There is no required text but we strongly recommend that you quickly get the 4th edition of Building Construction Illustrated by Francis D.K. Ching. It is an excellent professional resource and can be had for as little as $20 on line. If you decide to buy an earlier edition of the book you will get the same basic information but the page references we give may be off. You can get the 3rd edition for as little as $10 on line.The book is on reserve and in permanent reference in our library but this is one book that is affordable and makes an excellent reference book for you to keep.
The other reference book, Architectural Graphic Standards, is a great book to have but it is $188 on Amazon. We have electronic versions and paper versions of this book on reserve in our library for those of you who don't have a free $200.These are both books you'll never read but will refer to for the rest of your professional career. They're not glamorous but they are invaluable. If you can't afford the later now, remember to ask for it at Christmas and/or at graduation. They're both worth their weight in money for understanding normative construction practices.
Links to the library reference page for both of these books are available to the left.
