Timber Frame vs. Post and Beam
Picture wanting to build a new home and thinking about a “Post and Beam” and you start doing some research on various websites and talking to people and all of a sudden you are seeing and hearing the words Timber Frame and Post and Beam being used interchangeably. You may begin to wonder what you really want and where to focus your efforts and which companies offer what style of construction and most of all, which type of construction is better? Many people wonder and are confused about the difference between Timber Frame and Post and Beam construction, let me see if I can help.
Depending on who you talk to and how “true to the roots” of timber framing they are you can sum up the difference between the two as this… Timber framing construction refers to a frame which is created from solid wood timbers and is connected by joints such as mortise and tenon (most common) and then secured with hardwood pegs. Post and beam construction refers to heavy timber construction using steel plates as the joinery system.
So there is certainly a difference between the two and most often you will see and hear people say that timber framing is specific type of post and beam construction, the earliest form in fact, before the modern adaptation of post and beam began to surface during the Industrial Revolution introducing the steel plate joints.
So as for which is better? Well there is a lot to consider there… There is the aesthetics of course, which looks better? Do you prefer just the exposed natural wood and pegs that the timber frames offer, or, do you like the look of the steel plates (in various shades from dark to light) on the exposed beams and joints? Then of course there is safety concerns, and stability questions that come into play… READ THIS!
In a letter to Timber Framing; Journal Of The Timber Framers Guild, by Ryan Gilbert, a firefighter in Bellingham, WA:
“Timber- Framed construction is significantly more resistant to fire damage than common stick framing and considerably more resistant to fire damage than construction using unprotected steel support members” (i.e. post and beam). “Solid wood is very stable at high temperatures and creates its own insulation upon contact with fire. As a result, heavy timber construction is given a two hour fire rating by the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA).” He goes on to say that “the beauty of timber frame joinery under fire load is that, as the outside of a beam chars, it turns mostly to carbon. Carbon is a great insulator, so the load-bearing portions of the joinery and members remain intact for much longer than in lightweight truss construction.” He goes on to say that steel gusset plates fail rapidly in a fire, and engineered wooden I-beams will delaminate and collapse while the fire is still in the growth stages and temperatures are relatively low. “I always breathe a sigh of relief when arriving on the scene of a fire to find out that the building is of heavy timber construction. There is a much better chance of finding living occupants, and the officer in charge is considerably less hesitant to send in firefighters to search for victims.”
So I’ll leave it up to you… now that you know the difference… which do you prefer?
These are examples of post and beam construction with steel plate joinery…
These are examples of timber frame construction with traditional joinery and hardwood pegs…
