The Barn House: Confessions of an Urban Rehabber
In 1993 Chicagoan Zotti and his wife, in contrast to most city dwellers (who were jumping ship for the suburbs), bought themselves a dilapidated Victorian home, conveniently located just a few doors from a murder-arson crime scene, and threw themselves enthusiastically into the job of restoring it to its former glory. This entailed, as the author quickly discovered, tearing parts of the house apart and rebuilding them, a process that involved not just carpentry but plumbing, wiring, and all sorts of highly exacting tasks. It was a long and exhausting renovation (comparisons to The Money Pit are obvious and appropriate), but Zotti and his family persevered, and the book is a lively, often funny, sometimes startling, occasionally surreal account of the rehabbing process, from getting the mortgage to choosing the architect to balancing dreams with reality. It’s the perfect book for armchair or would-be renovators. --David Pitt