Wood Species for Your Timber Home

Several wood species are accepted in the timber frame and post and beam home industry.  Each species carries its own characteristics and beauty.

Douglas fir timber frame

Douglas fir: Known for its structural strength, Douglas fir’s color ranges from a yellow to orange-brown to deep reddish brown and has a limited number of knots.  Douglas fir checks and cracks minimally compared to other wood species. Large Douglas fir timbers may be designated FOHC (free of heart center) which means that the usual 'bulls eye' heart wood found in the center of most beams is absent. Free of heart timber also checks less and is more stable than timber which does have heart wood.

Eastern White Pine:  A blond wood with knots of various sizes and occasional red streaks, EWP is a stable, soft wood that is a favorite choice in the Northeast.  Not as strong as Hemlock or Douglas fir, Eastern White Pine is a light wood which cracks and checks as it dries over time giving a more rustic look. 

Western Red Cedar:   This species ranges from medium to dark brown in color.  It is saturated with a natural preservative, which allows it to repel water naturally.  This keeps shrinking and swelling to a minimum and limits warping and twisting.  Its close, even, straight grain makes it easy to work and finish to a smooth, silky finish.  Western Red Cedar is generally free from pitch and holds stains and paints beautifully.

Eastern Hemlock:  Hemlock is strong and less expensive than Douglas fir; however it carries a defect called “ring shake”.  Ring shake is a lengthwise separation that occurs between and parallel to growth rings which usually appears after a year or so.  Colors range from a pale brown to faintish reddish brown, which darken over time. 

Red Oak:  Red Oak is light brown with red undertones which gives an antique look.  Oak is a relatively heavy and strong hardwood, but tends to twist, crack, and check more than most softwoods.

Southern Yellow Pine:  Southern Yellow Pine is a very popular wood species for a timber frame or post and beam home.  Available in long lengths and with consistent high quality, it has a bold grain pattern and color ranging from golden brown to reddish brown which darkens with age.  When dried properly, Southern Yellow Pine twists and checks very little and stains very well. Most Southern Yellow Pine used in timber frames is now from salvaged or reclaimed structures.

Whatever your selection in wood species, you can be assured your timber home will be beautiful!

Timber Homes: More than a House

A timber home is much more than a house providing shelter; it is an expression of the owners’ way of life, a representation of their families and personalities.  

At first glance, a timber frame home may look like any other home in the neighborhood (especially if it does not feature a timber entry, a timber porch, or timber accents on the exterior).  Upon entering a timber home, though, most guests are rendered speechless.  Some do try to speak or manage to exclaim a whispered “wow!” under their breaths, but the emotion is always the same:  admiration. 

Timber homes are

• Undeniably beautiful
• Traditional, nostalgic

They offer

• A sense of permanence
• Versatile, open floor plan

They also

• Describe interior space
• Create ceiling planes

Timber homes appeal to our sense of tradition and desire to understand structure, but perhaps the more obvious features are their warmth and comfort. 

If you are planning to build a timber frame home, consider using an architect for the home design.  See some of our timber homes and architectural services on our website!

Timber Homes: Beautiful & Unique

If you are looking to build a stunningly unique home, consider a timber frame home. Timber homes, also called post and beam homes, are both beautiful and distinctive.

The timber frame is wrapped in an insulating barrier, usually Structural Insulated Panels (SIP Panels). The timber structure is then visible on the inside of the home, creating one of the most beautiful home interiors available.

Unlike man-made materials, timbers vary in color and size, adding depth and warmth to the home. Posts and beams can be recycled from old factories, barns, and historical buildings, adding character and bringing a unique history to the home. Small defects may be present, including nail holes, notches, and scratches, which also to the beauty of the home.

Timber frames offer elegant, simple solutions to challenges that exist in designing a home, allowing homeowners to create every type of space imaginable, from grand and expansive to small and cozy, public to private, recreational to functional. Timber frames appeal to those concerned with the quality, not quantity, of space.

Timber homes address the basic human need for shelter and comfort while satisfying our deeper desires for simplicity, tradition, security, warmth, and beauty. Best of all, timber frame design can accommodate any architectural style to reflect your personal taste!

Timber frame home, top, by Riverbend Timber Framing

Douglas Fir Timbers – a Good Choice!

