I picked up The Complete Guide to Attics and Basements by Black and Decker because we were looking at finishing off the attic in our home.  We own a Craftsman-style home built in the 1920’s, and we thought that it would be an easy way to add on square footage.

Well, I’m so glad I picked this book up because it’s saved us a whole lot of time and money.  We found out from reading it that converting our attic isn’t possible.  After reading the requirements for the ceiling height in bedrooms, we crawled up into our attic and measured.  We barely hit 7 feet at the ridgeline, and according to this book, your ceiling has to be at least 7′6″ over 50% of the floor. We don’t hit 7′6″ anywhere, let alone over 50% of the floor, darn it.

We were going to hire someone to come in and look at our attic to give us some ideas on how to best finish it off, and I’m sure such a trip would’ve cost us several hundred dollars.  That’s obviously not going to happen now.  Apparently, reading books really can pay off, literally!

Even though this book spelled the end of one of our plans, I still enjoyed it.  I was very grateful that it was clear, easy to understand, well laid out, with lots of illustrations and examples.  I enjoyed the first section, where there were lots of pictures to give me fun ideas, and then the second section, where there were step-by-step instructions on how to do a wide variety of projects, from adding drywall to your basement walls to installing baseboard heaters.It is focused more on giving you a broad overview of the process and ideas rather than a manual with intricate instructions.

 I would suggest checking it out of the library before buying it, just to make sure it’s got what you need, and it aimed at your level of expertise and expectations.  But if what you’re looking for is ideas and some concrete tips on how to convert your attic or basement, you couldn’t go wrong with The Complete Guide to Attics and Basements.

I give it 4.25 out of 5 stars.Havs

PS If you’re on the hunt for books about remodeling, make sure to check out my review of Affordable Remodel by Fernando Pages Ruiz.  That was another great remodeling book. (You can probably tell I’ve been focusing on remodeling a lot lately!  That’s part of the joy of buying an older home…)

Affordable Remodel: How to Get Custom Results on any Budget by Fernando Pages Ruiz was a great book on remodeling.  It had enough in-depth information so that the reader wasn’t left saying, “But now what?” but it wasn’t so technical that it would lose the clueless (the clueless, of course, being me).

I had finished reading another book on remodeling a couple of weeks before starting this one, and the differences between them were astounding.  This one had lots of gorgeous pictures, clean illustrations, and step-by-step instructions that were never condescending or patronizing.

The other remodel book was written by a guy who spent the majority of his time saying that you needed to hire someone to do the work for you.  And he did it in a very patronizing tone, as if the reader was simply too dumb to know how to do anything.  The only project in the whole book that he said the home owner could “easily” do was painting.  I should hope so!

But Affordable Remodel was written with the goal of educating the homeowner enough that he or she would be able to do most of the work themselves, or at least have a good idea of how the work should go so that they could oversee the contractors intelligently and not get taken for a ride.  There’s also a lot of advice on how to get something done cheaper, although that’s not as big of a focus as you might expect, considering the name of the book.

I was surprised at how fun it was to read this book - I would get started while eating breakfast, and would keep reading even after I’d finished eating.  I almost ended up late to work a couple of times because I lost track of time!  This, while reading a remodel book! Not what I was expecting…

If you’re wanting an idea-generating book, plus loads of helpful information, make sure to pick this book up.  I give Affordable Remodel 4.75 out of 5 stars.

Havs

PS If you’re on the hunt for ways to save money, make sure to check out the Thrifty blog here at Today - Beth is one of my good friends, and her blog is just awesome! Lots of great ideas on there.