How Every Beechcreek Beam Is Built
We’re a shop, not a showroom. Here’s exactly what goes into every beam that leaves Auburn, Georgia — and where we draw the line between character and a board we won’t send.
How Our Box Beams Are Built
Here’s exactly how our box beams are built — because we’re a shop, not a showroom, and the details are the product. This is what goes into every beam that leaves Auburn, Georgia.
The Material
Timber reclaimed from 60-to-200-year-old barns across Ohio, Pennsylvania, Michigan, Indiana, West Virginia, Tennessee, and Kentucky. Every board is milled, inspected, and treated with Bora Care for insects before it ships.
The Joinery
Corners are mitered — no exposed plywood edges, no visible seams running the length of the beam face. Joints are glued with Titebond III, a waterproof structural wood glue, and fastened with brad nails or trim screws. Fastener holes are filled with a sawdust-and-glue blend from the same wood, so repairs disappear into the grain.
The Finish Work
Backsides are planed for a flat, consistent mount. Bora Care treatment is standard on every beam we build — box or solid, no charge, no need to ask. On box beams, sanding is included too; on solid beams, paneling, and flooring, sanding is available as an add-on. We send stain samples, or ship the beam ready for your finisher — your stain, your call.
Long Lengths, Clean Lines
Our shop builds beams up to 50 feet. On runs where a seam is needed, blending it is a craft we take personally — we torch, sand, and wire brush each joint until it disappears into the board. Most people can’t find the seam when we point at it. And if your beam needs one, we tell you before we build it.
Finished Versus Unfinished
Built To Your Numbers
Order by exact outside dimensions, or give us your interior dimensions when the beam must wrap steel, LVL, or ductwork — we build off whichever measurement matters to your install. Reclaimed wood thickness naturally varies about a quarter inch; we print both actual and interior dimensions on your order so there are no surprises.
An Honest Note On Size
Reclaimed timber is not factory lumber. A “10×10” may measure 9½ x 9½. We confirm actual sizes on every order before we build — that’s part of the deal with real material.
Why Old Wood Is Better Wood
The best lumber we ever pull doesn’t come from an easy place. It comes from barns that caved under their own weight, from mills that shut their doors, from beams that held something up for a hundred years and then got left to weather. Anyone glancing at the pile would call it junk. But wood that’s been through that much is denser, harder, and steadier than anything cut fresh and green. The scars aren’t the flaw — the scars are the reason it’s worth saving.
Know Your Marks
Hand hewn: shaped with axes the traditional way — deep, textured, unmistakably hand-made. Circular sawn: arced blade marks from an old-style circular mill. Band sawn: straight, fine kerf marks with a smoother face. The marks tell you how the board was cut — and each one reads differently overhead..