Books I Love For Repairs in Your Historic House

As I recently wrote, it’s challenging to find good information on how to repair things in your historic home if you want to do it in a way that doesn’t permanently damage or take away from character defining features and historic materials. Yes, the materials were better... I’ll die on this hill.

There’s a lot of sh*t out there, so I am usually extremely skeptical in who we hire and what methods they would apply to my home. They don’t live here, so they typically just want to get the job done as quickly and cheaply as possible.

Before we embark on any project, the first thing Garret and I do is READ about the problem so we are armed with knowledge for ourselves and to advocate for our house. Garret goes online and I head straight to my collection of restoration books and the National Park Service and we figure it out. Here is a list of the books I love for repairs in your historic house:

• Restoring Your Historic House by Scott Hanson

• A Field Guide to American Houses by Virginia Savage McAlester

• Renovating Old Houses by George Nash

• The National Park Service Preservation Briefs

I will also occasionally ask my other local old house owners what they think about a particular issue and see how they may have solved an issue. Instagram has been a great community, too! If you ever need any help with your project, feel free to reach out.