The
old expression "Raise high the roof-beam"
regains its meaning when the structure in question is
a timber frame. As the crane lifts the oversized
timbers and swings them into place, the crew taps the
hand-cut mortise and tenon joints together with huge
mallets called beetles or "persuaders" and
then pounds in wooden pegs that are the only nails.
When all the timbers have been fitted into place, the
frame looks and acts like the skeleton of the house,
defining its outline while holding all the structural
weight.
Timber
framing is the most sophisticated form of what is
called post and beam construction. "Post and beam"
is the oldest method of building, dating back at least
to the early Greeks. It includes any structure built
of vertical posts that hold up beams laid horizontally
across them. The posts and beams may be of wood or
stone, or even concrete, in modern times.
There
is more than one kind of post and beam construction
that uses over-sized wooden timbers. Some connect the
timbers with large metal plates and bolts. Timber
framing makes the connections, instead, by carving
joinery into the wood the way a fine piece of
furniture is made. Timber framing made possible the
beautiful churches of the Middle Ages, with their
hammer beam vaults. It remained the primary method of
building wooden structures until the development of
stick framing in the mid-eighteen hundreds.
Stick
framing allowed uniform dimensional lumber to be
shipped to the building site for quick and easy
construction, speeding the settlement of the American
West. Timber framing was largely forgotten. However,
the Amish continued to use timber framing in the
Mid-West to build their spacious barns, thus
preventing the craft from being lost.
Timber
framing began to enjoy a new vogue as the most popular
type of post and beam construction for residences in
the 1990's. The number of companies that produce
timber frames has grown from a few pioneers to a large
and diverse group spread out across the U.S. While
some companies have turned to large computer-run
machines, many continue in the age-old tradition of
hand-chiseling the joinery into the timbers. |
