Absolutely. And this prime, aged lumber was something that was ideal when technologies hadn’t advanced. In fact, given the age of that lumber by now it’s going to be better than a lot of materials. My mother in law’s house is about two hundred years old, her hardwood floor planks are about 18" wide, they’re amazing.
But we’re out of aged wood forests. Now we’re cutting newer lumber forests before they can get even 12" in diameter. Add the fact that we build things entirely differently these days and work harder to keep the interior envelope sealed when even a hundred years ago houses were designed to breathe and you have to realize that the conversation has changed.
We heated houses back then with fireplaces and furnaces that burned coal or oil all day long. Fireplaces burned easily obtainable wood, furnaces had oil tanks or coal chutes that let you run at a fairly high temperature. Many, many apartments in Manhattan still operate this way, with individuals having control over their temperature via opening the windows in the winter. But we’re getting smarter about this. Burning less oil, keeping that heat in. Using gas or electric heat pumps and thermostats that are programmed to come on an hour before the owners arrive home from work.
We turn systems on and off now and save energy. We keep heat (or cooling) inside the envelope and strive to air seal in order to do so. My home energy costs were slashed in half after I air sealed the house and it’s 95 years old. Systems, technologies, and philosophies have changed regarding what we can do and how we should do it. Air sealing is a major factor in home construction that shouldn’t be glossed over.
