[.ca] Renovating Old Houses (ISBN 1561583251)

Wonderful Reading for the Old House Renovator !:
I believe this is the greatest book to read first in any attempt to restore and older home. Most homes relate to the late 1800's, but is revealing even for homes built in the early 1900's. Much detail from foundation to roof on restoring any part of an old cherised home for the do - it -yourselfer.

Best All-Around Renovation Book:
If I had to recommend just one book on renovating old houses it would be this one. Like most similar Taunton Press books, the book is accurate, well written, and informative about techniques that a real person might want to use. It includes lots of information about how old houses are constructed, the kinds of things that tend to go wrong with them over time, and techniques for fixing them. It is realistic about budgets and time constraints. And, perhaps most important, it gives fair warning about the stresses and strains of living in a house one is fixing up. One might want to supplement this book with more specific books about the kind of house you are working on, and books which provide more information about how to match materials and aesthetics to the existing fabric of the particular sort of house you have, but this book is not to be missed.