Downtown Petowkey’s 1st Green Home Renovation

On Saturday, I stopped by 514 Elizabeth Street to attend the first in a series of Green Home Seminars being offered by Northern Michigan Energy. Owners John Plichta & Elias Amash were on hand to showcase Petoskey’s first green home renovation and talk about what and what not to do when upgrading an older home for energy savings.

We spoke with John in an earlier post about this green home in Petoskey and have a couple of videos of him on green building.

Do you know about the 70/60 equation in home energy use? 70% is what a Green Energy Renovation can save on the average monthly heating bill. 60% is what you can save on energy costs with simple behavioral modifications. Air leakage is the number one cause of energy inefficiency in a home.

What’s the quality of the air in your home?

There were a dozen people attending the green home seminar Many questions were asked and one woman was brave enough to take a smell of “the Box” – which contained the contents of part of one of the 135-year 0ld walls when it was opened up for renovation. It was only after they unveiled it, that she saw the dead mouse and spider!

John

Renovating Home Landscaping in Petoskey

When it comes to creating great flower beds and a beautiful yard – it all starts with the dirt.

When I looked at this house in May of 2010, things were mighty green, but the grass was in really bad shape as were the shrubs. The previous owners’ landscape design vision didn’t  match mine. So, I tore it all out and started my landscaping renovation project from the ground (dirt) up.

The first thing I did was to dig up all the shrubs and perennials and heel them in out back. Next, I had Stuckman Tree Service come in and take down a maple tree out front and prune the trees in back to let more light in the yard. (Give Jeff Tussey a call if you need trees pruned or removed 989-350-8472).

Then I got serious and roto-tilled the entire front yard and two thirds of the back (for a garden). I created s few piles of dirt where I thought the flower beds would be and then let things sit for a few weeks while we remodeled 2 bathrooms into 2 and a half bathrooms.

With fall in the air and winter approaching, I decided it was time to get serious about getting some of the front landscaping ready for Spring 2011. So I started sifting dirt, then some more, and some more – and next year it will all have been sifted.

A good flower bed needs about a foot to 18 inches of good soil and grass should have 6 to 12 inches of topsoil – something very few landscapers or home builders do. I may be a little too particular, I had my own landscaping business in Seattle years ago – and made the mistake of reading too many landscaping books written by Brits.

I now have a couple of the beds prepared for spring. One has a Japanese red maple in it along with about 80 bulbs. The other has about a hundred bulbs in it. I also planted a river birch between my house and the neighbors to replace the maple we tore out next to her driveway. I put some of the shrubs I had removed earlier around the river birch and have surrounded it with daylilies.

I got the trees from Rich Hoffman Landscaping in Petoskey. Give Rich a call (231) 347-0630 if you need a professional landscaper or just need a few trees and plants for your yard.

People walking or driving by probably think I’m nuts, but you should see the poor condition of this soil. I’m going down 6 to 8 inches – getting all of the top soil and an inch or two of clay and rock to sift through. I’ve done this a time or two in the past and all I can say is – wait until you see the results – it’s well worth the effort.

I’m pretty much done for this year. I’ll be back out front early next spring to complete the project.

John

Home Prices in Petoskey MI for Homes for Sale

I’m spending a lot of time today and tomorrow looking at homes for sale in Petoskey, MI. Buying a home in Petoskey would seem to be an easy thing to do, but my criteria for a home limits my choices of all the homes for sale in Petoskey.

I need a main floor bedroom and bath for my 84-year old father, enough space for me to live and work and I want the house to be within walking distance of downtown for dad.

I have 8 or 10 to look at. I’ve been crisscrossing streets near downtown Petoskey all morning and have several appointments set up. I have several REALTORs who said they will get back to me, but I wonder how motivated they are. Should a prospective client have to wait more than 2 hours for a real estate agent to check their schedule and set an appointment.

Though home prices in Petoskey may seem very favorable today, I think they may fall more in the 1st quarter of 2011. I think the chances of the U.S. economy slowing down even more are good to great. I also expect unemployment to continue rising in Michigan.

Given all of this, I am not in a rush to buy a home in Petoskey, MI, but cash is in the bank and I could buy a home for sale if everything worked out.

This morning’s blue sky made driving around in Petoskey looking at homes for sale a real delight. Now the high cloud cover is moving in – oh, well off to Julienne Tomatoes for lunch

John

269 Beaux Rivages, Harbor Springs MI – Home for Sale

About a mile from Nubs Nob ski area, nestled in the North Woods is a charming log home for sale. Only 11 miles from downtown Petoskey, this 3/2 home is perfect for year-round living or as a vacation home.

John