100 books like Discovering Timber-Framed Buildings

By Richard Harris,

Here are 100 books that Discovering Timber-Framed Buildings fans have personally recommended if you like Discovering Timber-Framed Buildings. Shepherd is a community of 10,000+ authors and super readers sharing their favorite books with the world.

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Book cover of The Timber-Frame Home: Design, Construction, Finishing

Rupert Newman Author Of Oak-Framed Buildings

From my list on inspiring you to build your own timber framed home.

Why am I passionate about this?

I have been fascinated by traditional carpentry since exploring the soaring timbers in roofs of medieval tithe barns around my home in Somerset. At the start of my woodworking journey, I soon learnt that building big was good. This led me into restoring ancient barns and roofs, where I learnt many of the skills I still use today. With the help of the books I have listed, I soon turned to building new oak framed buildings. Over the past 35 years I have had the pleasure of making many fabulous structures and working with some great carpenters and apprentices.

Rupert's book list on inspiring you to build your own timber framed home

Rupert Newman Why did Rupert love this book?

This is a must-read classic for anyone interested in how to build a complete timber framed house.

Tedd, a master builder, offers a comprehensive guide to designing and building timber frames, emphasizing the importance of traditional craftsmanship and sustainable building practices.

It focuses not only on the techniques of making the frame but also on the rest of the build, such as the walls and foundations, which I found very useful.

By Tedd Benson,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The Timber-Frame Home as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

The age-old craft of timber framing is making a comeback, and in this book the author shows how to adapt the sturdy elegance of timber-frame construction to the needs of modern living. The guide takes readers through timber frame strategy, engineering, design and frame and floor plans, in order to help explain the fundamentals of the craft and which options are available. Most importantly it gives tips on how timber-frame houses can be designed to accommodate wiring, plumbing and insulation.


Book cover of A Japanese Touch For Your Home

Rupert Newman Author Of Oak-Framed Buildings

From my list on inspiring you to build your own timber framed home.

Why am I passionate about this?

I have been fascinated by traditional carpentry since exploring the soaring timbers in roofs of medieval tithe barns around my home in Somerset. At the start of my woodworking journey, I soon learnt that building big was good. This led me into restoring ancient barns and roofs, where I learnt many of the skills I still use today. With the help of the books I have listed, I soon turned to building new oak framed buildings. Over the past 35 years I have had the pleasure of making many fabulous structures and working with some great carpenters and apprentices.

Rupert's book list on inspiring you to build your own timber framed home

Rupert Newman Why did Rupert love this book?

This is a beautiful and informative book that provides readers with practical advice on how to incorporate Japanese design principles into their homes.

It provides advice on how to create calm and minimalist living space to transform any building. It is filled with over 120 amazing photographs to inspire you and even has some projects to make. I just love to browse through it!

By Koji Yagi, Ryo Hata (photographer),

Why should I read it?

1 author picked A Japanese Touch For Your Home as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Filled with elegant designs and clever tips, A Japanese Touch for Your Home offers bold and exciting ideas for remodeling your home or redecorating your apartment. The author, architect Koji Yagi, explains the basic elements of Japanese interior design and shows you how to use them.

Install tatami mats and shoji doors-cardinal elements of Japanese interior design-and see how beautifully they respond to the Western home. Change the size and shape of a room easily and tastefully with bamboo screens and movable partitions. Build a simple Japanese-style alcove, decorate it with
something special, and then flaunt it. Try some Japanese…


Book cover of A Timber Framer's Workshop: Joinery, Design & Construction of Traditional Timber Frames

Rupert Newman Author Of Oak-Framed Buildings

From my list on inspiring you to build your own timber framed home.

Why am I passionate about this?

I have been fascinated by traditional carpentry since exploring the soaring timbers in roofs of medieval tithe barns around my home in Somerset. At the start of my woodworking journey, I soon learnt that building big was good. This led me into restoring ancient barns and roofs, where I learnt many of the skills I still use today. With the help of the books I have listed, I soon turned to building new oak framed buildings. Over the past 35 years I have had the pleasure of making many fabulous structures and working with some great carpenters and apprentices.

Rupert's book list on inspiring you to build your own timber framed home

Rupert Newman Why did Rupert love this book?

As an aspiring carpenter, I found this book to be an invaluable resource.

