It’s not often that you get a chance to download a free home improvement book, and it’s even more rare that the book actually comes from a county government office. Yet the Department of Community Revitalization of Henrico County, VA has created a free 140 home enhancement guide which you can download from their website.
A sample of just some of the hundreds of great home improvement ideas in the Homeowner’s Enhancement Guide.
The Homeowner’s Enhancement Guide can be downloaded as a full .PDF file or you can download individual chapters that are based on your specific house type or interest. They have specific home improvement ideas and suggestions for Ranch homes, Cape Cods, Split Levels, Colonial Revivals and even Bungalows. Included in the full book is a chapter about yard maintenance, new construction home ideas and advice, and a full chapter on how to save money on energy and water usage. Another chapter explains how you can make your home more comfortable for an older generation of people and there is a chapter all about project planning, raising money for home improvements and hiring contractors. The appendices of the book include maintenance checklists for your home, a glossary of home improvement terms and additional resources you can check out.
I live in a Ranch style home and the guide does a great job of explaining the different floor plans as well as the pros and cons that are often found in Ranch homes. There are specific suggestions and photographic examples of ways to increase curb appeal and put on an addition for various styles of Ranch houses. The ideas are broken down by affordability and type of Ranch house.
While there are plenty of home improvement idea books out there, this Homeowner’s Enhancement Guide is actually a pretty class publication with great graphics and floor plans, a true respect for the historical background of different home styles and a real eye for detail when it comes to making enhancement suggestions. The suggestions and ideas for home improvements are not incredibly detailed, but they are varied enough to get your mind thinking about all the possibilities that you have. While the entire guide is obviously written with a focus on the homes that are in Henrico County in Virginia you’ll see that most of the advice and home improvement ideas could be applied to a large percentage of the homes build across the entire country.
Not into downloading a book or printing just the chapters you want? You can buy a printed copy of the book for $10 at a few locations in Henrico County, VA or you can send $15 to: County of Henrico, Department of Community Revitalization, P.O. Box 90775, Henrico, VA 23273.
