Homebuilding Basics: Carpentry

this is an excellent primer on stick framing, covering everything from tools to layouts of floors, walls, ceilings and roofs. nothing about shingling, drywalling, plastering, etc. - just framing. that's the strength of this book, in the depth of its treatment of the subject. nicely illustrated, there are at least two or three photos or useful diagrams per page. the book's a big step up from your usual how-to, as the author ties in his own personal building experiences, in ways that illustrate the logic of methods and practices.

"Homebuilding Basics: Carpentry" may just be one of the best carpentry tools you could buy. Larry Haun, a production framerand carpentry teacher for over 45 years, wanted to "share with others what I have learned from my teachers." He has certainlysucceeded.He begins by covering both hand and power tools and explaininghow to choose one version over another depending on the task.Safety tips and tricks for more effective use are presented insidebars.The jobsite section explains the frame structure of a typical home in detail: nomenclature, whys and wherefors, and sequenceof tasks.Next, Haun moves through the actual frame construction from thefoundation sill through the completion of the structure and basicfinishing in sections on framing floors, walls and ceilings, roofs, stairs and finish details.This large, well-organized handbook will prove invaluable to anyoneplanning to build a home, remodel one, or simply wanting to be ableto recognize proper framing methods and high quality work. It provides an introduction, list of sources for tools, supplies andbooks and an index as well as a slew of excellent illustrations.Larry Haun currently teaches carpentry in Coos Bay, Oregon and isthe author of "The Very Effectient Carpenter" and a long-time contributor to "Fine Homebuilding Magazine".

This book is the best I've ever seen as a teaching tool on this subject. It assumes no prior knowledge, everything is very clearly written, and the illustrations make it simple to understand. (In fact, if you scanned through the book and only studied the pictures and read their captions, you would learn a great deal without reading the book's text.)If you choose to buy this book, it's money well spent.