“Maintaining a Vacation Home”, by Steve Grooms

Grooms, Steve. Maintaining a Vacation Home: a Practical Guide to Seasonal Maintenance, Opening and Closing, Guest Procedures, Pest Control, Repairs. Chanhassen, MN: Creative Pub., 2006. Print.

This was on the shelf at my local library branch, and I got it out while we were putting an offer in on a summer place that we hope will become our retirement home.  By page two I was reluctantly deciding that it was a bad idea – this author goes to great lengths to make sure you understand what you will be getting yourself in to!

However, the rest of the book, although slim, was packed with good information.  There are lots of checklists, most notably the obvious opening and end-of-season lists.  He covers pests such as mice, how to store firewood, interior and exterior maintenance.  No detail is too small – like how you shouldn’t use anti-bacterial hand soaps if you’re on a septic system, because it will kill the beneficial bacteria in the tank.  News to me, yet it makes sense.  He also has a whole chapter on guests, and another with working with the local community.  My favourite anecdote was him trying to reach a local carpenter who was highly recommended, and after many unsuccessful phone attempts, going to the local bar and asking the bartender about him.  The answer?  A quizzical “he’s sitting on the bar-stool right next to you”.  The pictures are black and white, and although there aren’t many of cottages and cabins (most pictures are in the how-to section, where they should be), it’s nice to see pictures of modest structures instead of high-fashion getaways.

I’m sure I’ll end up taking this out of the library again once we actually have our summer place, especially if we have signs of mice or have any trouble with the woodstove.

I found the do-it-yourself building projects to be the least useful part – they would be better covered in a separate book where they could assume a consistent level of knowledge and tools on the part of the reader.

There is an index, but no bibliography.