By GREG McMILLAN
TheGreenHub.ca
IT’S TIME to fill in some gaps – in more ways than one.
At the top of the list, we feel, is explaining in more detail what challenges and opportunities await prospective key team members interested in joining the This Really Old House Goes Green project.
This is a unique undertaking – the upgrade and renovation of a Brantford war-time cottage in the Holmedale area, utilizing all of the latest available green expertise, technology and materials, from start to finish.
What’s more, a team of professionals living and working within The Green Hub area – which includes Brantford, Six Nations and Norfolk, Haldimand and Brant counties – are donating their goods and services to show that the most up-to-date green concepts are available right here in their own backyard.
But what exactly does that all mean?
Well, as we continue to search for a lead building contractor and building materials’ supplier – definitely the priorities as we attempt to move on to the next phase of the project – it should be pointed out that the commitments to TROHGG are not meant to interrupt a professional’s regular client/customer-based schedule.
As any of the existing team members will attest to – and their stories, profiles and testimonials are available at TheGreenHub.ca and have been documented week-by-week in The Expositor’s Your Brant Connection – any work they do for TROHGG only takes place when it is convenient and they can spare the time.
There are no deadlines. There are no expectations, nor legal liabilities, forcing team members to adhere to schedules, as is the norm in standard construction situations.
Because of the need for such flexibility, that’s one of the reasons the house at 87 Alexander Drive is being utilized. It’s a family home, owned by Audrey McMillan, a retired Brantford General Hospital registered nurse and wife of now-deceased Richard (Dick) McMillan, a principal with the Brant City School Board (Grand Erie Board of Education) for 20 years and former Commanding Officer of the 56th Field Regiment R.C.A.
The family living in the home – dubbed The TROHGGers – is prepared to adapt to whatever last-minute changes or inconveniences come up during the course of the project. And that is not a demand that could be off-loaded easily to a third party. There would definitely have to be some strings attached, and that is something we are avoiding with TROHGG.
And throughout the construction phase of the project, the house will be in a constant state of turmoil, with changes accommodated at the drop of a hat, and with community tours, media attention and team member interaction ongoing.
For building materials’ suppliers, it should be noted that the project will first attempt to incorporate reused and recycled products from the Habitat for Humanity Brant ReStore before seeking new items for the reno.
And when finished, the project will be utilized as a showcase home for educational and business/marketing purposes.
Similar projects, with similar mandates, have been successfully completed elsewhere. One example, in North Carolina, was profiled in Week 32 of the TROHGG series.
So we know it can be done.
NEXT WEEK: TROHGG technical advisor Dara Bowser and home designer Corwyn Perrin elaborate on what will be expected from a lead building contractor and materials’ supplier.
