Customer Reviews

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

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

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.

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.

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.