods populated by people who share an appreciation of finely crafted homes that have plenty of past and lots of future.  ~ This Old House

From the state of Wisconsin, Beloit was the one chosen.

This is fantastic news and some measure of validation. There are many in and around Beloit’s Historic Districts that have stated that the revitalization of Beloit has been a bit of an open secret that many outside of town don’t seem to recognize or give credit for. Beloit took its lumps as did many commercial river towns across the U.S. But that was years ago and it has since slowly, grudgingly been undergoing a bit of a renaissance. If you’ve not been to Beloit, its downtown, its renewed riverfront AND historic districts for a while you probably have missed it.

Beloit’s historic districts set the standard though the close-by vintage neighborhoods likewise maintain much of their original charm and character. The fact that there is a first rate college as a neighbor and a thriving downtown both within a short walking distance are significant assets. Historic District residents enjoy proximity to all there is to do in town. You can walk to restaurants, live entertainment, shopping, community events, the many cultural offerings the college makes available to the community and on and on and on. There is a growing and diverse arts and entertainment community. It’s all just a short walk away.

In fact as it happens BIFF, the Beloit International Film Festival, now in its fifth year and gaining national attention is this weekend. Five of the seven venues are downtown and within walking distance.

For those who may have grown up in auto-centric suburbia, they may not appreciate what it affords residents. Pedestrian centric, old-house living in vintage neighborhoods close to a thriving down town offers a quality of life many have not had the opportunity to experience. Historic communities provide a sort of intangible rootedness not found in sprawling suburban planned developments where the closest point of “community” lies many miles away. Retail consists mostly of generic strip malls with interchangeable brands and people you don’t know.

And Beloit has an intriguing history and ancient history. It is filled with colorful characters and events that have shaped not just the community but can be seen rippled across our nation’s history. It’s kinda’ cool living someplace where interesting things have happened. There are stories here. Further, Beloit provides the richness of diversity missing in more homogeneous communities. And for those who appreciate diversity it is a welcomed difference, particularly for our children.

Neighborhood living with neighbors you actually know is a good option not found just anywhere. Speaking for one, having moved here from a broadly diverse college town with a rich cultural and arts community we were hoping to find some of the same here. Indeed this has been the case.

If you’ve an appreciation for distinctive vintage homes within a stable and welcoming vintage neighborhood of like minded old-house lovers you may want to consider Beloit. It’s a good place to make your home.

Thank you This Old House and Preservation Directory.

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The Beloit Daily News Coverage of This Old House designation.

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WIFR News Coverage of This Old House designation.

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We didn’t make it into the magazine however. Oh well. Read about it here.

On a personal note… I’ve been a huge fan of This Old House and have enjoyed the TV show virtually since its inception in the late 70’s with Bob Villa & Norm. This Old House is a big part of why I love old houses today.

Thanks to Marge F. and Sandy K. for their help with this.

Hey Beloit, what do you think of this? Comment below.

Historic Preservation Creates Jobs in WI

I received the following from Bob Yapp, preservation consultant, director of the Belvedere School in Hannibal MO.

Our colleague, Donovan Rypkema put the attached analysis of jobs created by the “stimulus” package as compared to the jobs created by “Save America’s Treasures”. As many of you know, the Obama administration is seeking to eliminate this highly successful federal grant program.

Not only do they want to eliminate SAT but all of the tax breaks for homeowner energy efficiency are patently anti-preservation. Ripping out original windows and replacing them with less energy efficient windows with an average lifespan of 15 years could ruin our historic housing in a big way. In all of the federal programs not one cent has gone to heritage or preservation. Most of the other European countries as well as Australia have put stimulus money into these areas and are creating more jobs for less money.

Donovan’s chart is breathtaking. It demonstrates that preservation doesn’t cost–it pays!

~Bob Yapp, founder/director The Belevedere School, Hannibal MO.

Click above for the full report. It would seem to indicate that in WI historic preservation funded projects have cost $19K/full-time job created vs $286K/full-time job created resulting from the Stimulus Plan.

Stimulus Expenditure by state and jobs by state from White House website, as of February 10, 2010 update. Accessed 2/11/10. The last page of the report breaks out how analysis conducted.

