Jeff Beneke has been fixing up old houses for over 20 years and writing about home improvement nearly as long.
Experience:
Jeff has written more than a dozen books and contributed to another dozen. He has published articles and reviews on home improvement, parenting and personal finance for a wide range of publications. A former editor of Fine Homebuilding Books at the Taunton Press, Jeff has kept busy renovating two 19th-century farmhouses in upstate New York and, currently, a mid 20th-century house in Austin, Texas. His books include Converting Garages, Attics and Basements; Build a Kids' Play Yard; and, most recently, The Fence Bible. He has built scores of storage units, from simple to fancy bookcases, kitchen cabinets and tool caddies. Jeff's idea of a great garage is one filled with tools, lumber and workbenches rather than cars.
Education:
After completing an apprenticeship program, Jeff worked as a machinist for many years in Texas and Connecticut. Along the way he picked up a BA at the University of Houston and a MA at the University of Rochester. He is a largely self-taught carpenter, cabinetmaker, electrician and plumber.
From Jeff Beneke:
I started building bookcases when my book collection threatened to overwhelm my bedroom. This happened when I was a graduate student, and therefore largely free of money. As a former machinist, I was familiar with cutting and shaping metal, but I wasn't experienced working with wood.
Since I moved a lot, I developed a system of modular bookshelves that could be broken apart and hauled from one place to another relatively easily. When I discovered I was about to become a father for the first time, I just knew I had to build a crib with my own hands. That crib would have won no awards in great design or top-notch construction, but it dutifully handled three kids over a ten year period.
What's more, it started me on a new journey. If I can build a baby crib, I reasoned, what's to stop me from building some cabinets, or rewiring a house, or installing a new bathtub. Along the way, I've largely learned from others. I'm here hoping to pass some of that knowledge on to you.