A House Restored: The Tragedies and Triumphs of Saving a New England Colonial

by Lee McColgan

Shop Class as Soulcraft meets A Place of My Own in this lyrical meditation of a woodworker steadfastly repairing a historic home. Old houses share their secrets only if they survive. Trading the corporate ladder for a stepladder, Lee McColgan commits to preserving the ramshackle Loring House, built in 1702, using period materials and methods and on a holiday deadline. But his enchantment withers as he discovers the massive repairs it needs. A small kitchen fix reveals that the structure’s rotten frame could collapse at any moment. In a bathroom, mold appears and spreads. He fights deteriorating bricks, frozen pipes, shattered windows, a punctured foundation, and even an airborne chimney cap while learning from a diverse cast of preservationists, including a master mason named Irons, a stone whisperer, and the Window Witch. But can he meet his deadline before family and friends arrive, or will it all come crashing down? McColgan’s journey expertly examines our relationship to history through the homes we inhabit, beautifully articulating the philosophy of preserving the past to find purpose for the future. 10 photographs

Genres: Memoir, Nonfiction, History

224 pages, Hardcover

Published April 9, 2024

Reviews

[CatReader · Rating 3 out of 5]

In this brief (224 page/5 hour audiobook) work, author Lee McColgan recounts his ongoing preservation/restoration work of the ultimate fixer-upper of a home, the Loring House, a 1702 colonial build in Pembroke, Massachusetts. McColgan attempts to take as active a role in the reconstruction/restoration as possible, taking odd jobs with various expert craftspeople profiled herein to learn skills like mortaring, framing, and glass-blowing. I'm not an architect or a restorer, so I can't comment on how accurate and/or faithful McColgan's repair attempts were to the period; his stated intention throughout was to follow early 18th century building and repair practices as closely as possible -- quite an ambitious undertaking.

I think this would make an interesting long-form article, but is probably not quite enough for a book. The suspenseful element McColgan tries to craft at the beginning is that he has 18 months to whip the house into shape to host Thanksgiving dinner for extended family, and by the aforementioned dinner at the end of the book, McColgan mumbles that the point of the restoration was family, not the house, since the house clearly isn't finished yet. It reminded me of home renovation reality shows where by the end of production when it's time to tape the finale segment, the cameras artfully pan around the few rooms that are finished and cleverly omit all the partially finished rooms and half-done projects because budget and time constraints precluded their completion.

Further reading:
Ghost Town Living: Mining for Purpose and Chasing Dreams at the Edge of Death Valley by Brent Underwood

My statistics:
Book 165 for 2024
Book 1768 cumulatively

[Kristi · Rating 5 out of 5]

“Things last only as long as somebody cares about them.”

𝘖𝘭𝘥 𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘴𝘦𝘴 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘴𝘦𝘤𝘳𝘦𝘵𝘴 𝘰𝘯𝘭𝘺 𝘪𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘴𝘶𝘳𝘷𝘪𝘷𝘦. Utterly fascinating! The author takes you along for a ride as he attempts to restore a historic colonial from the 1700’s (mostly) by himself.

I am a born and bred New Englander and, prior to this book (and much to my husbands chagrin) I have always wanted to own one of these historic homes sprinkled throughout my area. Now..not so much 😂. They’re just a booby trap of issues but boy oh boy do they ooze character.

I loved going on this journey with Lee. I found the book both inspiring and informative. And I am DEFINITELY visiting the Sandwich Glass Museum the next time I’m on the Cape!

“It felt less like entering an old house and more like entering another time. An aged, woody fragrance washed over us, a hint of smokiness from centuries of logs burning in the fireplace.” I. Love. This. Smell. #IYKYK

Thank you so much to @countrymanpress, @helvehistorictrades, and @tlcbooktours for the #gifted copy.

[Ciaobella · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lee came to the Sippican Historical Society to talk about his book. I immediately purchased the digital version afterwards.

Sure, his book is about restoring an old house. But wait, there’s much more. It covers traditional building techniques and how they changed over time. It highlights some of the building craft specialists who work in New England today. It’s about the choices and decisions we make on how we want to live.

“A House Restored” is different than many of the home renovation books you may have already read.

I recommend purchasing the digital version because the photo quality shows up much better than the ones I saw in print. However, if you’re looking for a thoughtful vacation read, the Sippican Historical Society has them for sale!

[Lori Pulichino · Rating 4 out of 5]

Living in New England, I picked up this book thinking about all the historic homes in our area and the efforts it takes to keep them running.

