Helpful Guidelines and Interesting Insights:
Use these articles to learn more about wood flooring, about American barns through history, interesting things about wood and so much more. Learning is fun, so is wood.
Beams
“Hand-hewn" is the manual process used in historical times to form tree timbers into structural beams. Farmers would strike timbers with an adze or broad axe (the most common tools depending on the part of the country they were in). This process would leave obvious strike marks up and down the beam, but it was essentially the only means farmers had to process them. If they were lucky, they lived near a river strong enough to produce power and may have been able to use a saw. “Rough-sawn" timbers are a rough cut, but still much smoother than hand-hewing. Today, hand-hewn beams are the most sought after product in the antique wood industry.Our antique beams have many uses - they are milled into practically every product we produce. Their most common uses, however, are structurally and cosmetically. When used structurally, beams maintain not only their original purpose but their historical reverence as well. And by sifting through tons of beams, we find materials that have maintained their integrity through the years. This allows us to bring you beams that may be re-used structurally. Not all beams nor species of wood are suitable for this function.
When used as adornments, they provide breathtaking appeal to any room. Their presence fills a home with remarkable sense of history and fascinating charm that everyone will love. They make extraordinary conversation pieces, too!
When making your decisions, keep in mind that these historical relics will commonly have mortise and peg holes. Although many people prefer these characteristics, we do provide the service of filling them. An antique wood material is used to essentially cork the hole. Either way, the rustic look is fantastic. Tenons are still on many of the beams as well, so we can leave them on if you so desire, too!
