Customer Reviews

The Timber-Frame Home: Design, Construction, Finishing

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This is by far the best of several books I purchased on building timber frame homes. I started with a list of questions about shrinkage, sound proofing, electrical, plumbing, etc. and found clear concise answers to all of them through text, drawings, and photos.

I trust experts (like this author) who talk about the mistakes they've made and show me how to avoid them. He presents options and if you decide to pick the lower rated ones, he describes the likely consequences and how to minimize them.

This book is an excellent guide to the craft of timberframing and complete house design and finishing. I have just finished building my own red oak timber framed house in Tedds back yard here in New Hampshire and found many valuable hints and tips throughout this book, especially liked the sections on plumbing and wiring which can be a challenge in a timber frame house. I also agree with another reviewer that the quality of the book is excellent and deserves a place on your coffe table for guests to peruse. To top it all off Tedd is a very honorable and genuine person who espouses the inherent charms of living in a well crafted timber frame house better than any other books or articles I have read on the subject. Every day in my new home is a real delight and I never get tired of viewing the fine joinery throughout the house. Benson Woodworking also has an excellent web site to examine much of the steps in building a timber frame house. Also for those of you who enjoy the photos in this book , Tedd has a brand new book out showing dozens of homes they have built in the past in beautiful photographic form.

Back in 1980 Tedd Benson wrote a book on the same subject. It was more of a "do-it-yourself" book yet I liked it because it was a bit idealistic. In the present case The Timber-Frame Home takes the concept to another level. I liked reading the book for the following reasons: historical perspective and framework, detailed technical discussion of why, how, when and lots of great photo's of the projects being discussed.

The historical evolution of the "Timber-Frame Home" gave me a great reference and perspective on the subject discussed by the author. From the discussion in the text it is clear that Mr. Benson has extensive experience in building timber frame homes. Another reason I liked the book was the "philosophical" perspective injected by the author. Mr. Benson takes a "holistic" approach to discussion and building. The synergy and interdependence of the home and the environment are emphasized through the building elements discussed resulting in a total perspective, not a one-dimensional view so often encountered in construction books.

Overall my opinion is that this is a well written, well documented, thoroughly researched and pleasant read. I would recommend it to anyone thinking of building a timber-frame home or seeking to learn about this rediscovered building technique. An added benefit is that when your done reading the book you can leave it on the coffee table for others to look over!

Although I had just started my search for Timber Frames when I came across this book, I still am constantly refering to it for insightful information. No other book has, all in one place, all the information a to-be-owner of a timber frame home could want or need. Extremely useful for those trying to design their own home, this book details the engineering concepts and the art of designing a symbiotic floor plan... all the way through the correct placement and constuction techniques of plumbing and wiring with SIPs and other enclosure systems. GREAT photos and illustrations make it an easy book for light reading and a way to get into the lingo of framing. The only thing not covered is how to swing the axe!!!!

Whether you are going to act as general contractor, or hire it all out, this book is a great over view of all of the aspects of building a Timber Frame. While not dwelling in great detail, it has lots of drawings, photos, and descriptions, to acquaint the reader with construction techniques, electrical and plumbing considerations, and room layouts in a typical Timber Frame home. Definitley another fine book from Mr. Benson.

This is a wonderful book about timber frames. As an architect i can say this book is perfect from every aspects. Complete and understandable for every kind of readers. It gives a lot of important design and technical information in a form of an artistic photo album.

This book contains wonderful pictures of homes that are mostly 5,000 sq ft and larger. With one exception it completely ignores fine smaller timberframe homes. I was reminded more of ski lodges than homes by the places featured. But the pictures are nice and if a 5,000 sq ft plus size house is what you're interested in I suppose this book has some interesting ideas.

I bought this thinking it would have information for builders but it turned out to be a large and expensive brochure for the author's timber frame company. I kept reading and waiting for information on how to build a frame. I found it vague, full of theory, and sparse on practical information. So, if you would like to hire Mr. Benson to build your frame this book will show you what to expect from him and his company, but skip it if you are inclined to build your own frame and are looking for structural information, span tables for common timber framing species or detailed information on joinery.

I first read Benson's "Building the Timber Frame House" which is an older book with excellent drawings and diagrams explaining the many ways that one can make strong joints in timber frame construction. That excellent book focuses more on framing techniques and is truly impressive, especially if you intend to try your hand at building your frame on your own, or if you would like a better understanding of how timber frame joining should work. One drawback of the book, however, was that it had limited information on structural insulated panels, or "SIPs". This is understandable because the book was written several decades ago. This earlier book lacked detailed information on how to deal with plumbing, wiring, and finishing walls in timber frame homes, but the rest of the information about framing was (and still is) definitive.

This more recent book offers a lot more information on SIPs. In addition to better color photos and other details about framing and raising a timber frame, Benson describes in detail the many ways to stretch a skin over a timber frame. He explains the many types of SIP products and shows how one can route wire on the frame or through the panel. He also shows other ways to insulate the house with different site-built wall structures. He shows how the SIPs can be joined to the structure and how to plan plumbing and wiring to minimize the wet wall footprint. Therefore this newer book is more comprehensive in that it includes a lot more information about what to do *after* the frame is constructed.

