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Timber Framing for the Rest of Us: A Guide to Contemporary Post and Beam Construction: 12 (Mother Earth News Wiser Living Series, 12) Paperback – Illustrated, 13 May 2004

by Rob Roy (Author)
4.2 out of 5 stars 134 ratings
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All those of us without traditional skills need to know to build with timber framing

Many natural building methods rely upon the use of post and beam frame structures that are then in-filled with straw, cob, cordwood, or more conventional wall materials. But traditional timber framing employs the use of finely crafted jointing and wooden pegs, requiring a high degree of craftsmanship and training, as well as much time and expense. However, there is another way...

Timber Framing for the Rest of Us describes the timber framing methods used by most contractors, farmers, and owner-builders, methods that use modern metal fasteners, special screws, and common sense building principles to accomplish the same goal in much less time. And while there are many good books on traditional timber framing, this is the first to describe in depth these more common fastening methods. The book includes everything an owner-builder needs to know about building strong and beautiful structural frames from heavy timbers, including:

  • the historical background of timber framing
  • crucial design and structural considerations
  • procuring timbers-including different woods, and recycled materials
  • foundations, roofs, and in-filling consdierations
  • the common fasteners.

A detailed case study of a timber frame project from start to finish completes this practical and comprehensive guide, along with a useful appendix of span tables and a bibliography.

Highly illustrated, this book enables 'the rest of us' to build like the professionals and will appeal to owner-builders, contractors and architects alike.

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  1. Part of series
    Mother Earth News Wiser Living
  2. Print length
    176 pages
  3. Language
    English
  4. Publisher
    New Society Publishers
  5. Publication date
    13 May 2004
  6. Dimensions
    19.05 x 1.27 x 22.86 cm
  7. ISBN-10
    0865715084
  8. ISBN-13
    978-0865715080
Next slide of product details

Product description

Review

"With more than thirty years of hands-on experience, Rob Roy brings solid insight and understanding of the importance of timber framing to all aspects of natural building. This eminently readable, beautifully illustrated book offers both practical advice and personal experience."
― ROBYN GRIGGS LAWRENCE, Editor-in-Chief, Natural Home magazine

"If you want to build a home or barn without spending a fortune, you should read this book. Modern timber framing techniques are easy to learn and perfect for building with straw bales, cordwood masonry, cob, structural insulated panels (SIPs) or local timber. The chapter about low-cost chainsaw mills for cutting your own lumber, alone, is worth the price of the book."
― CHERYL LONG, Editor-in-Chief, Mother Earth News

"In Timber Framing for the Rest of Us, Rob continues his good work of stocking the shelves of the owner-builder's library. His books provide accessible information and inspiration to a new generation of hands-on homeowners."
― MARK KLEIN, Gimme Shelter Construction, Amherst, WI

"This is a wonderful reference for anyone considering timber frame construction, and is somewhat intimidated by the exactness of the craft. Rob Roy has blended this beautiful time-honored technique with state-of-the-art joinery components to make timber framing available to all. However, there's more than just nuts and bolts to this book, Rob also provides useful information on frame design, structural load calculations, lumber procurement and more. If you're looking for an alternative to conventional construction but aren't quite ready to tackle a traditional timber frame this books for you."
― DON OSBY, builder and art director of BackHome Magazine

"Rob Roy provides a wealth of basic information, tools and techniques for heavy timber construction, employing "bolts and ingenuity". He offers a comprehensive and comprehendible alternative to traditional timber framing for people with a wide range of skills and experiences, all delivered in the lively and charming style we have come to expect from his work in other areas."
― JOEL C. MCCARTY, Timber Framers Guild

About the Author

Author/editor Rob Roy has been building, researching and teaching about cordwood masonry for 25 years and, with his wife, started Earthwood Building School in 1981. He has written ten books on alternative building, presented four videos-including two about cordwood masonry-and has taught cordwood masonry all over the world.

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ New Society Publishers; Illustrated edition (13 May 2004)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 176 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0865715084
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0865715080
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 19.05 x 1.27 x 22.86 cm
  • Customer reviews:
    4.2 out of 5 stars 134 ratings

About the author

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Rob Roy

Rob Roy

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Rob Roy has been building, researching and teaching about cordwood masonry for four decades. Widely recognized as a world leading authority on cordwood construction, Rob started Earthwood Building School in 1981 to train builders in the latest cordwood building methods. He has authored and edited a dozen books on alternative and natural building including the first edition of Cordwood Building, Timber Framing for the Rest of Us and Earth-Sheltered Houses. Rob has also presented four videos, including two about cordwood masonry and has taught cordwood masonry all over the world. Rob lives in Chazy, NY

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Top reviews from United Kingdom

  • Chris Hodge
    5.0 out of 5 stars This has been my bible for designing and building a ...
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 10 August 2014
    Verified Purchase
    This has been my bible for designing and building a timber frame garage. 'Timber framing for the rest of us' fills the significant gap between getting a ready-made shed and having a bespoke oak-framed building crafted for you. As this book is written with the perspective of the severe snow-loadings, hurricane winds and earthquakes that are faced in the US, there is a slight tendency to over-engineer. But with a set of UK span tables to hand, this book will help you create a building that will last and last.
    2 people found this helpful
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  • Mr. P. Rogers
    4.0 out of 5 stars Four Stars
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 20 September 2014
    Verified Purchase
    Very good, clear instructions.
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  • Mr. JW
    5.0 out of 5 stars good book to start building a timber frame
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 5 January 2012
    Having bought this book a few years ago, I have only just read it (Nov 2011)(I built a timber framed house using mortice and tennons etc before reading this. I wish I would have read this earlier, because it would have lead me to the other book by the author "cordwood building" which I have just bought and read. This would have been the route I would have taken to building my house.
    Helpful
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  • Doh
    5.0 out of 5 stars Practical and Inspirational
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 4 December 2009
    Roy brings out new home building books every year, it seems. The last few years have seen major treatments of all his basic building strategies, timber, earth, log ends. The new books are handsomely produced, up to date, and comprehensive.

