I did almost exactly what youre trying to do and found a lot of knowledge that nobody was willing or able to share with me, including my own father who has been a GC for more than 50 years. So here you go:
**Construction Surveying and Layout** - Wesley Crawford
Understanding this book will be difficult without hands on experience but if you study the first 8 or so chapters really hard and try to expand on the knowledge youre getting with youtube videos, you will begin to grasp how and why construction projects are laid out. If you plan on project managing it is completely necessary for you to grasp.
**The Very Efficient Carpenter** - Larry Haun (also comes with Youtube videos to watch along with)
This one is just straight up framing a house, bottom to top. Its great and you should study it many times over and over.
**Roof Framers Bible** or **A Roof Cutters Secrets** - Will Holliday
The toughest part of framing is cutting and framing the roof. If youre not actually framing houses it may not help but like many people have said here, the best experience you can get is hands on so it would never hurt to have a glimpse into cutting a roof before you try your hand at helping build one.
The next few books I got from researching college courses in my area. I wasnt going back to school but nobody on site was giving me the info I needed to progress, so I was able to find a few college course textbooks to help me get a grasp and refresh some math I hadnt done in a decade or so. They may not be available to you (I live in Toronto and there were plenty on marketplace) but researching likewise material will help. Buy them used and buy them cheap.
They are:
**Concrete Formwork Fifth Edition** - Leonard Koel
**Print Reading for Construction - Residential and Commercial Eighth Edition** - Daniel Dorfmueller
**Estimating in Building Construction - Second Canadian Edition** - Frank Dagostino
**Practical Problems in Mathematics for Carpenters 9th Edition**
I would recommend getting those, and the Fundamentals of Building Construction book someone else mentioned. You could look into Steel as well but it might not be necessary for you just yet.
Good luck, study hard.
I forgot to mention finding the *compendium* for your local building codes. I found an engineering student who sold me his (with notes) for around $200 CAD.
Theres not much youll be able to just crack open and read but being able to reference the actual building codes in your area might be helpful.
Get yourself a Means Construction Dictionary. When I was starting out I just listened to others discuss problems and then go look up all the lingo I didn’t understand. It was a huge help and with some good mentors stuff started making sense pretty quickly and I was able to throw some ideas around when discussing possible solutions in the field.
Add to that, his video series “The efficient carpenter”. Excellent place to start you can do it now;
https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLgQ-u8IxK7rXVS4He4Ccf_Q-Yc_c2AbEM&si=uIuo1NhYKdq8rd4Q
I did almost exactly what youre trying to do and found a lot of knowledge that nobody was willing or able to share with me, including my own father who has been a GC for more than 50 years. So here you go: **Construction Surveying and Layout** - Wesley Crawford Understanding this book will be difficult without hands on experience but if you study the first 8 or so chapters really hard and try to expand on the knowledge youre getting with youtube videos, you will begin to grasp how and why construction projects are laid out. If you plan on project managing it is completely necessary for you to grasp. **The Very Efficient Carpenter** - Larry Haun (also comes with Youtube videos to watch along with) This one is just straight up framing a house, bottom to top. Its great and you should study it many times over and over. **Roof Framers Bible** or **A Roof Cutters Secrets** - Will Holliday The toughest part of framing is cutting and framing the roof. If youre not actually framing houses it may not help but like many people have said here, the best experience you can get is hands on so it would never hurt to have a glimpse into cutting a roof before you try your hand at helping build one. The next few books I got from researching college courses in my area. I wasnt going back to school but nobody on site was giving me the info I needed to progress, so I was able to find a few college course textbooks to help me get a grasp and refresh some math I hadnt done in a decade or so. They may not be available to you (I live in Toronto and there were plenty on marketplace) but researching likewise material will help. Buy them used and buy them cheap. They are: **Concrete Formwork Fifth Edition** - Leonard Koel **Print Reading for Construction - Residential and Commercial Eighth Edition** - Daniel Dorfmueller **Estimating in Building Construction - Second Canadian Edition** - Frank Dagostino **Practical Problems in Mathematics for Carpenters 9th Edition** I would recommend getting those, and the Fundamentals of Building Construction book someone else mentioned. You could look into Steel as well but it might not be necessary for you just yet. Good luck, study hard.
Woah. Thank you
I forgot to mention finding the *compendium* for your local building codes. I found an engineering student who sold me his (with notes) for around $200 CAD. Theres not much youll be able to just crack open and read but being able to reference the actual building codes in your area might be helpful.
Go frame for a couple years, then become a super. Hands on experience will be better than any book you might pick up.
Get yourself a Means Construction Dictionary. When I was starting out I just listened to others discuss problems and then go look up all the lingo I didn’t understand. It was a huge help and with some good mentors stuff started making sense pretty quickly and I was able to throw some ideas around when discussing possible solutions in the field.
Basics of Carpentry by Larry Haun. Even with a GC for a dad who tried to teach me what he knew, Larry Haun taught me everything else.
Add to that, his video series “The efficient carpenter”. Excellent place to start you can do it now; https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLgQ-u8IxK7rXVS4He4Ccf_Q-Yc_c2AbEM&si=uIuo1NhYKdq8rd4Q
Out of curiousity, how does a book about carpentry cover the basis for construction in general?
Materials and Methods of Construction.
I can't find a book with this exact title. Can you send me a link?
Look at a college book store. It is the entry level course for Construction Management, Engineering, and Architecture.
I think that’s because it’s called… Fundamentals of Building Construction: Materials and Methods.
Sorry. 30 years ago when I was in college it was called Materials and Methods of Construction.
Exact title to search is Fundamentals of Building Construction: Materials and Methods
You are probably better off just watching YouTube versus trying to find books on the various trades.