There are some issues left unaddressed, however. While reading both of Benson's books, one begins to get the feeling that the timber frame is perhaps the best of the best framing methods for a home. Superior in strength and long term integrity, the timber frame is the ultimate. Yet once that conclusion is reached, suddenly the conventional wiring, insulating, and plumbing methods look inadequate by comparison. For anyone that has spent time updating an older home, he or she knows that there is a lot to be desired in conventional wiring, insulation, and plumbing practices. There has just got to be a better way.

Regarding insulation, the timber frame home may have an advanced solution: the SIP. However, SIPs or foam core panels have not quite achieved long term status. Their long term reliability is still in question in some cases. While Benson seems to be very confident about their quality, there is a lack of long-term data. Whereas a traditional home may require new siding or shingles on ~30 year intervals, there is dearth of reliability data for SIPs that includes detailed information about how the adhesion between the foam core and outer panel holds up over time. Particularly for extruded polystyrene (EPS) panels - simply glued sandwiches - adhesion performance may be a significant issue over a 20-30 year time period. SIPs can't be invincible - the issue is how they respond to the slow forces of moisture absorption, thermal expansion, and the persistent pull of gravity on stone or brick siding.

Benson doesn't promise any data of this kind as it is beyond the scope of his book, but if one were to put all of the effort into making a stout, long lasting, structurally perfect timber frame, the skin should be similarly long lasting. Benson does mention that the newer urethane based foam core panels have likely better adhesion, though with likely added cost. To that end, Benson offers good advice on how to make the minimal amount of cuts to get the most material out of expensive SIPs. He does not provide information about toxicity or recyclability of these materials - though there are supposedly soy-based urethane substitutes that claim to have the same R-value as the incumbent product.

Another issue that wasn't completely clear is how the panels support the weight of siding over the long term, particularly heavy siding such as brick or stone. Again, the adhesion between the foam and outer board face seems to be taken for granted, even in this book. The panels are attached to the structure with long screws or nails but the distance between the outer nail head and its rigid point of contact means there is a moment acting on the nail between the frame and the head if and when the anchor point ever becomes loose, i.e., the nail punctures the outer skin and makes its way through a semi-rigid 3.5" gap of foam before it meets an anchor point. While new SIPs are surprisingly rigid, it is a composite and the inner and outer materials will inevitably have changing structural properties over time. The timber frame is also changing as it settles and the wood continues to dry, so how do these shifts affect the integrity of the outer skin? Benson explains how frames can dimensionally change in great detail, but again, this information is mostly missing for SIPs.

As mentioned previously, there is a lot of information about how to route wires through SIPs. There are some issues about running wires in a timber frame home that aren't necessarily solved by this book. In the same way that wires are run through the stick posts of a 2x4 or 2x6 wall, Benson recommends pre-wiring the frame through routed notches, or pulling wire through routed or drilled channels in SIPs. This method is as inelegant as the current practice and presents the same issues when a remodel, update, or repair is needed. Building practices today make some silly assumptions: they aren't designed to account for future updates; they are not waste conscious; most building materials are not recyclable; wiring and plumbing updates are a blind and clumsy practice. The wires run through SIPs are placed with the same assumptions; they are just presumed to stay there forever and access to them is poor. Who is to say that the wiring code won't change, or that someone may want to add another outlet at some point in the future? I'm not counting on wireless outlets any time soon, so the SIP solution presents a remodeling difficulty. New wires or new plumbing might be difficult problems to tackle since the SIP is intended to be an integral piece of the wall structure. In addition, if wire pathways are routed into the backside of the timber frame then there will also be wire pulling problems if/when someone wants to add a new light or new outlet. Let's face it - a house can't be built to account for *all* of the owner's needs. It is bound to require at least minor updates or repairs within the first 5-10 years of ownership.

These concerns might seem picky, but it is my assumption that those who admire timber frames admire them because of their inherent durability and strength. There are timber frames structures that stood for 100 years before being recycled into a new structure that will also stand for 100 years. It would be a shame to cover such a beautiful structure with anything that isn't of equal integrity. I would like to believe that SIPs are the final answer, but I am not yet convinced. And as long as we continue to use wires and plumbing hidden in walls, we're stuck with these kind of solutions.

For those that are interested, the Structural Insulated Panel Association (SIPA) has a lot of documentation on building techniques, testing results, and newly adopted building standards. SIPA is a K Street lobby shop, albeit with some evident technical knowhow, so take these documents at face value. Those that are backed by published ASTM standards are the most reputable. Nonetheless, SIPA may at least provide direction as to where to look for more detailed information.

If you have any interest in building a timber frame home or if you are just into reading about architecture, Benson's two books are excellent, extensive, and definitive references on the topic. They get five stars. But there is still no perfect building method. Timber frame construction techniques have literally withstood the test of time; timber framing is a part of classic architecture that has proven to be beautiful as well as extremely functional. However, insulation, wiring, and plumbing still have a long way to go to earn that kind of praise, so my hope is that Benson and people like him continue their work toward continuous improvement.

After reading the book I concluded I have zero hope of building one and I need to contact the author to build it for me. Brilliant brouchure for his company. I would take off stars for the flagrant selling but you know what it is just that good a book on the subject and the fact is its hard work and he is good at it. Hell just buy the book and have them build it.