Honestly I’d not heard of Donovan Rypkema before so found this…

LOL,    A little impassioned and provocative but consider the points he’s trying to make.

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How to Camouflage Inappropriate Replacement Windows on Your Historic Home

I stumbled upon this article written by a Historic Preservation Consultant doing business down in Florida and found it interesting. Given the fact that so much irreversible replacement of original windows has taken place, what is a current homeowner to do to try and mediate what a prior owner had done with the homes windows?

I think it reflects the interests of a growing minority of the home buying market who seek out and choose distinctive old and historic homes and neighborhoods in which to live. They love the old house but what did they do with the windows? Frustrated over what a prior owner did with lowest possible cost rip-n-replace remodeling (or flipping) they’re looking for options.

An interesting read and a cleaver suggestion.

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How to Camouflage Inappropriate Replacement Windows on Your Historic Home

By Jo-Anne Peck

A recent forum post on an old house restoration and renovation website asked what they could do to hide the bright white vinyl replacement windows that the previous owners had installed. They didn’t have the money to replace the windows, and the windows were still working fine, but were glaringly inappropriate for their historic home. For situations like this, an affordable solution is to install traditional wood window screens over the windows.

Wood window screens can be built by homeowners with some woodworking skills or hired out for a reasonable cost from a local carpenter. They are historically appropriate on most home styles since they were commonly added even to the earliest homes by later homeowners. The best woods for screen longevity are cedar, cypress, or mahogany, although other woods can be used if primed and painted thoroughly. Paintable water repellent preservatives applied before priming are also useful for extending the life of the newly built screens. Screen frames are typically 1-1/2″ to 2″ wide and corners can be joined by screws, L-brackets, pegs or historically appropriate bridle joints for more accomplished woodworkers. Screening is applied after painting by stapling to the frame, then the edges are covered by screen molding, which is a narrow rounded trim piece.

When trying to hide inappropriate non-historic windows, full height screens are recommended set flush with the exterior casing or within the brickmold trim. Using charcoal or other dark color screening helps mute the bright white of the vinyl windows behind the screen. Painting the screens a contrasting accent color also draws attention away from the windows behind and adds an attractive element to your home. Forest green, black, deep brown and burgundy were common screen accent colors. Install the screens with stainless face-mounted hangers and your replacement windows will no longer detract from the historic appearance of your home.

Ms. Peck is a Historic Preservation Consultant with over 12 years experience working with historic Florida homes. She is President of Preservation Resource, Inc., a preservation design-consulting company which offers a specialized line of traditional products for historic homes at http://www.HistoricShed.com including traditional wood window screens.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Jo-Anne_Peck
http://EzineArticles.com/?How-to-Camouflage-Inappropriate-Replacement-Windows-on-Your-Historic-Home&id=2323259

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How could I do this?

There are those that are happy to build wood screens and storms for you like the company above. It’s also a service some enterprising local woodworker/contractor could learn and make available to a regional market.

Making Wood Storm Windows – The Belvedere School

Windows into Beloit

Like a person’s eyes being likened to the window into the soul, a home’s windows have been described as reflecting the soul of a home.

Often it is a homes windows that define and distinguish its character. Removing original windows that define a home and give it character for single light replacement windows leaves a home with the all too familiar blank, vacant stare. Bit by bit distinctive homes are being denuded of their character and reduced to irreversible blandness.

See the BRAND NEW Beloit NPA Gallery.

You’ll see the new category page in the top navigation.

You’ll see that in too many instances it is the few remaining original windows that convey the dignity the now humbled home once had.

Windows that are of considerably higher quality made of tight grain old-growth wood, that could be repaired are removed and replaced with windows that typically have a useful life of ~10 years before they fail and need to be replaced again.  By this time the purchaser is typically gone.

At that point they would be replaced yet again. Repair is not an option. Recurring revenue for the replacement window industry explains the marketing efforts.

Yes, the warranty states 10-20 yrs. Manufacturers know that the average stay in a home is less then 10 years. The average in Rock Co. is ~5 yrs.

This is why the same windows installed in a commercial building do not carry the same guarantee. That’s because commercial owners on average retain ownership longer then households.

