Renovating Old Houses: Bringing New Life to Vintage Homes (For Pros By Pros)

Price was great 👍

I love this book. My mother-in-law bought it for me two years ago and it has been foundational for me. The author is a man intent on doing right by old houses; no shortcuts that will ultimately compromise the structure of the house, favored by so many contractors today. The writing is clear enough to be understood by laymen but not lacking in sufficient detail to pull off the discussed repairs. Here you will learn how to appreciate your old house as a whole system, rather than a collection of aging parts, and make repairs accordingly. Moreover, this book full of solutions does a lot to dispel myths about old houses being lost causes - there aren't too many problems that the author suggests are insurmountable, and he shows readers how to address the major ones.A few minor things. Preservation technologies and useful materials are always evolving, so though this edition isn't that old, some information in book is already not quite up to date. Artificial slate roofing material has evolved quite a bit in the past few years, for example.Additionally, the book contains a lot of information invaluable to anyone restoring an old home, but it will be most useful to those who have frame houses. This is the building technology with which the New England-based author is most familiar, so most of his advice and examples reflect this. In Pennsylvania we have many old stone houses and many old log houses, and brick surpassed stone in popularity throughout most of PA by the mid-19th century. I know early brick is even more common south of the Mason-Dixon, and log buildings are plentiful in many parts of the country. Restorers of such buildings will learn a lot of useful things from this book, but they will need to look elsewhere for certain other issues.Finally, I feel that some more photos - vs diagrams - would be a very good addition to any future edition of this book. Seeing how a system looks in the abstract is all fine and dandy, but sometimes being able to see a real-world example would go even further towards helping readers understand the parts of a system and how they fit together. I found myself craving a photograph at many points during this book.All in all, a fantastic work essential to anyone about to embark on an old house restoration journey. I think it's so valuable that I bought a copy for our local library system.

This book is the best old house book on the market.

First things first.... This is not a fix-it book for the average homeowner. It is a renovation guide for older homes and covers everything from stone foundations to slate roofs and provides whole slew of major structural repair information. So if you are wanting to learn simple home repairs, like fixing a leaky faucet or quieting a squeaky floor you would do better to look elsewhere.My first house was built in the 1890s and because I was very young and didn't know anything about how old houses were constructed, the construction behind those plaster walls, in the basement and attic looked shoddy to my uneducated eyes but it didn't matter to me, I was just grateful to be a home owner. My father told me this is how real craftsmen built homes during that era. He added: "Son, this house will be around and doing just fine LONG after you are gone!"Even though I old that old house a long time ago, when I saw this book I knew I just had to have it. It takes a look behind the scenes of old houses and shows how they are broght back to their past glory no matter how much neglect they have suffered. Whether you currrently own an old house, previously owned an old house or just have an interest in construction methods of eras long ago, this book is perfect for your bookshelf!

This book is billed as being for pros by pros, and I'm not satisfied with its usefulness from that standpoint. I'm an experienced renovator but hardly a pro, so I wasn't sure how helpful I'd find this book. In fact it's quite accessible to the experienced lay person and contains important information for any owner of an older house. I'd have liked a little more detail on how old houses were designed and constructed (for instance, why certain building materials and techniques were employed), but it covers a decent range of topics at a high level. I've found myself referring to it for topics like repairing/replacing siding. It does address common pitfalls and problems (e.g., old heating systems) with some basic indications of how to deal with them. I'm not sure that pros would find it all that useful, but I'm keeping it around as a starting-point reference book.

I bought this book because I recently purchased a house built in the 1800's. My partner is a handy person, but I found I wanted to have a better idea of what to expect as we start renovating the home. While there are many great renovation books, I was happy to find one geared specifically at much older home. This book is overflowing with useful information and that information is broken down chapter by chapter with lots of pictures. The author is a lover of old houses, and if you are looking to completely modernize and change the house, this may not be what you are looking for. The author writes about keeping the character of an old house if the house is one of the remaining few of it's kind. I looked through this book at a local book store, and it was well worth the $45 price tag however with all books, I was pleased to find a used copy for a better price.

I’ve ruined tons of stuff around the old home vaguely following the easy step by step instructions with detailed pictures and schematics. Fortunately I do not actually own the home so I have that going for me. Right in the midst of performing some complex piece of carpentry or repair I will think ‘perhaps I should refer to the manual’ but I’d have to stop mid stroke in whatever I was doing and figure I’m close enough. We are currently camped out in a hotel while the plumber and roofing company complete the necessary repairs to make the home habitable again. If I had just actually read this book......

It would probably be a great book if you lived in America and wanted to renovate a timber framed building but I need to renovate a solid stone walled cottage and so it was of no use to me.

Great reference book for owners of old homes. Lots of ideas. My house is over 125 years old so modern books do not cover the issues of old homes.

This is an excellent book on renovating older houses. The author explains very well the problems that older homes may have and how to restore them to their original glory.

I haven't read everything in this book yet but want I have read is great information

Good deal