Hand Hewn In Our Shop For A Consistent Run
The same old white oak, hewn here so colour and mark depth match across the room. Built to your exact dimensions and shipped nationwide from Auburn, Georgia.
Here’s exactly what this is, because it matters and nobody else explains it.
The wood is reclaimed white oak, 120 to 200 years old — but instead of using the outer faces that were hewn in the 1800s, we use the boards milled from inside the original beam. Then we do the hand hewing ourselves, by hand, in our shop.
The result: the same axe-hewn texture, with far more consistent color and consistent mark depth than 200-year-old hewing can give you. The wood is genuinely antique. The hewing is ours.
Who this is for: projects where a designer or client wants the hand hewn look but needs the beams to match each other closely — long runs, multiple rooms, anything where wild variation would read as a mistake.
Who it’s not for: anyone who specifically wants the original 1800s axe work. That’s our Hand Hewn White Oak, and we’d rather sell you the right one.
Color: consistent light to medium brown, beige, blond, golden brown.
Texture: hand hewn by us, even depth, light or heavy on request.
Every Beechcreek box beam:
- 2, 3, or 4-sided box construction, built to your outside dimensions
- 1-sided skins available for trim and accent work
- Corners mitered for a clean, seamless appearance
- Backside planed; all visible faces sanded
- Bora Care treatment applied to kill insects and fungus
- Fastener holes filled with a sawdust-and-glue blend from the same wood
- Built to your exact dimensions — or your interior dimensions when the beam wraps steel, an LVL, or ductwork
- Shipped nationwide, full length, tarped and strapped
Each beam is one-of-a-kind. Expect natural variation in grain, stress cracks, nail holes, bug holes, knots, and patina — that’s the wood’s history, not a defect.
Installing Hand Hewn Resawn White Oak Box Beams
Most customers bring in a finish carpenter, though plenty of experienced DIYers handle it themselves. We supply the wood and we’re glad to talk through your run — we don’t install.
Before you start. Let the beams acclimate in the room for two to three days, stored off the floor in a dry, well-ventilated space. Keep temperature and humidity steady before, during, and after the install; wood moves with the room it lives in.
- Set your cleat. Rip 2×4 stock to match the beam’s interior width and fasten it to the joists or wall framing, level and on layout.
- Hang the beam. Lift it over the cleat and fasten through the sides with trim screws or lag bolts, keeping fasteners in the shadow lines.
- Fill the holes. Use the sawdust-and-glue blend that ships with your order — it’s milled from your own beam, so it disappears.
- Square your landing. Cut one end square where the beam meets a wall or corner for a flush finish.
Tools worth having on hand: lag bolts and trim screws, 2×4 stock, a level, circular saw, speed square, wrenches, drill and bits, braces, and ladders or scaffolding.
Care. Dust with a dry or barely damp cloth. In a kitchen or a high-traffic room, a sealer makes long-term upkeep easier.
How to Measure
Four numbers get your beam built right.
- Length — the full span, end to end.
- Height — the vertical face, measured top to bottom.
- Width — the horizontal face, measured across the front.
- Interior height and width — the open channel inside the hollow beam. These are the ones that matter when the beam wraps an existing joist, steel, an LVL, or ductwork.
Wrapping something? Give us the interior dimensions and we’ll do the conversion: outside width comes out at interior width plus 2 1/2 inches, outside height at interior height plus 1 1/2 inches. We confirm both sets of numbers back to you before anything gets cut.
Beam under 14 feet? Tell us what it’s for. Mantels and floating shelves usually need end caps, and it’s easier to build those in than to add them later.
Why Builders and Homeowners Choose Beechcreek
Builders come to us because straight, square material makes the install go faster. When the beam fits the opening, corners stay tight and long runs stay true. Everything is milled here in Auburn, Georgia, and we stand behind what leaves the yard.
Homeowners and designers come for the surface. Wood that spent a century in a barn reads from the floor and holds up when someone walks over and puts a hand on it — that is not something a mold or a router can fake. We’ll talk through sizing, texture, and finish so the beam lands right in your room.
And every order puts people coming out of recovery to work. That’s not a side story. It’s why the shop exists.
Tell us what you're building.
Frequently Asked Questions
Are box beams structural?
No — box beams are decorative. They’re hollow, built from the reclaimed faces of antique timber, and they hang on a cleat or bracket rather than carrying load. If the beam has to hold weight, that’s a solid beam, and your builder or engineer specifies the size.
What's the difference between this and your hand hewn white oak?
Our hand hewn white oak carries the original 1800s axe work on the outer faces of the timber — every mark is antique, and no two beams match. This one is the same old white oak, hewn by us in the shop, so colour and mark depth come out consistent across a run. Original character there; matched consistency here. Pick based on whether you want variation or uniformity.
Are these box beams safe to use indoors?
Yes. The white oak we hew came out of barns 60 to 200 years old, so the moisture left and the movement happened generations ago. Every beam also 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.
Can I get long lengths without a seam?
Usually yes — resawn white oak is one of the styles where long seamless single-length faces are available. Tell us the run and we’ll confirm what we can pull before you commit to it.
Can these be matched to a mantel?
Yes. We build mantels from the same reclaimed white oak stock and hew them the same way, so a mantel and a ceiling run can be matched closely. Ask for both on one quote and we’ll pull them together.