Do you have drafty windows? Consider repair.

1. The repair will last as long or longer.
2. Repair is dramatically less expensive then replacement. Don’t be fooled by energy savings payback – your break even is further out then the expected life of the window.
3. Repair is green. Why send windows that can be repaired to the land fill?
4. Double pane insulation? Very little of a windows thermal loss is a result of radiation through the glass. Heat rises. It is mostly a function of air infiltration due to air leaks at the joints and seems. It is drafty. Repairing an old window so that it is no longer drafty is very do-able and relatively inexpensive. A window salesperson  will not tell you that. The incremental heat savings resulting from radiation is the least part of the equation.
5. But they tilt in for cleaning. OK, check mate. But ask your neighbor who has this feature when the last time they actually did this.
6. Additionally, more and more buyers of distinctive old homes recognize and value the character and integrity of original windows. It’s almost always cost prohibitive to return to the quality and character of window that was removed by a prior owner. Once they’re gone there’s virtually no going back.

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There’s a lot of money to be made by manufacturers, retailers and installers convincing historic home owners with repairable windows that they need to buy new replacement grade windows that in time need to be purchased yet again. Don’t get snookered.

The Demolition Continues

Following up on a prior post Is Demolition the Solution.

Please don’t misunderstand, I DO NOT advocate saving everything. There are properties in and around town that I would gladly hold the crane operator’s coat while they do their business. There are structures that were poorly built, poorly sited or zoned and/or are in the way of needed PLANNED development. I think the city is better for the planned demolition for planned development.

That said, it would seem that demolition is frequently used as a club of last resort to try and force the issue of slum lord property maintenance.

It would seem though that on more then one occasion we’re cutting off our nose in spite.  At risk of dating myself, what comes to mind is Blazing Saddles. Cleavon Little as the new sheriff threatens to shoot himself as a means of persuasion. Mr. slum lord, if you don’t bring your property up to code we’re going to bull doze it. That’ll show you.

For a slum lord who is doing all they can to walk away from a property they’ve demonstrated they no longer have use for, this does not seem to be a compelling motivator. This is the tactic we’ve been employing for some time now. The question is… is it working? I would be interested to know.

Please, is there not a better way?

Is there not a more persuasive way to compel a slum lord who has siphoned the value out of their property in a neighborhood and left it for dead to comply with standards? Can we not intercede before the property is allowed to degrade to such a state?

The slum lord is left with the bill for demolition to be added to the citations they’re already not paying. If they’re not paying those fines what are the chances the city collects on the demolition charge as well? I would be curious to know.

The resident home owners living in the neighborhood are left with an empty lot that screams blight. Proponents would argue… it’s open space! It’s a good thing. Hmmm. I propose anyone driving down a street and sees empty lots of this sort, what comes to mind is not… Oh, good. Open space. More likely it’s, hmm, blight. Proponents would say, we’ll build something new and nice. Years ago that may have been the case. Look around, with the sole exception of the college infill at College and Clary which was well done, the majority of residential infill is jarring and… less then great… IMO anyway.

I’d be interested to know what you think. Your comments welcome. See below.

Meet Your Neighbors – Tom & Amanda

Meet Tom Long & Amanda Berard… Gretta and Harvey as well.

From: Amanda is from Hayward WI, Tom is originally from San Francisco and more recently from Chippewa Falls WI.

How long in the neighborhood: 10 months, February 09′

Family: Gretta, the white coat golden-doodle looking dog and Harvey the dark haired mix are both rescue dogs they had prior to moving to Beloit. Gretta loves to run, Harvey… he likes being carried.

Occupation: Amanda works for United Health Care and telecommutes managing her team from their home office. Tom works at Kerry as a commercial & operations controller – dairy division.

For Fun: They enjoy walking and playing with Gretta and Harvey. They’re into their Roku digital player for watching TV programming over the net. And on the other end of the technology spectrum Amanda knits, and very well too. Yes we’ve told her about the fanatic knitters in the neighborhood along with the when-n-where. Tom is looking to hone his handi-man skills with various projects planned for the house.

Community Involvement: As they’re new to the community and still settling in their focus has been on getting their new home set up.

