The Very Efficient Carpenter: Basic Framing for Residential Construction (For Pros / By Pros) (Paperback)

~ (Author) "For many years in this country the craft and the tools of carpentry changed very little..." (more)
Key Phrases: ridge plumb cut, small rafter square, plumb stick, Framing Roofs, Framing Walls, Pairis Enterprises (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

A complete course in basic framing, including information on tools, plans, codes, permits, lumber and materials.

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Product Details Paperback: 224 pages Publisher: Taunton Press (October 19, 1998) Language: English ISBN-10: 156158326X ISBN-13: 978-1561583263 Product Dimensions: 9.9 x 8.1 x 0.6 inches Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies) Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews) Amazon.com Sales Rank: #109,526 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books) Popular in this category: (What's this?) #43 in  Books > Home & Garden > How-to & Home Improvements > Carpentry

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Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Index | Back Cover | Surprise Me!

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Inside This Book (learn more)

First Sentence:
For many years in this country the craft and the tools of carpentry changed very little. Read the first page

Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
ridge plumb cut, small rafter square, plumb stick, gable studs, top cripples, barge rafters, bottom cripples, rafter stock, frieze blocks, roof cutters, door trimmers, rafter template, rough sill, drywall backing, double top plate, layout stick, common rafters, rake wall, jack rafters, hip rafter, stud layout, starter boards, first joist, sheathing panels, intersecting roofs

Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Framing Roofs, Framing Walls, Pairis Enterprises, Maple Privado

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Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Index | Back Cover | Surprise Me!

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Citations (learn more)

This book cites 2 books:

• Full Length Roof Framer by A. F. Riechers on page 69
• Getting Started: " Runner's World " Best by "Runner's World" on page 1

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Ultimate Guide to House Framing by John D. Wagner

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Ultimate Guide to Barns, Sheds and Outbuildings by Clayton DeKorne

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For Pros by Pros Graphic GT Fr by Scott Wolf Discusses: barge rafters frieze blocks double top plate Habitat for Humanity by Tim Snyder Discusses: small rafter square plumb stick top cripples Backyard Play Areas You Can Make by Paul Gerhards Discusses: gable studs barge rafters rafter stock Ultimate Guide to House Framing by John D. Wagner Discusses: barge rafters bottom cripples rafter stock Loading...

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What Do Customers Ultimately Buy After Viewing This Item?

	51% buy the item featured on this page: The Very Efficient Carpenter: Basic Framing for Residential Construction (For Pros / By Pros) 4.0 out of 5 stars (12) $15.61
	15% buy Measuring, Marking, and Layout: A Builder's Guide 4.3 out of 5 stars (17) $16.47
	15% buy Working Alone 4.3 out of 5 stars (29) $12.21
	13% buy Graphic Guide to Frame Construction (For Pros By Pros) 4.5 out of 5 stars (50) $16.47