Steve’s expertise and passion for his craft shine through on every page. It is quite technical and really goes into detailed explanations of the techniques involved. Whatever stage of your carpentry journey this is the book for you if you want to expand your timber framing knowledge.

I particularly enjoyed the sections on timber frame engineering and mathematics. Highly recommended!

By Steve Chappell,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked A Timber Framer's Workshop as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

This revised edition of A Timber Framer s Workshop has over 150 new photos and includes updated engineering specifications for pegged joinery, along with expanded in-depth technical information on the joinery, design and construction of Traditional Timber Frames.

The major portion of A Timber Framer's Workshop was first written back in 1983. Over a period of a number of years several revisions and additions took place, as it was used as the handout workshop manual for Fox Maple Timber Framing Workshops. At last, it was published for general distribution in 1998.

When this book was first published in 1998, scientific…


Book cover of Woodland Craft

Rupert Newman Author Of Oak-Framed Buildings

From my list on inspiring you to build your own timber framed home.

Why am I passionate about this?

I have been fascinated by traditional carpentry since exploring the soaring timbers in roofs of medieval tithe barns around my home in Somerset. At the start of my woodworking journey, I soon learnt that building big was good. This led me into restoring ancient barns and roofs, where I learnt many of the skills I still use today. With the help of the books I have listed, I soon turned to building new oak framed buildings. Over the past 35 years I have had the pleasure of making many fabulous structures and working with some great carpenters and apprentices.

Rupert's book list on inspiring you to build your own timber framed home

Rupert Newman Why did Rupert love this book?

This is a beautifully written and illustrated book that captures the essence of traditional woodland craftsmanship.

As a carpenter, I was enthralled by Ben’s descriptions of sustainable woodland management practices and his detailed instructions on how to make everything from baskets to pole barns using only the timber from his wood.

His passion for the craft shines through on every page, and if you are into truly hand-made carpentry then this is the book for you. 

By Ben Law,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Woodland Craft as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Accompany woodsman Ben Law as he celebrates the amazing diversity of craft products made from materials sourced directly from the woods. Including brooms, rakes, pegs, spoons, chairs, baskets, fencing, yurts and even a caravan, the items are hewn from freshly cut green wood, shaped by hand and infused with a simple, rustic beauty. Detailed instructions and advice are given for each craft, along with essential knowledge about tools and devices. With fascinating information on the history, language and traditions of the crafts, coppice management and tree species, this book teaches about all aspects of the low-impact woodland way of life.


Book cover of The Wine of Angels

Joe Talon Author Of Counting Crows

From my list on spooky minds and old soldiers who never give up.

Why am I passionate about this?

I’ve written about war for years. To be honest, it all began in school when we studied the terrible events of The Great War. Hearing the hearts shatter of men on the frontline never left me. I wanted to understand. I needed to understand. PTSD is something I’m familiar with, even if I’ve never been on the front line in battle. I’m also obsessed with myths, legends, ghost stories, and mysteries. My Lorne Turner series combines my passions and the books shine a light, in fiction, on what happens to old soldiers when they come home.

Joe's book list on spooky minds and old soldiers who never give up

Joe Talon Why did Joe love this book?

This is where it all began. When I read this, I thought, I want to write a book like this one day. This long-running series is carefully crafted to walk the line between the real world and what might be out there, beyond the veil. They are cosy thrillers at their heart, I suppose, but the supernatural element adds a layer of spooky that darkens them, makes them more savage. The characters are wonderful, they can infuriate you at times, but they do not bore you. The locations, the weather, the buildings, they all play a part. These are very good British spooky thrillers.

By Phil Rickman,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The Wine of Angels as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

THE FIRST IN THE INCREDIBLE MERRILY WATKINS SERIES
Merrily Watkins: late thirties, single mum, parish priest. Cosy? I don't think so...

The new vicar had never wanted a picture-postcard parish - or a huge and haunted vicarage. Nor had she wanted to walk into a dispute over a controversial play about a seventeenth-century clergyman accused of witchcraft... a story that certain long-established families would rather remained obscure.

But this is Ledwardine, steeped in cider and secrets...