Why this neighborhood: They had looked at homes in various communities in the state line area and as far south as Rockford. By chance they drove past the home on Bushnell and saw it for sale. Prior to moving to Beloit they’d lived in a new home where they were the first owner. They were intrigued by the distinctive architectural character of the old house. They contacted the realtor that afternoon and checked out the home that evening. Following that, looking at vintage homes elsewhere regionally they chose their Bushnell St. home. Tom appreciates having a short commute to work.

Best part of living here: They really enjoy being able to walk downtown. They particularly enjoy Nikki’s because they’re open late and they tend to work late. Having the park directly across the street is very nice and they’ve enjoyed events hosted there. They enjoy taking walks through the neighborhood looking at the old houses. There is a lot to do but regret that they’ve missed a number of things they’d have like to attended but they heard about too late.

Aspirations for the neighborhood community: It would be nice if there was a dog park nearby. Tom would also like to bike to work if there was a bike route available. They enjoy the growing number downtown restaurants and look forward to more downtown development of this sort.

Meet Tom & Amanda (and possibly Gretta & Harvey): You’ll bump into Tom & Amanda down at Nikki’s, usually late. You’ll see Gretta & Harvey out early walking their people around the neighborhood.

Click over to meet LaVaughn Kunny

Cash For Caulkers

So, ok. We’ve been through the Cash for Clunkers program. Stay tuned for…

Cash For Caulkers

Or… leveraging economic stimulus funding for old house home owners.

I received the following from Adrian Fine who is a director at the Center for State and Local Policy at the National Trust. It would seem that historic home owners may be misinformed about ineligibility of storm windows for tax credit. Not surprisingly, it is usually a window replacement contractor who tells them this.

So here’s the deal….
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Question: Do storm windows/doors qualify for the $1,500 tax credit.
Answer: YES!

Despite some confusion and misleading information, storm windows and doors do qualify for the tax credit. This chart from the U.S. Department of Energy, Environmental Protection Agency and Energy Star clearly lists storm windows/doors as eligible products for the tax credit.

Question: Are all storm windows/doors eligible?
Answer: NO.

As stated earlier, the 2009/2010 provisions established a higher standard than in 2007 and all eligible storm windows/doors (purchased from June 1, 2009 to December 31, 2010) must have a U-value of 0.30 or lower and solar heat gain coefficient of 0.30 or lower. Here’s where the main problem lies regarding questions on eligibility. While it is common for new windows to offer specific qualifications regarding performance, it is a difficult to assess for storm windows/doors. Measuring the U-value and solar heat gain of storm windows/doors depends on the performance of the existing window in combination with a storm window, which will always be a case-by-case basis. This can only be tested after storm windows/doors are installed and will vary greatly from building to building.

While some storm window/door manufacturers are marketing their products in conjunction with the tax credit, others are not because the performance standard is difficult to substantiate for all cases. Some are listing classes of exterior windows (single pane, clear glass, double pane, low-E coating, etc.) that a product may be combined with to be eligible in specific climate zones (for a map, go to http://resourcecenter.pnl.gov/cocoon/morf/ResourceCenter/dbimages/full/973.jpg).

Question: What do I need to claim the tax credit?
Answer: Manufacturer’s Certification Statement

A Manufacturer’s Certification Statement is a signed statement from the manufacturer certifying that the product or component qualifies for the tax credit. Taxpayers must keep a copy of the certification statement for their records, but do not have to submit a copy with their tax return. Some manufacturers are providing these Certificates on their website. Other manufacturers are not, taking a more conservation approach and not issuing these certificates since it’s difficult to substantiate on a case-by-case basis. Though there are others, two storm window/door manufacturers that do provide certificates are Gorell  (http://www.gorell.com/pages/energy_tax_incentive_act.htm) and Kaufmann (http://www.kaufmannwindow.com/2009energytaxcredit.htm).

As always, please check with your tax advisor for advice.

