With no knowledge of residential repair, Ron Tanner and his girlfriend Jill embarked on a risky, intense journey into home renovation with unrealistic deadlines, massive rat infestations and numerous physical, emotional and mental tests where at every turn something went wrong. With just each other to endure the nearly impossible odds, they took this fascinating, heartwarming journey together.
Tanner, author of “From Animal House to Our House: A Love Story,” recently spoke at the Main Library in downtown Akron as another installment of “DIY: Home Improvement Events.”
The story began by expressing Tanner’s idealistic, overly optimistic and hopelessly romantic personality, and how after meeting the girl of his dreams, he hoped to fix up an old house and marry her.
Once he and Jill found an old house to make their own, the story goes over all the awful, disgusting and hilarious experiences in fixing up a house condemned for its unlivable and unsafe environment. An environment consequently created by a notoriously destructive fraternity making the house nearly helpless.
In speaking about he and Jill’s experience with lead, asbestos and Jill getting lead poisoning, Tanner said, “ Everything that you could do wrong, we did wrong. But it teaches you a lot.” He learned, although the hard way, a great deal about renovation and became a house inspector in response.
After three years Ron and Jill were married inside their home and in Ron’s opinion, “We now live happily ever after.”
