Roof Framers Bible [Hardcover]

Barry Mussell (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 1996

Roof Framer's Bible includes all the information needed to frame any gable, hip, shed, or gazebo roof - including those irregular "bastard" hip roofs for which rafter tables have never been available. When you are in the middle of a job you don't want to stop and play mathematician. Now you don't have to. This book puts the answers right at your fingertips - every length, every cut, and every miter. Can't remember all those key strokes for the Construction Master Calculator? You don't have to. This book includes tables for standard pitches and 68 different pitch combinations of "bastard" hip roofs. Don't curse the architect! Let this book make you an accomplished master of irregular pitched roof systems. New bilingual edition - includes a Spanish translation in the back of the book.

This book has it all!
* Exact lengths of all rafters including all regular and irregular hips, valleys, commons, and jacks.
* Lots of illustrations and easy-to-follow example problems.
* Details cuts and bevels for all rafters.
* Gives rafter runs to locate ridges and framing points.
* Roof sheathing cuts and angles.
* Fascia cuts for roofs with square cut rafter tails and sloped soffits.
* Rafter tables for Octagons, Hexagons, and other Polygons.
* Easy layout tips for arches and ellipses.

--This text refers to an alternate Hardcover edition.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 216 pages
• Publisher: M. E. I. - Publishing Division; 2nd edition (July 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0964335417
• ISBN-13: 978-0964335417
• Product Dimensions: 7.2 x 3.9 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,295,918 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Barry D. Mussell comes from a long line of carpenters and builders. His great-grandfather was the proprietor of J.H. Dake Contractors and Builders in Springfield, Missouri, the builder of many fine homes in the early 1900's. His father, master carpenter David L. Mussell, has built an impeccable reputation from California to Georgia. Continuing this tradition, the author began framing houses in 1979 and built over 200 homes in Atlanta, Georgia. For the past 18 years he has worked with John Wieland Homes and Neighborhoods, a custom/production home builder and winner of Professional Builder Magazine's "National Builder of the Year" award. As Framing Manager he supervised the construction of over 14,600 homes across the southeast. He is currently serving as the Director of Structure and Engineering.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

24 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Roof Framers Bible, April 30, 2000

By 

Jeffrey Moreau (Estes Park, CO) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Roof Framers Bible (Hardcover)

I have been a framer for 16 years and this book has been useful on most of the houses I build. Not only does it have all the standard rafter tables but the irregular combinations as well. It is very easy to understand and gives all the needed formulas. A MUST have for any framer.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Best useful framing book I've seen., March 20, 2007

By 

Amy Campbell - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Roof Framer's Bible: The Complete Pocket Reference to Roof Framing 2nd Edition (Hardcover)

I am a residential framer and I use my Roof Framer's Bible almost every day especially when I am framing complicated houses. Circular stairs, conventional rafters, round bays, all the calculations and tips are there for you. I have been framing for about 20 years and it is one of the essential tools I use on the site. I am on my 4th copy as the others have been gradually destroyed by weather (and one was stolen). This is the best useful framing book I've seen. I also liked The Roof Cutter's Secrets to Framing the Custom Home.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Make this your Bible., April 29, 2009

By 

Bruce Q. (Chicago suburbs) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Roof Framer's Bible: The Complete Pocket Reference to Roof Framing 2nd Edition (Hardcover)

I'm a very experienced and highly trained union carpenter, and trust me, this guide is a must! It's one of the very best there is, I wouldn't have only one, I have at least two.

It's got all the info. on cuts 3/12 thru 16/12, tables for "irregular" hip roofs 4/12 thru 16/12.
** THE BEST are the tables for 5,6,8,10, and 12 sided polygon roofs!!!
It also has guides for the layout of the trickiest elements like Arches, Ellipses, Non-centered ridges, and math guides. It IS amazing!

It has a very rugged hard cover, and it even has a "ribbon" book mark attached into the binding at the top like a real Bible!

I thought this was pretty great and had to include it.
The author dedicated it to his Father (a master carpenter) saying, "His skill is surpassed only by his Boss, the carpenter from Nazareth."
He also included this verse for carpenters on a cover page: Except the Lord build the house, they labor in vain that build it...for by wisdom a house is built, and by understanding is is established; And by knowledge the rooms are filled with precious and pleasant riches.
Psalms 127:1 & Proverbs 24:3-4

This IS the best guide book we've found!

Bruce Q.
NE Illinois