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Customer Reviews

12 Reviews 5 star:  (7) 4 star:  (2) 3 star:  (1) 2 star:    (0) 1 star:  (2)           Average Customer Review 4.0 out of 5 stars (12 customer reviews)		Share your thoughts with other customers:
Most Helpful Customer Reviews 69 of 70 people found the following review helpful: 5.0 out of 5 stars It's a systems approach, February 28, 2005 By  Alan K. Wells (The wilds of West Tennessee) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)    This review is from: The Very Efficient Carpenter: Basic Framing for Residential Construction (Ring-bound) I bought the book and (then) tapes to educate my family and myself in framing methods so we could build our proposed 3800 sft house as a family. I was not new to the construction industry, having worked in the past as an Architect (unlicensed:), a remodeling contractor, and construction supervisor. I had even acted as the general contractor on my own house. However, I had never started and completed a house from the ground up built by my own hands. We built our house the Larry way right down to the purchase of a framing saw. (My children still call it the Larry saw.) Although our house was *considerably* more complex than the house in the videos, the techniques illustrated worked just as well. In the end, our drywall contractor commented on how straight and square the framing was. He never complained about the out of sequence studs, and I've never had any difficulty finding one to hang a picture or whatever. And frankly, as I put my Architect's hat back on, it just looks better. I like the re-layout technique. But the most important contribution from Larry was his systems approach. One might believe that all framers use such an approach, but from my experience that's generally not the case and a trip about any construction site can prove that true. I was able to directly compare our work with the work of the carpenter contractor who framed our then current house seven years earlier and the pro was the one found wanting... The fact that an forty something man and a 15 year old boy were able to do a professional framing job using some basic skills and Larry's techniques are a testament to his (complete) thought process. I was and am impressed. I originally bought several hundred dollars worth of framing books of which this was one (a non-material expense in a $100K+ project), and read them all. But in the end, Larry really was the only one that relied on a systematic approach to the process and was the most helpful, not because he taught us how do to things, but that he taught us *what* do do in a simple orderly set of steps from begining to end. And in the end, you don't have to be a genius, or even a skilled carpenter. You just need to know what to do next. 45 of 50 people found the following review helpful: 3.0 out of 5 stars Helpful, but ignore his stud location advice., August 15, 2001 By  Charles Steck "Charlie Steck" (Concord, Ga USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)    This review is from: The Very Efficient Carpenter: Basic Framing for Residential Construction (Ring-bound) Not being a builder I was looking for a practical book to assist in building my 24x36 shop. This book has a lot of good stuff and you can tell that Larry "has been there". I went by the book on almost everything. I wish I had ignored his advice on stud location. He says it is not neccessary to maintain the 16 oc from end to end when you hit interruptions like doors and windows. He says you can simple start the 16 oc pattern over and not sacrifice structural integrity. I agree, but you catch heck when you sheath your walls and it would be better to have a stud under every 16 oc ceiling or second floor joist. He does say that for sheathing or dry wall reasons one could argue for maintaining the 16 oc the entire length of the wall, but he sorta of minimized it and said you can save on stud cost. Being a beginner I followed his advice to the tee. I will now go back and put in extra studs at 4' oc to accomodate my siding. Ignore his stud location advice and you will have a very helpful book on framing. 27 of 31 people found the following review helpful: 5.0 out of 5 stars Outstanding reference and guide, December 5, 1998 By A Customer This review is from: The Very Efficient Carpenter: Basic Framing for Residential Construction (Ring-bound) This book fills an important gap; it's neither too basic nor is it a structural or architectural engineering text book. I would recommend this book to anyone who's interested in remodelling or building by themselves, or even just curious about how their house is put together. This book does such a good job documenting and explaining the framing process that I would also highly recommend it to anyone who's having a house built.		Ad feedback   Most Recent Customer Reviews 5.0 out of 5 stars Buy this if your building a house Even if you are not doing the building yourself. This will provide you with the understanding of what is going on. Read more Published 11 months ago by R. S. Rehmel 1.0 out of 5 stars Be Nice If they ever send the book I canot review this bok at its the only one out of about seven books i ordered on amazon. I wrote to whoever was supposed to send it and i have heard nothing back. Read more Published 13 months ago by John J. Finn 1.0 out of 5 stars Not basic enough; not insightful enough Given the contradiction in the subtitle, I should have been wary. The book claims to explain "basic framing", but is "for pros by pros". Read more Published 13 months ago by Mike Blaszczak 5.0 out of 5 stars Good book , Bad binding VERY informative, need a slight tweeking for 2008 Guidelines for Los Angeles County. Otherwise I thought it was excellent reading, either at the site or in the kitchen with a cup... Read more Published 16 months ago by j. b. Ravine 4.0 out of 5 stars Good book. Could be better. Mr. Haun certainly knows a great deal about carpentering and he conveys a lot of that knowledge in this book; however, terms are introduced prior to being defined or explained,... Read more Published on May 14, 2007 by Joe K. Schrengohst 5.0 out of 5 stars good knowledge this is a great resource. it covers the basics and then some. if everyone on your crew was familiar with this system, you could easily frame a house in a week. Published on February 11, 2007 by B. Regan 5.0 out of 5 stars Awsome book for the novice wanting to learn to Frame I am doing an addition and wanted to frame it my self, knew a little about framing but not enough. Great book on the way to frame and how to build walls. highly recomended. Read more Published on January 15, 2007 by Greg Gutierrez 5.0 out of 5 stars Larry Haun hit the nail on the head This book has all the tricks and short cuts I learnd as a framing carpenter in southern California. Now as a framing contractor in Sedona AZ. Read more Published on November 9, 2006 by Kirk W. Leach 4.0 out of 5 stars factory work "rules" This book is a companion to a series of tapes and is best used as a beginners guide to framing 'factory' style. I like Mr. Read more Published on March 26, 2000 Search Customer Reviews Only search this product's reviews

