Upstairs, Poccia turned a large third-floor closet into a mechanical room. His team hid ductwork inside the attic’s knee walls. In places where ductwork had to be placed under a window, a window seat was built to hide the ducts. White supply registers designed to fade into ceilings supply conditioned air to the second floor.
Poccia says comparing energy bills before and after the renovation would not be fair. With no air conditioning and minimal heating before, the building was underutilized. Now the mansion is conditioned all day, every day. However, the club also is generating income from rentals, making its energy bills much more manageable. “The Fortnightly Club went above and beyond in repairing and preserving the mansion,” Poccia says. “Their reasoning was the house had been there for 100 years and they wanted to make it so it would last another 100 years. The earth loop will last 200 years under the ground, no problem. Our ductwork will be there 100 years from now.”
A Few Challenges
A project of this magnitude in which most materials and labor are donated and there isn’t one designated general contractor overseeing the work does not come without its challenges. Poccia recalls trouble with designers who didn’t want air ducts near custom fabric-covered walls, for example. He explains: “Ultimately, we had to satisfy the needs of the home and then the requirements of the Fortnightly Club, but we still had to work around the designers so we wouldn’t impact what they were trying to do in their designs. That was kind of a challenge, but I didn’t have anybody that really fought against us too hard. We worked it out.”
Rose, who today serves as Twin Maples’ caretaker, adds: “You have to understand there was fighting going on. This was a large project that entailed a lot of people. But, in the end, we all took a house that was in bad shape and brought it back to life. Now this building has a life of its own and will continue to serve the people in this community as long as we maintain it.”
Retrofit Team Sampling
Contractor: Bathworks & Renovations, Summit, N.J., www.craigrose.net
Geothermal contractor: Perfection Contracting Inc., Newton, N.J., www.perfectioncontracting.net
Butler’s pantry designer: Canterbury Design, www.canterburydesign.com
Study designer: Minion-Gutierrez Design, www.miniongutierrez.com
Under-stairs bathroom designer: Joan Picone, joanpicone.net
Foyer designer: Mary Lou Sweeney Interior Design, www.marylousweeneyinteriordesign.com
Retrofit Materials Sampling
Geothermal heating and cooling: WaterFurnace, www.waterfurnace.com
Countertops: Caesarstone Quartz Surfaces, www.caesarstoneus.com
Lighting: Capital Lighting, www.capitallightinginc.com
Roofing: DaVinci Roofscapes, www.davinciroofscapes.com
Windows and doors: Marvin Windows and Doors, www.marvin.com, and Pella Windows and Doors, www.pella.com
Paint: Ralph Lauren Home to the Trade, www.ralphlaurenhome.com/tothetrade
Online Buzz:
For more photos of the dramatic transformation of Twin Maples, visit www.retrofitTV.com, and click the “Project Walkthroughs” tab.