Basements have potential but most are just plain bad.
They are inherently dark, damp and musty with low ceilings to boot. All of these ingredients can facilitate mold growth and there are all sorts of issues with that too. The humidity in this basement was palpable. It was cold and clammy in the winter and oppresively muggy in the summer. It also had asbestos, underground oil tanks, above-ground oil tanks and an incredibly antiquated boiler. Notice the cat litter on the floor put there to soak up leaking oil...Nice!
Before construction began, the thermostats were set at 50 degrees fahrenheit. The two above-ground oil tanks were filled which summed to nearly 600 gallons. It was assumed this fuel "injection" would last the entire winter especially at that low temperature.
It lasted less than 30 days!
The utility bills for this place were in the thousands every month and even then it wasn't particularly healthy or comfortable.
The effort to be sustainable starts here...
This however was cutting edge basement technology in 1914.
It is a....wait for it...central vacuum system!
It was manufactured by the American Radiator Company and was mentioned in the original plans and specifications. We are going to keep it as a motivating icon as we transform this space into a 2014 cutting edge technological showpiece! Sweet juxtaposition in the mechanical room!
-Kind of like cars-
A 1914 Electric Car from the American Automobiles.com website
BMW Electric Hybrid Concept Car to be introduced in 2014
BMW Electric Hybrid Concept Car to be introduced in 2014
Dovetail Construction Company will introduce the Residential Mechanical Room of the Future that honors the past. Let the quest for sustainability start here....
Vroom Vroom!
