Crossan Heritage House Renovation and Deep Energy Retrofit: Video Series, Part One and Two- Assessment and Design
In our work, some projects pose more challenges than others. It is also true that some offer more opportunities than others. Opportunities to be creative, to introduce beauty, functionality and efficiency beyond every day norms. Along these lines, we are excited to now begin a major renovation of the Crossan Heritage House in Nanaimo. This promises to be both challenging and rewarding in every way, and we’re looking forward to sinking our teeth into it.
The Project:
We will renovate, upgrade, restore and generally breathe new life into a genuine, 1912 Nanaimo Craftsman home. The house is a good example of Craftsman era construction and finishes which, despite some modifications, is more or less intact. It even has a “miner’s shower” on the back porch– a place for a worker’s coal dust to get rinsed off before stepping into the house! 
Welcoming front porches and wooden staircases were hallmarks of the Craftsman movement, and it appears that these were removed from the front of this home in the 1950′s. This significantly moved the home away from its architectural roots, and we will restore the front façade to its former state – that is our starting place. Beyond restoring the home’s original architectural purity, we will modernize the interior with a blend of new and old finishes, lift the house up to create a legal suite in the basement and significantly upgrade the home’s shell to 21st century energy standards.
Phase I – Assessment and Design:
The work done prior to construction commencing is in fact just as important as the building phase, yet it is often neglected in the rush to get construction underway. Before rushing into construction we took three and a half months to document existing conditions and construction of the house, perform an energy audit, trace some of the modifications performed since it was built, and to develop plans and engineering which will allow us to turn it into a warm (in every sense of the word!), functional, eye-catching home that will provide at least another century of comfort and pleasure to its subsequent owners.
As already mentioned, we want to be faithful to the history and “street presence” that this home once had. We will be restoring features that have been removed over the years, and adding onto the house in a seamless manner which will complement the original architecture.
Next, complete modernization of the interior will take place; a bright, comfortable suite will occupy the basement. Heating, ventilation, electrical, and plumbing will all be renewed and upgraded with comfort and efficiency in mind. Structural weaknesses in the house will be addressed along the way. To “top it off” a cozy master suite will be tucked into the attic.
Energy efficient design needs to be part of any renovation or new home. This heritage house, like many, is in desperate need of a deep energy retrofit if it is to be comfortable and durable for another 100 years of life. 
While the attic is already well insulated from previous upgrades, we suspect little or no insulation in any of the walls. This suspicion seems to have been validated by a November hydro bill of $350 based on one occupant living in the house. (And yes, that was a bill for 30 days – NOT 60!) We will therefore focus on upgrading the building envelope (a fancy name for the wall, roof, and floor assemblies that separate the indoor environment from the outdoors). Insulation will be added under the basement floor and to the exterior walls. A Heat Recovery Ventilator will supply fresh air indoors while minimizing the heat loss of exhausted stale air, and we will seal up the house effectively to reduce energy loss through unwanted air leakage. New windows– used in combination with the original windows in some cases– will complete the retrofits. What is now a noticeably un-comfortable house, will be transformed into a cozy, comfortable home.
If you are have an interest in, or questions about the energy audit and our plans to improve the efficiency of this home, please contact us by clicking here. We’re always happy to discuss how we can improve energy efficiency for any project. We believe educating the public about building issues is an important part of our profession, so don’t be afraid to ask!
Check out all the “before” photos in the gallery below, and stay tuned to keep up with our progress as we implement our plan!!
(Click here to visit the City of Nanaimo’s Heritage Registry Page on the Crossan House.)
Posted on: January 29, 2012 | Posted in:
Hi,
Well done on a great blog. We’re based in Ireland and focus on supplying the Irish and British market with high performance natural insulation and diffusion open membranes which increase energy efficiency while optimising the hyric performance of structures. You might find our website interesting. I’m an engineer with the company here. Best of luck with the project. Will follow it with interest. What’s the story behind the Crossan heritage house. Been an Crosson myself from Ireland, a lot of my decedents emigrated over the centuries….it would be interesting to see if there was a connection!
