Restoring Your Historic House The Comprehensive Guide for Homeowners

by Hanson, Scott T.; Clough, David

• ISBN13: 9780884484905
• ISBN10: 0884484904
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2019-12-10
• Publisher: Tilbury House Publishers

Summary

Although there are other books about renovating old houses, this is the first that prioritizes the identification and preservation of the historic, character-defining features of a house as a starting point in the process. That is the purpose of this book: to describe and illustrate a best-practices approach for updating historic homes for modern life in ways that do not attempt to turn an old house into a new one. The book also suggests many ways to save money in the process, without settling for cheap or inappropriate solutions.Scott Hanson is a historic-building preservation professional and has 40 years’ experience rehabilitating historic houses. He has illustrated this authoritative book with hundreds of step-by-step photos, illustrations, charts, and decision-making guides. Interspersed throughout are photo essays of 13 restored historic houses representing a range of periods and architectural styles: Italianate, Victorian, Queen Anne, Federal, Colonial, Colonial Revival, Greek Revival, Ranch, Adobe, Craftsman, Shingle, and Rustic. With interior and exterior photography by David Clough, these multi-page features show what can be achieved when a historic home is renovated with a desire to preserve or restore as much historic character as possible.

Table of Contents

Chapter 1: Finding the Right Historic HouseChapter 2: What is It? Architectural StylesChapter 4: Do-It-Yourself Or Hire a Contractor?Chapter 5: Bureaucrats You'll MeetChapter 6: DemolitionChapter 7: Structural and MechanicalChapter 8: ExteriorsChapter 9: InteriorsChapter 10: Resources