Rating: 
Summary: Excellent text, awesome drawings
Review: "Graphic Guide to Frame Construction" is an excellently illustrated spiral bound 'book' on wood frame construction. It covers all the major elements of home construction, from foundation, to floors, to walls, to roofs. It can be read as a book but is very reference-able. It does however assume some basic understanding of home construction, so it's not an absolute starter book. The text is a bit terse and requires some mulling over, but the drawings are fantastic. If you are considering building an outbuilding, adding on to your home, or perhaps even building your own home, this is one must have book, worth every single penny paid. Did I say that the illustrations are fantastic? They are.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent text, awesome drawings
Review: "Graphic Guide to Frame Construction" is an excellently illustrated spiral bound 'book' on wood frame construction. It covers all the major elements of home construction, from foundation, to floors, to walls, to roofs. It can be read as a book but is very reference-able. It does however assume some basic understanding of home construction, so it's not an absolute starter book. The text is a bit terse and requires some mulling over, but the drawings are fantastic. If you are considering building an outbuilding, adding on to your home, or perhaps even building your own home, this is one must have book, worth every single penny paid. Did I say that the illustrations are fantastic? They are.
Rating: 
Summary: An excellent detailed building reference
Review: As a former building contractor, I can say that this book offers builders of all levels drawing views that blueprints sometimes do not even afford. There are detailed views of alternative approaches for same-type applications that cover most problems encountered during a building or remodeling project. I initially bought this book as a refresher in anticipation of a planned project on my own home, but it has turned out to be one of the best reference books in my library.
Rating:
Summary: The definitive book for anyone who works on their home.
Review: As a home-owner, I've always believed by doing the job yourself, the result would be far better than one could receive by hiring someone to complete it. The only thing lacking for this to succeed is a knowledge of construction details. This book provides that and more. If you work on your home, you need this book.
Rating:
Summary: Great reference book with TONS of Practical information
Review: I am a homeowner and adventurous tinkerer with all things mechancial/technical. I have never swung a hammer for a living, and am fairly clueless when it comes to general construction. (I have installed windows, replaced drywall, repaired plumbing, and run electrical simple lines, never built anything from scratch). I am about to embark on a complete remodel of a previously converted garage, and wanted to do most of the work myself. Armed with a copy of Visio 2002, I planned the layout of the new room (about 20' x 15') which will include moving some interior walls and doors, blocking an exterior window, installing a new interior window, and extensive removal and replacement of siding, sheathing, drywall, stucco, flooring, etc. Well, I needed a book that could augment my basic "sense" of the way things should look with some actual technical information. For example, how exactly do you frame an opening for a new window or door? How do you frame up a new wall segment that joins to an existing wall segment? What the heck is a "king stud" any way? All of this information is laid out very nicely in a textbook-like format, with lots of diagrams. The great thing is the way that the author starts each section with an overview drawing (say of a typical exterior frame of a house), then points to specific features, which are then detailed in subsequent sections. I would liken this to a "Bentley Manual" for automotive repair; it will not tell the complete novice how to build a wall, but for someone who already knows the difference between a 10d hot-dipped box nail and a 8 x 1-1/4" Drywall screw it is a great reference and can add a LOT of clarity to the way that homes are actually constructed using "best practices". (It will also help point out all the shortcomings of the manner in which your 50's era home was built! :-) My only complaint with the book is that it is very sparse on "method" descriptions. Essentiallly there are just short paragraphs with brief descriptions that can sometimes be a bit cryptic. These would be very clear to a professional builder, but for someone like me, they require a bit of head scratching and guessing at times. I had great fun looking at the diagrams, then pulling off wall paneling and seeing the relationship between the drawings in the book and the actual construction of my home.
Rating:
Summary: Great reference book with TONS of Practial information
Review: I am a homeowner and adventurous tinkerer with all things mechancial/technical. I have never swung a hammer for a living, and am fairly clueless when it comes to general construction. (I have installed windows, replaced drywall, repaired plumbing, and run electrical simple lines, never built anything from scratch). I am about to embark on a complete remodel of a previously converted garage, and wanted to do most of the work myself. Armed with a copy of Visio 2002, I planned the layout of the new room (about 20' x 15') which will include moving some interior walls and doors, blocking an exterior window, installing a new interior window, and extensive removal and replacement of siding, sheathing, drywall, stucco, flooring, etc. Well, I needed a book that could augment my basic "sense" of the way things should look with some actual technical information. For example, how exactly do you frame an opening for a new window or door? How do you frame up a new wall segment that joins to an existing wall segment? What the heck is a "king stud" any way? All of this information is laid out very nicely in a textbook-like format, with lots of diagrams. The great thing is the way that the author starts each section with an overview drawing (say of a typical exterior frame of a house), then points to specific features, which are then detailed in subsequent sections. I would liken this to a "Bentley Manual" for automotive repair; it will not tell the complete novice how to build a wall, but for someone who already knows the difference between a 10d hot-dipped box nail and a 8 x 1-1/4" Drywall screw it is a great reference and can add a LOT of clarity to the way that homes are actually constructed using "best practices". (It will also help point out all the shortcomings of the manner in which your 50's era home was built! :-) My only complaint with the book is that it is very sparse on "method" descriptions. Essentiallly there are just short paragraphs with brief descriptions that can sometimes be a bit cryptic. These would be very clear to a professional builder, but for someone like me, they require a bit of head scratching and guessing at times. I had great fun looking at the diagrams, then pulling off wall paneling and seeing the relationship between the drawings in the book and the actual construction of my home.
Rating:
Summary: my most-used reference book
Review: I am a residential architect, and I refer to this book constantly when drawing details for a variety of projects. No book could show every possible detail, but this one does a great job of illustrating and describing the situations most likely to be encountered. I have found that the recommendations are consistent with general construction practices in my area. I almost always turn to this book first when I get stuck and need a little extra information to complete my drawings.
Rating:
Summary: Great book!
Review: I bought this book along with an armful of others its type to help me with a remodel. It is by far the best and easiest to understand. It has made my home a library for my buddies who come over, drink my beer, and read this book. (I don't check it out for fear that it will never return) This book has everything in it from entire section views to views of specific details with a narrative on best practices, where to start and how to do it right. It is a must for a do-it-yourselfer that intends on undergoing framing activities during his or her project. Besides you might get some of your friends that drop by to read the book, then you can put them to work on your remodel :-)
Rating:
Summary: Great book!
Review: I bought this book along with an armful of others its type to help me with a remodel. It is by far the best and easiest to understand. It has made my home a library for my buddies who come over, drink my beer, and read this book. (I don't check it out for fear that it will never return) This book has everything in it from entire section views to views of specific details with a narrative on best practices, where to start and how to do it right. It is a must for a do-it-yourselfer that intends on undergoing framing activities during his or her project. Besides you might get some of your friends that drop by to read the book, then you can put them to work on your remodel :-)
Rating:
Summary: Great Book!!!
Review: I found this book to be very helpful and I plan to use it for quite sometime. I own a home that was built in the 1920's and this book has been and will remain at my side as I rehab my old house. The diagrams are very clear and easy to read. I would highly recommend this book to anyone doing their own work on anything larger than a simple shed!
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