A paradise of cobbled streets and timber-framed houses. And also - as Merrily Watkins and her teenage daughter, Jane, discover - a village where…


Book cover of Strongholds of the Picts: The Fortifications of Dark Age Scotland

Maggie Freeman Author Of Castles

From my list on the magic of castles.

Why am I passionate about this?

I’m a writer of historical novels and primary literacy books, and a poet. I was born in Trinidad and live in London. So why am I writing about the magic of castles? I’ve loved visiting them since I was a child, when I’d run round them and imagine what had happened there. Back home, I’d immerse myself in reading legends and fairy stories—at bedtime, lying in my top bunk, I'd make up stories to entertain my sister in her bottom bunk. So it was natural to move on to writing fictionthe novel I’ve just completed is about King Canute. I’ve written primary literacy books for Collins, Oxford, and Ransom.

Maggie's book list on the magic of castles

Maggie Freeman Why did Maggie love this book?

I’ve spent some time in the north of Scotland and became intrigued by the remains of Pictish forts on hilltops and by the sea. This book doesn’t provide many answerswritten records before 900 AD are few and the archaeology is confusedKonstam’s conclusion is "the main benefit of any visit to one of these sites is to be able to stand on the same hilltop or promontory, and to imagine what it might have looked like in the days of the Picts." Which explains why legends and stories have grown up about castlesimagining has been key to making sense of such imposing features in the landscape, when often their real history has been forgotten over time.

Konstam’s book is one of a series, and if your curiosity is about a different sort of castle it’s worth checking it out.

By Angus Konstam, Peter Dennis (illustrator),

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Strongholds of the Picts as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

This concise guide actually covers not just Pictish fortifications, but all those in use in early medieval Scotland, including those of Strathclyde and Rheged and of the Dal Riata. Konstam introduces the reader to the principal types of fort, including the re-use of earlier defences, before offering more in-depth surveys of Dundurn and Dunadd. As well as architecture and construction he looks at the use of the forts in war and peace, to control the landscape and act as royal strong points.


Book cover of A Last Look: Western Architecture in Old Shanghai

Claire Chao Author Of Remembering Shanghai: A Memoir of Socialites, Scholars and Scoundrels

From my list on China’s greatest city Shanghai.

Why am I passionate about this?

“Old Shanghai” is in my blood: though raised in Hong Kong, I was surrounded by all things Shanghai through my parents and their friends, who had grown up during Shanghai’s 1930s heyday. The classical culture … the modern glamour … the breathtaking scandals! Since childhood I’ve searched for connections to my heritage; this fascination led me, years later, to write Remembering Shanghai with my mother, by then in her eighties. Having immersed myself in Shanghai history and culture most of my life, I am passionate about intimate, authentic stories that are told against a rich historical backdrop—the kind that make reviewers say “you can’t make this up!”

Claire's book list on China’s greatest city Shanghai

Claire Chao Why did Claire love this book?

Hard to imagine now, but when Tess Johnston arrived in Shanghai as an American diplomat in 1981, no one was researching or writing much about Old Shanghai. Fascinated by the city’s old Western buildings, she collaborated with Shanghainese photographer Deke Erh to piece together the stories behind the once-grand architecture. Photographed in the 1980s and ’90s, A Last Look provides a provocative visual history of Old Shanghai, accompanied by succinct text penned in Johnston’s personable style. This oeuvre is not only an appealing entrée into a lost era but has become a precious remembrance, as many of its subject buildings and neighborhoods have since been demolished. Although the book is out of print, it’s worth ordering a used copy.

By Tess Johnston,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked A Last Look as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Book by Johnston, Tess


Book cover of Liverpool: City of Architecture

Ken Pye Author Of Liverpool: The Rise, Fall and Renaissance of a World Class City

From my list on Liverpool and Merseyside history.

Why am I passionate about this?

I am a Fellow of Liverpool Hope University, and of the Royal Society of Arts, and have a lifetime of experience in leading and teaching in all professional sectors. I have written 18 books on the history of Liverpool and its City Region, and am currently writing two more, for publication in 2022. I have also produced a series of TV documentaries and a set of audio CDs. However, my second qualification is that I am a Liverpudlian born and bred, and I am deeply proud of both of these facts. I love my city and its people (and its unique history and heritage) with genuine passion but no illusions, and I take the greatest pleasure in sharing this with as many people as possible in every medium available to me.

