Last week we had a new roof put on the house. I hated to see the old one go to the landfill but it did last 31 years. Repairs were made 
to it, flashing was added, vents were added but eventually, the roof just wasn’t up to the job. When it rained outside it also rained inside.
Nothing like a new roof to make a house look nice and tidy and almost newish. That is the thing about old houses, they can be retrofitted. Making an old house more energy efficient in most cases is more environmentally friendly than building a new energy-efficient house.
Tearing an old house down just to build something newer and larger should be a crime but it isn’t.
Over the years our old house has been updated and retrofitted many times. It was built before there was indoor plumbing. There was an outhouse instead of a bathroom. It now has two bathrooms and a kitchen sink and one in the basement, a washing machine, and a hot water heater.
It was built before the telephone was invented and used to have telephones in it. At one time it had cable TV too but I won’t go into that. It has had Wifi for many years.
The house did not have electricity in it until it was at least 30 years old. It was well over 100 years old when we added central air. It would have been hard to add central air before the house had electricity.
Sure there are times when I think that a new house would be wonderful but I know they don’t build them like they used to and building a house is very expensive and not as environmentally friendly as recycling and retrofitting.
If you like old houses you will love St. Paul, Minnesota!
