WHAT IS “GREENHABBING” AND WHY SHOULD YOU CARE? ERIC N. GEORGE
So what’s a good example, you ask?
Well, we are currently greenhabbing a shotgun-style house in
Germantown, which is an older neighborhood inside Louisville, KY. The house is built on a vented crawlspace
with a small cellar, has no exterior sheathing except the original wood siding, has old R11 fiberglass batt
insulation in the walls, and the original wood windows are still present. Needless to say, there is plenty of room
for improvement!
What we plan to do is remove the current vinyl siding and replace any damaged wood siding behind with new
OSB. We will then install Tyvek house wrap over the wood siding to provide a proper rain-barrier before
installing the new vinyl siding. New ENERGY STAR rated low-E windows will also be installed with new
flashing, and the house wrap will be properly installed and taped to the windows & doors to prevent water leaks
down the road.
When we pulled down the paneling and drywall inside, we found fiberglass insulation that showed BIG signs of
air movement through it over the years.
The yellow arrows in the picture show dirt and dust that has collected in the fiberglass over the years, where air
has moved through the original wood siding and into/out of the house. Remember this; fiberglass insulation
does NOT stop air-movement, it filters it!
After all the insulation is removed from the house, we will use expandable foam to seal all of the gaps and
cracks in the exterior siding, all electrical and plumbing penetrations into the attic, and seal around every
window and door before installing new blown-in cellulose insulation.
Cellulose greatly reduces air movement in homes, and is also made largely of recycled newspaper, so it’s
naturally environmentally friendly! It’s also treated with boric acid so it is also a great fire-retardant material that
repels bugs and insects naturally too!
Another great example of greenhabbing on this house is
what we’re doing in the crawlspace. First, we made sure
the existing brick foundation walls were repaired or
replaced where needed and mortar was “tuck-pointed” in
between the bricks to improve the durability. We