Old Canaan Building Materials

The timber frame is the skeleton of early New England building, and in the best buildings it was also the finish. The hewn post in the corner of a Colonial keeping room, the mortised summer beam crossing overhead, the rafters visible from below — these are structural elements that were never hidden because there was no reason to hide them. The tradition of exposed timber framing is not a design style. It is a building tradition with specific materials, specific joinery, and specific character.

Hewn or sawn timber, typically 6x6 to 12x12 in cross-section, with the marks of the adze or broadaxe visible on hand-hewn members. The wood is dense and dry — decades of equilibrium moisture content. The color ranges from pale honey to deep amber to grey-silver depending on species, age, and exposure. Joints are mortise-and-tenon, secured with wooden pegs driven through draw-bored holes. The geometry is direct: posts carry beams, beams carry rafters.

Traditional New England timber framing used eastern white pine for lighter members and oak — red oak or white oak — for primary structural timber where strength and rot resistance were required. Hemlock was common for secondary framing. In contemporary timber frame construction, Douglas fir is widely used for its strength and clear-grain character, and white oak continues to be used for heavy timbers and exposed elements in traditional work. The joinery is traditional mortise-and-tenon with pegs, not metal plates.

Exposed timber checks — develops surface cracks along the grain — as it dries. This is normal and does not indicate structural failure. Deep checks are a sign of well-dried wood. The wood continues to move seasonally with humidity changes, which is why timber frame joinery is designed to accommodate movement. Properly designed and executed, a timber frame structure is among the most durable building systems available.

Timber framing is the historically correct structural system for traditional New England buildings and is appropriate for new construction in a traditional vernacular. The exposed structure is part of the interior finish, not a separate system. A timber frame building designed to hide its structure is a building that does not understand what it is.

Work with a timber frame company or craftsman experienced in traditional joinery. Specify the species: white oak for primary structural members and exposed finish timber where the grain character matters; Douglas fir where clear, straight-grain timber is the priority. Confirm that joinery is mortise-and-tenon with pegs, not metal plate connectors that will be concealed.