The Old House Journal has for many years been the single best source of information about old houses like ours. Old houses are not like new houses. Building materials and building methods were different then. The Journal has articles about all kinds of problems that we face with our historic homes. Its articles are full of accurate information about how old houses are put together and how they work, and about the kinds of electrical and plumbing and heating systems that we have. The articles focus on how to do the right thing for old houses. 

ALERT: Do Not Confuse The Old House Journal with a similar title, This Old House, which is a spin off of a TV show. The Old House Journal writes about preserving and maintaining our homes, while the other deals with "adaptive reuse" and is not particularly sensitive to preserving old buildings. 

GET THE REAL THING. The Journal publishes six issues per year. The subscription rate is only $27.00. You can subscribe at The Old House Journal website, or call the offices at (800) 234-3797. If you get the first copy and decide it is not what you want, you can cancel the subscription and pay nothing. 

The website also has a lot of on-line information on a wide variety of topics. While some of their recent articles are included, a lot of the information is from government publications.