Douglas fir is certainly one of the most popular wood choices for a post and beam or timber frame home because of its structural integrity and handsome appearance. Structural posts and timbers are graded according to the American Lumber Standard Committee, Inc. through accredited agencies such as the Western Wood Products Association’s (WWPA) lumber grading rules.

A structural timber’s strength is graded for strength or physical appearance. After a timber passes through a planer for surfacing, an inspector evaluates all four sides and the ends of the timber before assigning it a grade. The inspector looks at:

Wood characteristics: both natural growth and imperfections

Knots: checked for size, location, displacement, quality, and occurrence

Holes: (where knots have fallen out), for size and location

Wane: the presence of bark or the lack of wood fiber along the edge of the timber

Splits, Shakes, and Seasonal Checks: separations in the wood that can affect the structural integrity of the timber

Slope of the Grain: the deviation of the line of fibers from a straight line parallel to the sides of the timber

Warp: a bow, crook, twist, or cup in the timber

The way a timber is sawn is relative to its structural integrity. We recommend only “free of heart center” FOHC timbers, which means that the usual 'bulls eye' heart wood found in the center of most beams is absent. Free of heart timber also checks less and is more stable than timber which does have heart wood.

Consult with your timber frame architect on which wood species and grade is appropriate for your home!

Why Choose a Timber Frame Home?

Would you like to build a home that addresses much more than the basic requirement of shelter? Consider a timber frame home.

No matter the size, a timber frame home leaves guests sighing with open jaws as they enter. A timber frame represents hospitality and functionality while doing much more.

The timber structure can define the spaces within the home. A common timber frame design requirement for most people is an open floor plan to encourage family interaction. The timber frame floor plan is versatile and designed with necessary timber supports located at strategic places – adjacent to interior walls, at the corner of the staircase, or to create a visual division between two rooms. Cathedral ceilings are common in timber frame homes, offering guests the opportunity to experience the depth and complexity of the timber system. The framing system creates ceiling planes which aide in delineating room layouts and add dimension and form to the space which conventional framing typically does not achieve.

The beauty of the timbers is undeniable and appeals to our sense of tradition and desire to understand structure. Options such as reclaimed timbers, choices in finishes such as hand hewing, and a variety of stain colors help you express your unique personal values and desires. If you love antiques and nostalgia, reclaimed timbers often carry a rich history and unique story. Their background, together with the imperfections they bear, offer an opportunity to showcase their longevity in your home’s structure.

Perhaps the most significant aspect of a timber frame home is that it will provide your family with warmth and comfort for generations!

Kimberly Bonin, Executive Project Manager

Bonin Architects & Associates, PLLC

Photos by Riverbend Timber Framing.

Timber frames – finishing touches

In addition to choosing a wood species for your timber frame or post and beam home, you’ll have to decide how you want the timbers finished.

There are several choices for the finish. Most prefer to have their timbers planed smooth and sanded on all sides for a clean finished look. You might, however, choose not to have them planed, and leave them rough sawn (not planed or sanded) for an antique look. For an even more traditional, antique look, timber may be hand hewn. Notches, or cuts, are made in the timbers using heavy hand tools such as an adze or chisel.

Most manufacturers offer the option of chamfered edges. A chamfer is made in the timber by cutting off the edge of the corners, either a simple flat 45 degree cut or a variety of other styles are available as well. Chamfers give the timbers a refined, sophisticated look as well as alleviate the sharp corner and possibility of splintering wood.

In order to protect the timbers’ natural grain, manufacturers typically apply a tung oil or stain after the joinery is cut. You can choose a clear stain or a darker color to match your preference and desired interior look. While the finish will be applied to all surfaces and joints in the beams at the manufacturer’s shop, an additional coat or two may be applied on site.

Whatever finishing options you choose, the beauty of a timber frame home is undeniable and will be the focus of the home’s interior.


Kimberly Bonin, Executive Project Manager

Bonin Architects & Associates, PLLC

The Difference Between Post & Beam and Timber Framing (Part 2)

TIMBER FRAMING is a type of post and beam construction which uses traditional mortise and tenon joinery and wooden pegs to join timbers together instead of metal plates, screws, and brackets. Instead of posts and beams butting to each other, timber frames are designed with timbers that typically span from floor to roof.