Ken's book list on Liverpool and Merseyside history

Ken Pye Why did Ken love this book?

Liverpool’s Architecture represents all schools, styles, and tastes, and this book captures exactly that using glorious colour plates for each of the 226 buildings in the book. Each image is supported by a readable but detailed write-up on the history of the building, and an analysis of its style and composition. It also talks about the respective architects, and gives dates and other statistical information where appropriate.

I love this book because it is a tour-de-force by a respected historian and architect who loved his work, and who loved his city. This shows in the book.

By Quentin Hughes,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Liverpool as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Liverpool City of Architecture [Nov 15, 1999] Hugh


Book cover of The Architecture of Health: Hospital Design and the Construction of Dignity

Sara Jensen Carr Author Of The Topography of Wellness: How Health and Disease Shaped the American Landscape

From my list on creating, building, and thinking about healthier places.

Why am I passionate about this?

I am a professor of architecture, urbanism, and landscape at Northeastern University in Boston, as well as a licensed architect and urban designer. I’ve always been fascinated by the ways the design of the world affects our decision-making, health, and opportunities, from the early days of my career designing hospitals to my current work researching and designing for green space equity and considering how we design in the age of pandemics and climate change. I hope these books, as well as my own writing and work, empower people to understand, ask for, and co-design healthier environments wherever they live, work, and play.

Sara's book list on creating, building, and thinking about healthier places

Sara Jensen Carr Why did Sara love this book?

Michael Murphy is one of the co-founders of MASS Design Group, who may have seen profiled on 60 Minutes or in the Wall Street Journal. This design firm and nonprofit probably does some of the best and broadest work in health and justice-centered design, in projects from the United States to Haiti to Rwanda. I began my career in hospital design, and this book is both a history of innovative healthcare facilities but also provides an introduction to MASS Design’s incredibly innovative work in this sector and is beautifully and richly illustrated to boot.

By Michael P. Murphy, Jeffrey Mansfield,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The Architecture of Health as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Architecture of Health is a story about the design and life of hospitals-about how they are born and evolve, about the forces that give them shape, and the shifts that conspire to render them inadequate. Reading architecture through the history of hospitals is a deciphering tool for unlocking the elemental principles of architecture and the intractable laws of human and social conditions that architecture serves in each of our lives.

This book encounters brilliant and visionary designers who were hospital architects but also systems designers, driven by the aim of social change. They faced the contradictions of health care in…


Book cover of Someone Builds the Dream

Colleen Paeff Author Of The Great Stink: How Joseph Bazalgette Solved London's Poop Pollution Problem

From my list on the infrastructure of our cities.

Why am I passionate about this?

I never thought much about what makes our cities habitable until I started doing research for The Great Stink. But learning about sewers and wastewater treatment (They’re surprisingly interesting!) turned out to be the beginning of a fascination with other types of city infrastructure that I had previously ignored. Kids have a natural fascination for infrastructure of all kinds, but I was surprised when I couldn’t find any lists of picture books that group different types of city infrastructure together. So, I made one. I hope you and your little ones like these books as much as I did, and I hope you find many similar books to enjoy!

Colleen's book list on the infrastructure of our cities

Colleen Paeff Why did Colleen love this book?

What I love about this book is that instead of focusing on the engineers, architects, artists, and other high-profile designers who tend to get the credit for creating so much of what we see in our cities–it focuses on the laborers who take their plans and make them a reality. Someone Builds the Dream will get kids (and their parents) thinking more about the building process and the people who spend their days putting together the parts of the many buildings, bridges, fountains, and other structures that come together to create a city. Young children will love the rhyming text and older ones will find much to wonder about as they scan the vibrant illustrations.

By Lisa Wheeler, Loren Long (illustrator),

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Someone Builds the Dream as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it. This book is for kids age 5, 6, 7, and 8.

What is this book about?

All across this great big world, jobs are getting done

by many hands in many lands. It takes much more than ONE.

Gorgeously written and illustrated, this is an eye-opening exploration of the many types of work that go into building our world - from the making of a bridge to a wind farm, an amusement park, and even the very picture book that you are reading. An architect may dream up the plans for a house, but someone has to actually work the saws and pound the nails. This book is a thank-you to the skilled women and men…


5 book lists we think you will like!

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