Barns, Sheds & Outbuildings: Complete How-To Information Design Concepts for Ten Buildings [Paperback]

John D. Wagner Mr. (Author), Clayton DeKorne Mr. (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 28, 2002

Written with the do-it yourselfer in mind, Barns, Sheds, & Outbuildings gives the reader the information needed to plan, build, and finish a wide variety of utility buildings, from the simplest garden shed to a huge gambrel dairy barn or a backyard artist's studio. The book includes design and planning information to help the reader locate the building, decide on its design, and decode architectural plans and building codes. It also guides the reader through building foundations, from simple shed foundations to poured concrete slabs. It also explains framing walls and roofs, including long sections on pole buildings and old-fashioned timber-framing techniques; and closing in the framing, including all types of roofing and siding, as well as door and window installation. Chapters cover the basic wiring and plumbing needs of the building, and the options for interior and exterior finish work. Ten design concepts of various buildings are presented with photographs and detail views.

Editorial Reviews

Book Description

Written with the do-it-yourselfer in mind, Barns, Sheds & Outbuildings gives readers the information they need to plan, build, and finish a utility building. It presents a variety of buildings, from the simplest garden shed to a huge gambrel dairy barn or a backyard artist's studio. Part One begins with design and planning information to help potential builders locate their building, decide on its design, and decode architectural plans and building codes. Individual chapters detail the basics of building foundations, from simple shed foundations to poured concrete slabs; framing walls and roofs, including long sections on pole buildings and old-fashioned timber-framing techniques; and closing in the framing, including all types of roofing and siding as well as door and window installation. Other chapters cover the basic wiring and plumbing needs of barns, and options for interior and exterior finish work. Part Two presents ten design concepts-with photographs and detail views-of various buildings.

From the Back Cover

This guide shows you how to build utility buildings-from the simplest shed to large barns and finished outbuildings. - Eight chapters cover all aspects of construction, including planning, tools, foundations, framing, roofing, siding, wiring, and finishing. - Information is given not just on standard framing techniques but on pole framing and timber framing. - More than 490 photographs show you how each aspect of your project is done. - Over 260 drawings show key construction details. - Design information for ten projects-from simple to complex-are included.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 208 pages
• Publisher: Creative Homeowner (March 28, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1580110754
• ISBN-13: 978-1580110754
• Product Dimensions: 10.8 x 8.6 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.5 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #620,522 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

26 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A superb, well-illustrated, well-written book, May 24, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: Barns, Sheds & Outbuildings: Complete How-To Information Design Concepts for Ten Buildings (Paperback)

This book isn't just about barns and shed; it's about proper building and framing practices for any type building. Sure, you can use what you learn here to build barns and shed-- and there are very complete plans for some lovely projects in the back of the book-- but you could just as easily use this book as a guide to building an addition on your house, or for framing a roof. The illustrations are fantastic; clear, concise, with good captions. The writing overall is very clear and understandable. I recommend this book highly to anyone doing any type of building.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Barns and Sheds and Outbuildings, September 3, 2005

By 

John M. Abernathy "John" (New Hampshire) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Barns, Sheds & Outbuildings: Complete How-To Information Design Concepts for Ten Buildings (Paperback)

Even though I have been a "do it yourselfer" for many years and have done many refinishing projects in houses I have never built a structure as large as a 14 foot X 18 foot x 11 foot high Saltbox machine shed from basic lumber. The sections on Basic Framing, Roof Framing, and Closing In contained enough detail to be very helpful. I also looked at the Wiring and Plumbing section even though I have completely wired a new house and partially wired other houses. While I would want other sources with more detail I thought the section had some good tips.

Overall, this is a really good book and would use it in conjunction with other more specific Creative Homeowner books such as House Framing, Plumbing, and Wiring.

0 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Should be called " 'Building Guide' for Complete Idiots", May 20, 2009

By 

C. Willey "dikobraz" (Titusville, PA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Barns, Sheds & Outbuildings: Complete How-To Information Design Concepts for Ten Buildings (Paperback)

Having been in the process of remodeling my house and anticipating replacing old, poorly constructed pole buildings that were garages, I thought this would be a great reference. The two reviews already listed gave it excellent reviews, so I bought it. What a complete waste of my time and money. This book covers alot of very basic concepts and procedures to the point of redundancy. It covers very basic wiring, leveling up poles, stringing lines, using a level. How to wire an outlet? Get real. There is an explanation of metal vs asphalt roofing too. Duh. If you don't know the difference between a pein hammer and a claw hammer, this book is the right caliber for you. Still would not recommend buying it.
And as far as the "ideas" for building, don't bother. Save your time and your money; there isn't the least bit of inspiring ideas here. If you want to build a shed for your lawnmower, sure, buy this book. If you want to put up a nice sized garage or barn, forget it. Most of the complex details are glossed over, especially those involving timber framing. There is a picture of a horse barn with wide open ceilings, and very little loft storage. There is also a a picture of a large barn, but yet very little information about HOW you would build it. Quite frankly, I feel this book is completely worthless to anyone contemplating any type of serious, real project. Giving this book 1 star is extremely generous at best. Would return it and get my money back if I could.