Anyways, good luck with the project.
Sincerely,
Niall
February 1, 2012 by niall crosson
Great work. I love the look of the shingles and the multi-colored stain glass window. As always you guys do amazing work.
Also ‘Hey, I’d love some tickets to the show’
Cheers,
Morgan
February 9, 2012 by Morgan Deno
Thanks Morgan,
It’s going to be a very nice space when it’s all done. Did you see the videos? What did you think?
and you’re in for the tickets! Come on in to the office on Mostar this week between 8:30 and 2:30 this week to grab them.
February 9, 2012 by Jason Schmidt
Looking forward to this project. Will be great to see an old project restored, but with lots of updates.
“Enter me in the Donner out at Modern Cafe”
February 12, 2012 by Brad Koster
Went to the home show today, it was great!! Enter me in the Dinner Out at Modern Cafe please :) !!!
February 12, 2012 by kimberley cownden
It’s great to see heritage homes in Nanaimo under-going this transformation. Hopefully this type of work inspires more people in the older neighborhoods to attempt a similar project!
Enter me in the Dinner Out at Modern Cafe
February 13, 2012 by Geoff
Very interesting article… beautiful work on the house as well. I look forward to somemore blogs. Can you please enter me in the draw for the dinner out at the Modern Cafe.
February 13, 2012 by Jeff Johnstone
I have a 1910 bungalow, within a short distance of the Crossan house and often walk by that house. I will watch with great interest what you do with it. The tile pattern in front of my fireplace is identical and there are some other similarities to mine.
I’d be interested in attending your seminar on Feb 29 Ruth
February 13, 2012 by Ruth Chase
Hi Ruth, I wonder if the same builder did both houses… we’re really looking forward to restoring the house and enhancing it’s character. Ken and I did some more filming today for the next progress post on the framing stage and it should be up on the site in the next week or so.
We will add you to the our email list for a reminder about the seminar and look forward to seeing you there!
Thanks for contacting us,
Jason
February 14, 2012 by Jason Schmidt
Hi Jeff, you’re in the draw! The next post will be up in a week or so – assuming I can spare Burke from working onsite to get it posted!
Cheers,
Jason
February 14, 2012 by Jason Schmidt
Hi Geoff, – you’re in! –
We’ve definitely seen a lot more interest towards investing in older homes in the last two years or so. There are some truly unique houses here in Nanaimo and it’s nice to see them valued and restored to better than new. It’s sure a rewarding process for all involved and we really enjoy these projects. Keeping checking back – we’ll be putting up several more progress posts with videos.
Thanks,
Jason
February 14, 2012 by Jason Schmidt
Hi Kimberly, thanks for coming out and I’m glad you enjoyed it!
You’re entered in the contest! I’ll be drawing the winner tomorrow morning and good luck!
Jason
February 14, 2012 by Jason Schmidt
You’re in!
Thanks Brad.
Jason
February 14, 2012 by Jason Schmidt
Thanks for the feedback Niall. It’s been a busy last couple weeks so sorry it’s taken this long to reply! We shot some more video there today and I hope to have the next post and videos up in the next week or so, it’s sure a different space since we’ve lifted the house.
I had a look at your site and it looks like you have some great systems. I have a real love for old stone buildings – especially the old estates and houses in Great Britain. There’s a BBC show over here that I catch only every so often about restoring old stone country homes that I really enjoy (though I can’t for the life of me remember the name of the show or find a website for it) and it sounds like your company is right in that market.
As for the Crossan background – he was a police chief here in Nanaimo. the City of Nanaimo is doing a fantastic job designating these homes and here’s a link to their page with history on the house and original owners http://www.nanaimo.ca/Heritage/detail.aspx?id=133&zoom_highlight=go . We have to follow their guidelines for the project and any changes and even exterior colours must be approved by the Heritage Commission. This will be the second project we’ve completed under the Heritage Registry and we’re definitely fans of the program.
We will definitely be throwing this old house quite the 100th birthday bash this summer when it’s all finished!
Cheers,
Jason
February 14, 2012 by Jason Schmidt