Twelve Styles, Built To Your Dimensions
Hollow beams faced with the reclaimed outer surfaces of antique barn timber — hand hewn, circular sawn, resawn and weathered. Pick a style below, or tell us the look and we’ll help you land on one.
The Beam That Made Us
Every Beechcreek box beam starts as solid timber pulled from barns across Ohio, Pennsylvania, Michigan, Indiana, West Virginia, Tennessee, and Kentucky — wood that has already stood for a century or two and finished its twisting and moving long ago.
If you’ve been searching for reclaimed box beams, this is the whole catalog — twelve styles, one material.
Specifications
- Species: reclaimed oak, pine, and mixed hardwoods (elm, ash, beech)
- Surfaces: hand hewn and resawn
- Sides: 3-sided standard — 2-sided and 4-sided built to order
- Lengths up to 50 feet; seamless faces in hand-hewn oak, hand-hewn pine, and resawn white oak
- Built to your exact outside dimensions — or your interior dimensions when the beam wraps steel, LVL, or ductwork
- Case openings: plan inside width at wall thickness plus 1/2″ of wiggle room
- Borate insect treatment standard; unfinished, ready for your stain
Real Wood, Honest Sizing
Reclaimed timber is not factory lumber — a “10×10” may measure 9½ x 9½. We confirm actual sizes on every order before we build, and both actual and interior dimensions are printed on your order. No surprises — that’s part of working with the real thing.
Box beams are decorative. When your project needs a beam that carries load, that’s what our solid hand hewn beams are for.
Hand Hewn Box Beams — and Eleven More Ways to Wear a Century
Hand Hewn Box Beams: Hand Hewn White Oak · Hand Hewn Pine · Hand Hewn Mixed Hardwoods
Hewn look, matched color: Hand Hewn Resawn White Oak
Clean antique faces: Resawn Reclaimed White Oak
Old mill blade marks: Circular Sawn Oak · Circular Sawn Pine
Weathered and bold: Weather Grey Pine · Chocolate Brown Hemlock · Rough Cut Hemlock
A floor’s second life: Thresher Flooring Oak
One face only: Hand Hewn Skins
How Every Beechcreek Box Beam Is Built
A box beam is only as good as its corners. Here is exactly how ours go together, because the difference between a real reclaimed beam and a convincing fake is in the construction.
- Reclaimed faces, not veneer. Each side is a solid board milled from antique timber — not a thin skin glued to a substrate.
- Mitered corners. Corners are cut at 45 degrees and joined so the seam disappears. From the floor you see a continuous face, not a butt joint.
- Glued and fastened. Titebond III on the joints, brad nails and trim screws to hold while it cures.
- Fastener holes filled with a sawdust-and-glue blend milled from your own beam, so the fill matches the wood instead of standing out.
- Backside planed, visible faces sanded. The hidden side is flattened so the beam sits true against your cleat; the faces you see keep their character.
- Borate treated. Every beam gets a Bora Care treatment before it ships, which kills insects and fungus. We treat rather than kiln dry on purpose — kiln drying reclaimed wood tends to make it check and crack afterward.
- Sanding included. On box beams, sanding is part of the build, not an add-on.
Brackets are available separately if you would rather not build cleats.
Worth Reading Before You Order
Three things customers ask us most, answered at length:
- Wood beam size chart — what size beam suits your ceiling height and span
- What is a box beam? — how hollow beams are built and where they make sense
- How to wrap a beam with wood — covering an existing joist, steel or LVL
Frequently Asked Questions
How do reclaimed box beams differ from solid beams?
Solid beams are exactly what they sound like — big, heavy hunks of wood. Box beams give you the same rugged look without the backbreaking weight. Built from reclaimed planks and hollow inside, they install easier, don’t require major structural support, and still bring all the character of century-old timber.
Are reclaimed box beams structurally supportive?
Not by themselves, but they aren’t just for show either. Box beams are built for aesthetics, not load-bearing — and they can wrap existing structural supports for a seamless look. If you need a beam to hold up the house, keep it solid. If you want it to look like it does, a box beam does the trick.
What maintenance is required?
Not much. A little dusting here and there and they’re good to go. If you want to keep them looking fresh, an occasional wipe-down with wood conditioner or a protective finish helps them age gracefully.
Can reclaimed box beams be customized?
Where can I buy reclaimed box beams?
Right here at Beechcreek Timber. We handcraft every box beam from authentic salvaged wood in custom sizes and finishes, and ship nationwide. Tell us about your project and we’ll get you a quote.
Can box beams be used in commercial spaces?
Yes, and a good share of what we build goes into restaurants, offices and retail spaces. Box beams are lighter than solid timber, which matters when a designer is working inside an existing ceiling. We ship nationwide, full length, tarped and strapped, and we can hold consistent colour across a multi-room or multi-location run if you tell us the whole scope up front rather than ordering in pieces.
Can you match new beams to beams I already have?
Often, yes — send us photos in good daylight and rough dimensions. Reclaimed wood varies board to board, so we will not promise an exact match to something we have never seen. What we can do is pull from the same species and surface and get close, and tell you honestly when we think the difference will show. If matching matters, resawn white oak and our shop-hewn styles run more consistent than the original antique faces.
Do they come finished, or do I stain them?
Beams ship unfinished as standard, sanded and ready for your finisher. Most customers prefer that, because stain reads differently in every room and matching on site beats guessing in our shop. We will send stain samples if that helps, and if you would rather we finish them, we can — we just need you to name the product.