Benson - The Timber-Frame Home: Design, Construction, Finishing, 2nd Edition

$34.95 U.S.

HIGHER IN CANADA

The Timber-Frame Home

Revised and Updated Second Edition

When I chose timber-frame construction for the kitchen-family room wing of my new house, there was only one candidate to engineer, fabricate, and install the frame: Tedd Benson .

In this book, Tedd shows in meticulous detail how he has adapted the traditional members and joinery of timber framing to the construction technology we now employ to ensure comfort in our homes. He is a master of his craft.

Norm Abram

Two decades ago, Tedd Benson helped kindle the dramatic rebirth of timber framing in this country. Today Benson and others are combining centuries-old timber-framing techniques with modern building materials to create houses that are as beautiful as they are durable and comfortable. In this book, Benson traces the history of the timber frame and tells how to create a new house in the tradition of old-world craftsmen.

Todays timber-frame house presents unique building problems. Where do you put plumbing and wiring if you dont have stud-frame walls? How do you incorporate glass into the framing to create dramatic views? How do you insulate a timber-frame home? How do you ensure that the building meets codes? In this one-of-a-kind book, a master timber framer shares extensive experience solving these problems.

This new edition brings the latest advances in timber framing to life with hundreds of full-color photos and rendered drawingsall the information you need to join the timber-frame revival.

second edition revised and updated

Design Construction Finishing

Tedd Benson

Illustrations by Brian Smeltz

COVER PHOTOGRAPH: BRIAN SMELTZ

PUBLISHER: JON MILLER

ACQUISITIONS EDITOR: JULIE TRELSTAD

EDITORIAL ASSISTANT: KAREN LILJEDAHL

EDITOR: THOMAS MCKENNA

LAYOUT ARTIST: CHRIS CASEY

PHOTOGRAPHERS, EXCEPT WHERE NOTED: AUTHOR AND BRIAN SMELTZ

TYPEFACE: STONE SERIF

1997 by The Taunton Press, Inc.

All rights reserved.

10 9 8 7 6 5

Printed in the United States of America

A Fine Homebuilding Book

Fine Homebuilding is a trademark of The Taunton Press, Inc., registered in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.

The Taunton Press, 63 South Main Street, PO Box 5506, Newtown, CT 06470-5506 e-mail:

Distributed by Publishers Group West

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Benson, Tedd

The timber-frame home: design, construction, finishing / Tedd Benson2nd ed., rev. and updated.

p. cm.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN 1-56158-129-1

1. Wooden-frame housesDesign and construction. I. Title.

TH4818.W6B464 1997

96-44276

690.837dc20

CIP

To the memory of my brother, friend, and business co-founder,

Stephen Clare Benson (1950-1974).

Partner in the beginning, partner to the end.

A book such as this is not created by a single individual. I did not think, write, learn, research, or create alone. I will fail to acknowledge all of those family members, friends, clients, associates, and others who have contributed to the information and effort contained in these pages. For the fact that your name does not appear here, you have my apologies; for your contributions, you have my undying gratitude.

My writing, my professional work, and my personal life do not have walls to separate them. I like it that way. All of the things I dothis book includedare really about trying to improve the quality of lives. I first must thank a few people for their lifetime of gifts to me. Christine: As I have been married to Christine longer than I have been timber framing, I could not have walked this difficult path were it not for her unconditional love and would not still be treading here were it not for her conditional partnership. Emily and Corona: My daughterswomen nowstill keep me rich in love. I have built and accomplished nothing that gives me such joy and pride as simply being a part of the lives of these two ladies. Mary Lou and Ted Benson: My parents set standards of integrity, love, and commitment that are sure to keep me humble but pushing onward. I thank them for finding the grace and wisdom to both accept me as I am while, by example, leaving the bar higher. I will always be their loving and grateful son.

These people I must especially thank for their direct contributions to the content and appearance of this book. Your contributions have clearly made it better, but responsibility for the information and content within is still mine alone. Dr. Robert L. (Ben) Brungraber, P.E.: I am not the only one with a debt of gratitude to Ben. His editorial input and suggestions made this book better, but more than this, Ben has contributed mightily to the improvement of timber framing in North America. His enthusiasm, energy, and knowledge seem a bottomless well. My years working in association with Ben have been the best and happiest. Dr. Leonard Morse-Fortier, P.E.: Len graciously agreed to review the Skins and Frames chapter (). For his thoughtful suggestions and guidance, I am extremely grateful. Brian Smeltz: My associate and friend could not be credited enough for his contributions to this edition. His illustrations speak for themselves, but he also was co-photographer and helped me throughout the process to improve the quality and accuracy of this book. Laura Tringali: When this book was first created, Laura, my editor, was the force behind it. She pulled, pushed, and cajoled every part and piece into being and then she plied her considerable skills to make the whole better. This edition has changed substantially, but Lauras efforts remain. Associates at Benson Woodworking Company: Together we have agreed that our central mission statement is Through process and product to improve the quality of lives. I thank you for the grandness of your purpose and for the fun we all have pursuing it. The Taunton Press staff: Julie Trelstad for her leadership, guidance, and patience; Tom McKenna for his watchful editorial eye; Chris Casey for his layout and design expertise; and Karen Liljedahl for keeping all the pieces connected.

If this book has heroes, they are the people who built the timber-frame homes that are featured here. My thanks for your faith, for your commitment, and for helping us take another step forward. I also thank the owners of those houses for allowing us to invade your homes to take the photographs featured in this book.

I am one of the fortunate. When I began to timber-frame in the early 1970s, I had no plans to dedicate my life to the building profession, not to mention a career so obscure as the craft of constructing buildings using ancient wooden joinery and heavy timbers. It was a naive youthful yearning that, without plan or preparation, grabbed my life. So I am surprised to be reporting to you nowthese many years laterthat Im just as engaged, just as enthusiastic, and still very much at the beginning of a journey, not at the end.

My good fortune is severalfold: first, to have stumbled upon my calling; second, to find myself surrounded by a remarkable group of people who have also been drawn to this work; third, to find in timber-frame construction satisfaction in both the built accomplishments and the constant, beckoning enticement to strive for improvement in each next effort.