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Product Details

• Paperback: 224 pages
• Publisher: Taunton Press (October 19, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 156158326X
• ISBN-13: 978-1561583263
• Product Dimensions: 9.9 x 8.1 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #109,526 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

  Popular in this category: (What's this?)

  #43 in

  Books > Home & Garden > How-to & Home Improvements > Carpentry

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

69 of 70 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars It's a systems approach, February 28, 2005

By	Alan K. Wells (The wilds of West Tennessee) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: The Very Efficient Carpenter: Basic Framing for Residential Construction (Ring-bound)

I bought the book and (then) tapes to educate my family and myself in framing methods so we could build our proposed 3800 sft house as a family. I was not new to the construction industry, having worked in the past as an Architect (unlicensed:), a remodeling contractor, and construction supervisor. I had even acted as the general contractor on my own house. However, I had never started and completed a house from the ground up built by my own hands.

We built our house the Larry way right down to the purchase of a framing saw. (My children still call it the Larry saw.) Although our house was *considerably* more complex than the house in the videos, the techniques illustrated worked just as well. In the end, our drywall contractor commented on how straight and square the framing was. He never complained about the out of sequence studs, and I've never had any difficulty finding one to hang a picture or whatever. And frankly, as I put my Architect's hat back on, it just looks better. I like the re-layout technique.

But the most important contribution from Larry was his systems approach. One might believe that all framers use such an approach, but from my experience that's generally not the case and a trip about any construction site can prove that true. I was able to directly compare our work with the work of the carpenter contractor who framed our then current house seven years earlier and the pro was the one found wanting... The fact that an forty something man and a 15 year old boy were able to do a professional framing job using some basic skills and Larry's techniques are a testament to his (complete) thought process. I was and am impressed. I originally bought several hundred dollars worth of framing books of which this was one (a non-material expense in a $100K+ project), and read them all. But in the end, Larry really was the only one that relied on a systematic approach to the process and was the most helpful, not because he taught us how do to things, but that he taught us *what* do do in a simple orderly set of steps from begining to end. And in the end, you don't have to be a genius, or even a skilled carpenter. You just need to know what to do next.

45 of 50 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Helpful, but ignore his stud location advice., August 15, 2001

By	Charles Steck "Charlie Steck" (Concord, Ga USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: The Very Efficient Carpenter: Basic Framing for Residential Construction (Ring-bound)

Not being a builder I was looking for a practical book to assist in building my 24x36 shop. This book has a lot of good stuff and you can tell that Larry "has been there". I went by the book on almost everything. I wish I had ignored his advice on stud location. He says it is not neccessary to maintain the 16 oc from end to end when you hit interruptions like doors and windows. He says you can simple start the 16 oc pattern over and not sacrifice structural integrity. I agree, but you catch heck when you sheath your walls and it would be better to have a stud under every 16 oc ceiling or second floor joist. He does say that for sheathing or dry wall reasons one could argue for maintaining the 16 oc the entire length of the wall, but he sorta of minimized it and said you can save on stud cost. Being a beginner I followed his advice to the tee. I will now go back and put in extra studs at 4' oc to accomodate my siding. Ignore his stud location advice and you will have a very helpful book on framing.

27 of 31 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Outstanding reference and guide, December 5, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: The Very Efficient Carpenter: Basic Framing for Residential Construction (Ring-bound)

This book fills an important gap; it's neither too basic nor is it a structural or architectural engineering text book. I would recommend this book to anyone who's interested in remodelling or building by themselves, or even just curious about how their house is put together. This book does such a good job documenting and explaining the framing process that I would also highly recommend it to anyone who's having a house built.