Library builder

Some owner-builders may harvest tall straight trees on their own property to make their own timbers for their frame. Hardwoods, in general, are stronger than softwoods, but its best to compare individual species, as there is considerable overlap in strength characteristics between a list of hardwoods and softwoods. Being generally harder, the hardwoods are more […]

Recycled timbers should be carefully evaluated before you buy them or agree to dismantle a building, so carry your wish list (more correctly called a timber schedule) with you to the procurement site. Firstly, timbers have to be of sufficient sectional size and length to do the job. Use actual usable length,allowing for damaged ends […]

On all the buildings I’ve done with old barn timbers, I would catalog the pieces that I’d been able to procure, using a legal pad or clipboard. I’d record the sectional dimensions of each piece, its useful length, and its condition. Then I would match the cataloged pieces to my plan, to see how I […]

Whether you are dealing with the local sawmill or buying salvage, you need to be familiar with the term board foot, because that is the unit by which timber is sold. A board foot (BF) is a square foot of wood one inch thick, or 144 cubic inches (2,360 cubic centimeters) of material. Every linear […]

W HEN I WAS A YOUNG MASONS LABORER IN SCOTLAND BACK IN THE 1970 S, master stone mason Hughie Mathieson would say to me, “You cannae build without the stones, Robbie, you cannae build without the stones!” It was his way of telling me to get the lead out and provide him with more building […]

A cantilever, as in Fig. 2.4, can be thought of as an upside down beam, supported at just one end. It is “upside down” in the sense that its top surface is in tension while its bottom surface is in compression. Note that the unsupported part of the cantilever tends to impart the same kind […]

As we have seen, the posts and the planks are the strong components of the post and beam (post and girder) and plank and beam (plank and joist or rafter) systems. The use of posts in scale with the girders will assure post strength. Two — by-six tongue-in-groove planking is an excellent and pleasing floor […]

Note: this is the dead load. With conventional (non­earth) roofing, the dead load is included in the rafter span tables. Thus, if you are looking at a table for rafters for a zone of 70-pound snow load, the 20 PSF 30 PSF 40 PSF 10 to 100 PSF 10 PSF per inch 10 PSF per […]

“Plank and beam” roofing (or flooring) is a structural system that is often combined with post and beam framing. The confusing part here is the use of the   word “beam” in each case. For our generalized discussion, up to this point, it has been convenient to use the word beam, but now we must […]

The “beam” component of “post and beam” timber framing usually refers to a heavy top plate, sometimes called a girt, or it could refer to a girder. Girts will often be supported later by infilling the individual panels of the building’s perimeter. In this book, I use the word “panel” to refer to the spaces […]