Build a Classic Timber-Framed House

Build a ClassicTimber-Framed House, Jack Sobon, 202 pages

This is an in-depth manual for building a hall-and-parlor style timber framed house, including diagrams, plans, and instructions on sourcing and shaping timber, as well as planning for passive solar gain and siting your house. It’s very detailed, and at times was rather overwhelming (the descriptions of shaping joints were particularly confusing, leading me to wonder if it’s actually that complicated or just not well written). I appreciated the breadth of knowledge contained here – Sobon covers a huge variety of topics related to timber framing, including some structural engineering tables which are again quite over my head but interesting nonetheless. This book is the complete package for someone wanting to build their own house.

Solar Water Heating

Solar Water Heating, Bob Ramlow, 238 pages

Similarly to Radiant Floor Heating, this straddles the line between informational guide for interested homeowners and how-to handbook for contractors. However, Ramlow does a much better job explaining concepts with a minimum of technical jargon (though the end of the book does bog down a bit in the details). Just as it says on the cover, this book explains how to heat your domestic hot water or even your entire house with a solar collection system, including collector placement, system sizing, heat storage, and different collector types.

I enjoyed this book a lot – Ramlow writes clearly and concisely and includes very useful diagrams that walk a layperson through the intricacies of plumbing. There is some discussion given to pricing, though of course each system is different. Additionally, although Ramlow notes at the beginning there are only three kinds of collector types he recommends, the book covers other types (for reference when doing maintenance on existing systems) and does not note with sufficient clarity which types are not recommended. Generally though, this was a fascinating reference for an underutilized technology.

Timber Framing for the Rest of Us

Timber Framing for theRest of Us, Rob Roy, 177 pages

Author and builder Rob Roy details techniques for modern post and beam construction – not using traditional mortise and tenon joints, which are difficult and require precision and training, but using specialized screws, bolts, and metal plates. He also goes into the engineering side of timber frame design, calculating stresses and planning for loads. This was an accessible, well-written guide to a re-emerging, eco-friendly construction technique, compatible with local building materials and ultra-efficient insulation systems. The book contains not only advice on different joints one can make, but also examines different foundation and roofing systems, as well as ways to attach the posts to the foundation. Additionally, the last chapter is a detailed step-by-step case study of one of the author’s own projects.

Radiant Floor Heating

Radiant Floor Heating, R. Dodge Woodson, 284 pages

This is a very technical manual detailing the installation and maintenance of various designs of hydronic (meaning hot-water-based) radiant floor heating. Woodson covers both wet (slab concrete or thin-slab) and dry (above or below the subfloor) installation methods, walks through how to purge air from the system, and goes into detail about how to diagnose issues with various different types of boilers.

This book was frankly rather too technical for me. I had been hoping for a layman’s guide to radiant floor heating, but this is definitely aimed at heating and plumbing contractors. Some of the diagrams were quite helpful in understanding the material, but many were just blueprints for a certain part, with no explanation of how they worked. Additionally, Woodson uses little text boxes (with catchy titles like Tech Tip and Hot Point), which just copy-paste sentences from elsewhere on the page rather than summarizing or elaborating on the concepts. It felt like there was a lot of filler in this book.

The Timber Framing Book

The Timber Framing Book, Elliot Stewart, 169 pages

The definitive manual of timber frame construction. Stewart touches on the history of timber framing, as well as the aspects that make it appealing to some homebuilders today (longevity, sturdiness, fire resistance, ease of high-performance insulation, reduced wastage, support of traditional handicrafts), but the majority of the book focuses on the techniques of timber framing: how to cut mortises and tenons to retain structural integrity, as well as a few other basic joints, how to design, measure, and hang rafters, and how to raise the frame – the most exciting part of any timber frame construction. The last chapter actually provides complete plans for a 12’x 16’ shed, to build yourself. The book can be rather dry (it is definitely a manual) but perhaps would have been less so if I had been physically following along the techniques, working on my own timber frame.