The Lorring house in Massachusetts was the central focus of Lee McColgan’s work. Through Lee’s journey I learned the difference between preservation and conservation, stone foundations vs concrete, how to make lime, how a stone wall is built, and the Fibonacci sequence. And impressed that a book on restoration discussed Le Corbusier at all.

I was exceptionally excited about the stone wall, as there are many here and they are always impressive, and seemingly impossible to build on your own. I heard myself saying, “yay! Stone walls!”

I was also impressed how much Lee did to learn the old crafts that went into building a colonial home. Spending many days researching, visiting historical sites, and working on teams to fix windows, square boards, form bricks, and the like. The Saugus Iron Work National Museum sounds like a must visit, if only to experience the quarter ton hammer in action, and wake up any children traveling with you.

Lee’s focus was on the process and restoration entirely. You will not hear about challenges to his marriage, or any troubles with the town or neighbors, nor does he say much about his wife, dog or cat unless they are a part of the breaking or fixing what goes into the house.

That all said, A House Restored is a very enjoyable read read, especially recommended if you are thinking about buying a historic home, or just want to know more about them.

[Barb · Rating 5 out of 5]

What I enjoyed most about the book was the author’s valuing of hand crafting skills. He did a great job explaining the difference between original building techniques and materials and those currently used. He also shared what he gained from using the original techniques for himself. In addition to restoring areas of his home, he enjoyed seeing the evidence of his hand on the materials, the meditative nature of the repetition inherent to the skill, and the esthetic qualities of the simple but strong techniques. All of this resonates for me.

I also loved hearing about the HOW TOs of timber framing, window glazing and especially the dry stone wall work. He took a class with Dan Snow!! He is one of the greats and I was definitely envious!

[Pierce Ellinwood · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was really excited for this one, and it had some good moments. However, I think that it probably could have been cut down and would have done better as a long form article instead of a book. There’s a lot of fluff that I don’t think really adds to what he’s trying to do. He also is just not very good at writing descriptions or action, which makes it really hard to visualize the materials and techniques that he describes. Or maybe I’m just jealous that he had the money to buy an old house, quit his job, and do cool apprenticeships.

[Kevin A. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very well-written account of the author restoring his 300 year old New England colonial home. It’s a romantic tale for those of us lacking the skill and inclination to set about doing the same. (I live in an early 1970s grim Soviet-style apartment block myself.) But I love people who preserve and restore old homes, cars, and boats so that the rest of us can enjoy them.

It probably says more about me than it does about him that this account seems almost “too” perfect, neatly framed and tied up in a bow. Perhaps that just means he’s a really writer!

[Ann · Rating 4 out of 5]

Everything that anyone would need to know about restoration of a Colonial home before purchasing one and finding out difficult but how rewarding it is to save a piece of history. We had two old homes but they were more modern homes albeit still not easy to fix problems that arise. Well written so that one can understand the process well and appreciate the work that goes into restoration.

[Lauren Csaki · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was an enjoyable read! I was a little disappointed that it only covered an 18 month period. I think it would have been better to have written it after, say, 10 years of his restoration journey. I can’t imagine those handful of projects are the only ones needed to declare the house restored.

[Linda · Rating 3 out of 5]

The author recounts the ups and downs of restoring an old house. Some of the descriptions of actually learning how and doing the repairs felt tedious. Read for a book discussion group that are volunteers at the historic Meadow Brook Hall in Rochester MI.

[Robyn Wessman · Rating 5 out of 5]

A perfect love letter to New England

[CSC · Rating 3 out of 5]

It’s giving Noah Calhoun minus all the rain and pining.

[Kati Polodna · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book feels like fall.

[Carol · Rating 4 out of 5]

2024 - HB - Non-Fiction - 720.973 - i think that I want this book for myself

[Corey Schenck · Rating 3 out of 5]

A pleasant read, if a bit contrived. He certainly glosses over the boring parts of a project like this. But the author's romantic description of renovating will charm any armchair carpenter!

[Bethany · Rating 3 out of 5]

McColgan describes the restoration projects he undertakes over his first 18 months in his 18th-century home. Determined to use period materials and techniques wherever possible, the author gets to learn from some of the skilled artisans keeping these trades alive. The content of this memoir is interesting. The cliffhangers at the end of each chapter didn’t feel necessary. It would have been nice to get a feel for some of the other repairs the house needed.