    With timber frames there are several major threads. The uber domestic architecture movement, based largely on church architectural norms, very difficult to home build. The modernist post and beam thread, now out of favour; And the domestic level shorter post and beams method designed for home architecture. This book is mostly towards the latter thread, with additions as required. In other words, even a person working alone with modest tools can do these builds. (Other good books in this scale are Sobon's books that cover traditional settler forms for modern makers, and Mitchell's West Coats classic The Craft of Modular Post and Beam. Sobon's diverts from simplicity in favour of some of these older forms, and Mitchell in favour of West coast style, though they are both still practical)

    Often the glaring omission in timber frame books is the lack of any engineering treatment of how to size beams. This is a major stuff where the fancy frames are concerned, but it is within the realm of possibility for simpler homes. Roy covers this ground simply, and it is essential stuff for anyone who wants to do some design work before talking to the local planing office or a professional architect. This chapter can be skipped, but ads to the comprehensiveness of the text for those in need of the information.

    One doesn't have to be planing a house to use this book. Timber framing is a practical form for smaller buildings like sheds, workshops, picnic shelters. Due to their scale these structures can often be timber framed within the span of only a few posts and beams of dimensional lumber, saving money with an elegant approach, and increasing interior space.
    9 people found this helpful
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  • Rupert Elliott Consulting
    2.0 out of 5 stars It's American!
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 12 July 2012
    Verified Purchase
    This book is a good guide to post and beam and is well presented and set out including sizing of beams and posts which was exactly what I was after as we are a construction consultancy based in Kent, SE England. HOWEVER: the book is written for the American market and uses units such as inches, feet, pounds per square inch. There is no metric units and the codes of practice inc timber sizes are based upon American building codes so it is not a practical text for the UK. No reference to this is given on the Amazon.co.uk website - be warned!
    5 people found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

  • Doh
    5.0 out of 5 stars Pracitical treatment
    Reviewed in Canada on 2 February 2011
    Verified Purchase
    As the title says this book is designed for the average builder. It is not a book of fancy 300 dollar a square foot mega homes. This is the book that will get it done if you want to make anything from a chicken coup to a home. RR has been writing construction books for decades, and he knows just what to pack in.

    Most of the examples are buldings he has built or that students have built. These are simple buildings, and in some cases a few decades old. But at least he is illustrating with his own work rather than just rounding up a portfolio of unattainable projects.

    In addition to all the practical and up to date build advice, he is pretty nearly the only writer out there to take you step by step through calculating loads and designing beams, for your home scale project. Timber frame is different in that respect. 2x stud building are vastly overbuilt, and for given local conditions it is easy to track down local structure to copy. Build within the 2x format and your building is going to be strong. Timber frame is different because it makes use of irregular beam and post configurations, and concentrates loads into smaller numbers of posts and beams. One way to get a good feel for it in your local area, is to examine local structures, like park shelter building that often have established details. RR tackles this engineering info. And it is great to have it, however it is just a small part of the book. If you read a bunch of books on the subject, eventually you are going to wonder how the heck to solve some of these simple structuring problems.

    Readers might also want to consider:

    For cathedral architecture on a home scale, read one of the various Ted Benson books

    For traditional domestic timber framing, not the church bent like approach, Try Sobon's books I met a guy who had taken one of his workshops and built a house on his own property.

    Steve Chappel's book is good, harder to pigeon hole for me.

    For west coast style/home building I recommend James Mitchell's book Modular Post and Beam. For do it yourselfers, but the designs are sophisticated, though he didn't follow through with the plans.
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  • TF
    5.0 out of 5 stars Eye opening and confidence building
    Reviewed in the United States on 11 April 2021
    Verified Purchase
    Really help me understand and give me confidence to build my own cabin with my own rough sawn timber. There was no way I was going to learn timber framing by traditional methods. With these methods I can do this.
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  • Amazon Customer
    4.0 out of 5 stars Not as detailed as I was expecting
    Reviewed in Australia on 20 October 2022
    Verified Purchase
    Not a bad book but I was expecting more detail on structural steel connectectors for heavy timbers. Instead it mostly involves light sheet strapping and coach/batten screws. There is a lot of useful information in there but if you're chasing decorative styles of structural steel connectectors for heavy timbers, Pinterest is probably a better bet.
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  • R3warnno
    4.0 out of 5 stars Explains practical Timber Frame construction
    Reviewed in the United States on 31 August 2014
    Verified Purchase
    The author has done a good job of explaining practical Timber Frame construction. There are fewer references to the art of traditional joinery with its demanding craftsmanship to create interlocking structural members. The book focuses of the "Timber Frame Effect" married with the modern imperatives of economy, code compliance, ease-of-use and application of new technologies. The author effectively communicates where and how the old and the new come together to create beautiful and enduring structures.
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  • John
    4.0 out of 5 stars Four Stars
    Reviewed in Canada on 13 October 2015
    Verified Purchase
    Well written
    Report