Imagine that you are trying to renovate a house near Moscow.

ECONOMIST: A krisha over your head

He won an academic scholarship to the University of Florida, in Gainesville, where he joined the swim team and earned a degree in engineering, a subject that interested him only insofar as it illuminated the mechanics of, say, how to level a structural foundation or gut-renovate a house.

NEWYORKER: Bones of Contention

The first phase in the project was to renovate the 1930s house, which was in a "horrendous" state, said Mr. Turner, having been lived in by an elderly invalid for several years.

WSJ: Striking Gold in the Backyard

They intend to renovate three buildings around a central courtyard on Pembroke Street, called Rochester House.

BBC: Plans for Oxford Story Museum