Customer Reviews

This is a fab book & can save you thousands! - By: lavenderlass, 15 Dec 2008
This is a fab book. It shows you how to maintain an old house & cope with any problems without damaging the patina that builds up over the ages, or being ripped off by one of the many building firms that sell unnecessary treatment products or services that can not only damage old houses, but cost thousands. That's not always because we're being exploited, but because most people don't understand the way old houses are made. Once you get a grasp of that (and this book is an excellent introduction) it's not too difficult, you'rein a better position to understand what you really need. When I bought my old house it had a damp cellar. I got a chapin who said he could install a drain system & make the cellar dry for £10,000. A conservation surveyor suggested ways to fix it - for £2,000. 3 years after the cheaper option it's fine. Another builder said I should put a layer of gypsum plaster over my old bumpy lime plaster to make it even - for £1,000. The conservation surveyor said keep with the bumpy lime, it adds to the character of an old building. The same with glass, old is better & easier on the eye because it is slightly irregular. The estate agent said so many old houses are ruined on the inside as people make them look like new builds.
People pay more for all original features & this book shows how to work with an old house & enhance it's originality. It's also beautiful to look at & easy to read, & I have no building experience,I'm just an owner who has never read a book on building before. It's an excellent book & totally recommended. Real eye candy for old house enthusiasts plus sensible advice too!