Customer Reviews

This Old Dump: Renovate Without Decking Your Mate

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(2)
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What a hoot! Received my copy today, started reading and couldn't put it down until I finished. Every single story reminded me of something that happened as we were fixing up the various places we've lived in over the years. I could write an entire book about remodeling my husband's mom's house! My absolute favorite part was where Bill took the dog's Phenobarbital instead of his Prozac and the poison control center responded, "If you start barking, come in!" - I laughed out loud.
Another totally delightful book by Laura Jensen Walker - a must by for anyone who is starting a home "project!"

Funny lady Laura Jensen Walker does it again. She has a way of taking any subject, adding a humorous twist, and helping us see ourselves through her hilarious stories and keen observations. After trying to wallpaper with my husband years ago I vowed to never do any home improvement with him again. Thanks to Laura's book This Old Dump I feel like maybe we can buy a fixer upper and still stay happily married.

When I picked up "This Old Dump," I still had paint stuck under my fingernails and wallpaper paste in my hair. I found my sense of humor again, as well as many friends in Laura Walker's book--and recommend it for anyone who's hooked on HGTV or who's known by his or her first name at Home Depot.

Stop! Back away from the paint brush and no one will get hurt. That's the recurring theme of Laura Jensen Walker's delightful book about remodeling your home without wrecking your marriage. Using funny but factual real-life stories, Walker reminds the reader that there are as many decorating techniques as there are colors of paint. Unfortunately, many of them don't mix. This Old Dump is not so much a "how-to" as a how-NOT-to. That is, if you value your marriage. Considering a serious home make-over? Stop! Buy the book first. You'll need the comic relief.

This book is as much about maintaining your marriage as it is about maintaining your house. The perfect book for any couple contemplating a home repair project. The life you save may be your own!

Laura Jensen Walker's funny stories of friends' remodeling projects give me hope in the midst of our own remodel; we can hang on--without hanging each other! We WILL survive! A fun read and great reminder that a little labor, love, and lots of laughter are ultimately what make any house a home....you'll enjoy this book.

Laura Jensen Walker is in rare form with this great book on renovating one's house without losing one's marriage. Humor, help, and hope run through its pages. Expect to laugh as you learn--and then get to work on your 'old dump!'

I can relate to "romantic dates" at Home Depot. I can also relate to those moments when the renovation involves reinventing your marriage . . . in order to create a happy home. (Key word is happy.) If you're in the midst of remodel woes, or if you're considering embarking on your first project together, I highly recommend Laura Jenson Walker's book. I laughed out loud and nodded my head in agreement as I read. It truly is a book that can help you renovate without decking your mate!

My family has been caught up in the home improvement craze for years, but our children have gotten in on the act too since becoming fans of one of those "home makeover" shows. So when we took our teenager to pick out paint chips for his room last summer, we shouldn't have been surprised when he chose a "moon rock" green hue, embedded with grains of sand and flecks of glitter. OK...we invited his involvement in the project, so we were going to have to live with the results! Had I read the new book by Laura Jensen Walker, I would have approached this project and others around our home with a little more wisdom and a lot more patience. This Old Dump: Renovate Without Decking Your Mate, (Revell, September 2004, paperback, 156 pages) offers fun and humorous suggestions for surviving your home improvement projects without destroying your marriage in the process. Laura blends hilarious home improvement tales with practical tips and solutions. The book is a fun, helpful and enjoyable read and offers some great ideas. Highly recommend!