To backup, use Disk Utility (in /Applications/Utilities/) to backup the user home folder.
- Login as a local administrator, but not as the user account you want to backup.
- Launch Disk Utility.
- Choose File » New » Image from Folder...
- Select the user's home folder /Users/[username].
- Save the disk image to your backup drive.
- Enter an admin username and password when prompted.
- When starting with a freshly restored or new computer use the Setup Assistant to create a local admin account that is NOT the same user name and short name as the user you are restoring.
- Login as that local admin account.
- Mount the disk image from the backup drive of the user's home folder you want to restore.
- Switch to the Finder by clicking the Finder icon in the Dock.
- Choose 'Go To Folder' from the Go menu.
- Type /Users/ and click Go.
- Copy the mounted disk image (not the disk image itself, but the white mounted disk image icon on the desktop) to the /Users folder by dragging it and holding the Command key. A green plus sign on the icon will indicate a copy and not a move is about to be performed.
- When the copy is complete, the user's home folder will be restored with all its sub-folders, and all previous ownership and permissions will be intact.
- Finally, use System Preferences to create a user account with the same username as the home folder. System Preferences will prompt you to verify you want to use the existing home folder for this account, and then will verify the home folder as having the correct ownership and permissions.
[crarko adds: This is the type of procedure I used before Time Machine automated the process. Before that I used to use ditto in a manner similar to this hint. There are many ways of doing this, but this one is pretty straightforward, and if for some reason Time Machine is not feasible this method will work.]

