Caring for Your Old House: A Guide for Owners and Residents

A Guide for Owners and Residents of Old Houses What are the best sources for researching the history of your home? How do you know if a particular old house is right for you? The original siding on your historic house is missing — what can you do? How can you safely clean the exterior of your house? The answers to many questions such as these are given in this well-illustrated handbook for owners and residents of old homes. Caring for Your Old House offers comprehensive advice to old-house owners and residents on researching, repairing and maintaining an old residence to avoid the pitfalls of too many changes too soon. In this authoritative guidebook, the author demystifies the questions surrounding what is historically significant, what is an appropriate rehabilitation and when is restoration appropriate. Caring for Your Old House offers helpful advice on:

• inspecting a house for possible purchase
• what to expect when considering repairs to exterior and interior portions of the house
• energy conservation methods
• hiring architects and contractors
• ongoing maintenance
• and much more!

This book is filled with checklists and tips including 10 money-saving ideas for consideration before beginning rehabilitation, a capsule history of the preservation movement, descriptions of key architectural styles and 14 ways to finance a rehabilitation. Also included is a glossary, a reading list, the Secretary of the Interior’s Standards for Rehabilitation and more than 150 illustrations and photographs.