**Also, for more information on the stimulus funding, and constantly-expanding case studies, check out the Perfect Storm webpage(s) on PreservationNation

–Adrian
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For more information visit the National Trust website > The Perfect Storm

Or contact Adrian directly at: Adrian_Fine@nthp.org

Meet Your Neighbors – LaVaughn Kunny

Meet LaVaughn Kunny

From: Finley, North Dakota (north of Fargo – it’s very much like the movie)

How long in the neighborhood: 59 yrs. Moved in with Husband Bart in 1950.

Family: Husband Bart passed nine years ago. Three grown children, daughter, daughter, son. Bart was chairman of the biology department at Beloit College.

Occupation: Retired. Taught biology at Aldrich middle school.

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Community Involvements:

• - The Arts League of Beloit – Past president
• - SLU (Society for Learning Unlimited) – Founding member and past president
• - Beloit Historical Society – volunteer
• - Atonement Lutheran Church – member

Why this neighborhood: Bart had accepted a teaching position at Beloit College. Initially they moved into a rental home on the 700 block of Park. They subsequently purchased their home on Church. They moved into the neighborhood because of home values and proximity to work. Also, having studied art and architecture in college LaVaughn loved the character of their distinctive old house.

Best part about living here: LaVaughn loves her home, her neighbors and the neighborhood/community. With her appreciation for architecture and wanting to maintain the unique character of her home, subsequent updates to the home were done with professional architect design. As they entertained frequently they enlarged both the dining room and first floor bathroom.

As for the community, the best part is the diversity she and her family have enjoyed. Her children attended Wright School, Aldrich and BMHS and are the better for having experienced diversity in their education and upbringing. She’s proud of the diverse makeup of her and her children’s friendships.

LaVaughn loves being so close to the college. There is so much made available for the broader community that there is more to do then time to take advantage, and it’s so close.  She’s particularly fond of the symphony, Wright and Logan Museums.

Being a retired teacher she enjoys the affection of many former students who still go out of their way to show her their appreciation and friendship. She has lots of stories. Ask her and you’ll get her going. 

Aspirations for the neighborhood community: LaVaughn looks forward to ever more cultural diversity in the community. She’s particularly hopeful for more active involvement from Beloit’s Hispanic community.

Meet LaVaughn: “You’ll find me at out for lunch downtown somewhere.  Stop and say hello.”

Click over to meet Amanda Berard and Tom Long

Beloit’s Historic Rasey House & River Stone Construction

Beloit’s Historic Rasey House

& River Stone Construction

It’s likely most folks know about Beloit’s historic Rasey House and have visited at one time or another. We finally stopped in for the first time during the Beloit Heritage Days just passed and had a wonderful time talking with the volunteers. It’s an amazing house and and a very special and integral piece of Beloit history. It seems so many of these historic home’s residents and the historic structures themselves factor into the stories of other’s lives and events.

I love good stories. Rasey House has lots.

Its a fascinating piece of local history not simply from the standpoint of historic architecture but also the lives of the figures who made Rasey their home and the intertwining of these stories with other lives and events.

The stories around this relatively unique building construction are very interesting. As you likely know historic river stone constructed buildings are increasing rare as more are being demolished passively due to neglect or intentionally as they’re considered to be in the way of the current purpose.

Rasey house itself on more then one occasion had been threatened with demolition. It’s sad to think if those efforts had been successful. The home, for years now has been lovingly maintained by the Beloit Chapter of the Daughter’s of the American Revolution.

I think Beloit is a better place because Rasey House has survived and the DAR’s stewardship. It is a significant part of what makes Beloit distinctive, anchored and, well… non-generic. It’s part of Beloit’s identity.

The expression is “death by a thousand cuts” meaning that a major single blow did not fell the victim but rather it was little bit by little bit. The single impact of any one or even several events did not cause the demise however, over time, the cumulative result is none the less the same. I understand that at one time Beloit was distinct in the region for the number of river stone building in town. Over thirty as I recall. We are now down to three. It’s too bad.

Beloit’s Rasey Home came to mind as a friend of mine from another historic community, Elgin IL just posted some wonderful pictures of a river stone constructed home in their community. It’s very cool. You can see it here. Love the original rough hewn timber framing and while not original to the house it sports a very early radiator that’s kinda cool.

As long as we’re at it. I understand there are efforts to try and save another Beloit river stone home over on St. Lawrence. Not sure of current status.

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