There are two general types of timber frame systems, each having several variations: Common Purlin systems consisting of King Post, Queens Post, and Hammer Beam frames (photo above right) for example, and Common Rafter systems such as Collar Tie (photo below left), Principal Purlin, and Ridge Beam frames. There are many reasons to choose one frame type over the other (addressed in a future blog), and costs vary as well (Hammer Beam frames are generally one of the more expensive timber framing systems, while Principal Purlin and Common Rafter are usually the least expensive).

Timber frame bent systems are typically assembled on the first floor deck, then raised as whole units into place by a crane (see photos bottom), connected with the joinery, and secured with wooden pegs. Because of the structural integrity of these bents, timber framing tends to allow for a more open, flexible floor plan than post and beam construction.

Common Rafter systems are raised either as ‘walls’ or similar to post and beam homes, one timber at a time. Timbers are erected in succession; one end post erected first, then a connecting beam at the second floor level is secured to the post, then another end timber is joined to the beam. Timber ends are fastened with some form of mortise & tenon joinery. Joints are typically fastened with pegs, which can be cut flush to the joinery or left protruding for decoration.

Whether you prefer to build a post and beam or timber frame home, getting the advice of a design professional is important. Seeking the services of an architect who specializes in timber frame or post and beam construction can save you money – and frustration – in the long run. If a green home is your desire, find a LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) accredited architect you want to work with. A LEED accredited architect will be able to assist you in all phases of sustainable design, evaluate your individual design needs and priorities, appraise your site and its environment, present you with exterior and interior green material choices, as well as water efficiency, heating, cooling, and electrical systems and guide you through other design and material considerations in building your new home. For more information, click to read Three Reasons to Use an Architect by the American Institute of Architects. Also see our past blog Why Hire An Architect?

Jackie Lampiasi, Marketing Director
Bonin Architects & Associates, PLLC

Post and Beam and Timber Frame – What’s the difference? (Part 1)

While there is some confusion and intermingling of terms, there is a difference between a post and beam and timber frame home, and which you choose to build depends largely on your personal taste. Each building system is structurally sound and equally as beautiful. Wood choices for the two are generally the same – Douglas fir, Eastern White Pine, Oak, Cedar, and Hemlock – although individual manufacturers may prefer one species over another. Both can accommodate an array of architectural styles – from southwestern, colonial, mountain, cabin, or ranch, to name a few. Post and beam and timber frame homes can be enclosed and insulated in a variety of ways, from structural insulated panels (SIPs) to straw bale, or many ways in between.

What can and does differ between post and beam and timber framing is if joinery is used and how the frame is assembled.

POST & BEAM: Post and beam construction, also sometimes referred to as timber framing, is a centuries-old method of building homes originating in Asia. Brought to the United States by English settlers in the 1600’s, this method of construction was popular because of the abundance of materials -- basically, wood. These early post and beam frames (then called post and lintel) were filled in with wattle and daub (a mixture of branches and clay) and had thatched roofs. Insulation and roof construction materials have dramatically improved since then, yet the age-old, time-honored craft of building timber homes has endured and is still a very popular and beautiful building choice in the twenty-first century.

A post and beam home consists mainly of vertical posts and horizontal beams which are assembled piece by piece to create the framework of the home. As architectural designs evolve and become more complex, a more careful, detailed engineering review is required. Many post and beam homes utilize metal brackets, bolts, and plates to strengthen the connection between timbers. Some post and beam construction does use joinery to secure beams to posts; most, though are butted together and connected with metal fasteners. Some of these metal connectors may be hidden, others are visible at the intersections of the floor posts and beams and roof timber connections and in some the metal connections are expressed as art being intricate and pleasing in design. Although the complexity and engineering of post and beam homes have dramatically increased since the 1600’s, the basic construction of the home has not. Posts are fastened to the first floor deck and beams are secured to the top of the posts. A second floor deck sits atop the first floor post and beam framework, and the second floor is then erected on top of the deck to the ridge.

In our next blog we'll discuss TIMBER FRAMING, its joinery and types.

Jackie Lampiasi, Marketing Director
Bonin Architects & Associates, PLLC