The New Old House Started Kit is one of the National Trust s Information publications, a series of booklets on basic and frequently used preservation techniques.
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You may also find clues to the history of your house by examining the yard and landscaping. Geometric depressions in the ground or patterned changes in grass that change color when it is very dry may indicate the foundation of a former wing, secondary building, or the location of a former driveway or path. The vestiges of former plantings such as a partial row of trees or shrubs may suggest you have found a former orchard, tree-lined driveway, or formal garden. If your neighbor s walls and fences are exactly the same as yours, it may indicate that a portion of your property was sold for development, particularly if your neighbors houses are of later architectural styles. Now, on with the investigation.