Their dark and drafty third floor was at the very top of their wish list. The two bedrooms each had a single window, and you could barely stand up in the tiny half bathroom between them. To make matters worse, circulation to the back bedroom went through the front bedroom, significantly compromising its utility. The spaces were unpleasant due to steeply sloping ceilings, little natural light, and insufficient air sealing and insulation.
All Projects Arlington, MA
A Third Floor Transfigured
Bathrooms
Energy Efficiency
Six years after moving into a two-family house with their parents, our clients came to us with a long wish list. Their parents thoroughly renovated the first-floor unit shortly after moving in; now our clients were more than ready to make much needed improvements to their second and third-floor unit.
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After
By adding a large, shed dormer we captured additional usable floor area for a small office and a spacious, full bathroom with a water closet. We also extended the hallway, into which we carved a small nook for a stacked washer/dryer. The hallway extension allows each bedroom full privacy, while the new dormer windows flood the office and the back bedroom with light. A skylight in the back bedroom adds an even greater sense of openness.
Our clients had previously worked with Mass Save to insulate their walls, so the biggest opportunity to improve thermal performance was at the roofline. By installing closed cell spray foam against the underside of the roof, we cut air leakage by 25% from 10 ACH50 (10 air changes per hour at a 50-pascal pressure differential) to 7 ACH50. 7 ACH50 is still somewhat leaky – for context the code for new construction is no more than 3ACH50 – but it’s nonetheless a great improvement.
We also reinforced the roof for solar panels and managed the solar installation; removed the chimney, boiler and oil tank; installed a pump water heater; and upgraded to hard wired smoke and carbon monoxide alarms. Prior to our work our clients had installed ductless minisplit heat pumps, but they initially kept the boiler to make sure that the heat pumps could handle the full heating load.
The formerly gloomy third floor is now a comfortable, light-filled refuge. And the entire house has taken another giant step forward into the 21st century – the obsolete oil systems are gone, and the sun is powering much (although not all) of their energy needs.