Original 1800s Axe Work, Built To Your Dimensions
Original 1800s axe work on every visible face, built to your exact dimensions and shipped nationwide from Auburn, Georgia.
Our hand hewn white oak box beams carry axe marks that were made by hand, by someone standing on a log, sometime between the 1820s and the early 1900s. We didn’t add them. We couldn’t.
Color: light to medium brown, beige, blond, and golden brown.
Texture: axe marks ranging from light to heavy — tell us which you want and we’ll pull boards to match.
Finish Options: unfinished, wire brushed, or sanded. Stainable on request; we’ll send samples.
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
Hand Hewn White Oak, Installed
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 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 where the axe marks fall.
- 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 texture. Antique axe work 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, mark depth, 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.
What Customers Say
★★★★★
Great job on my box beams, white oak 16 foot look awesome. Could t ask for more. Ty Daniel!
Tell us what you're building.
Frequently Asked Questions
What's the difference between these and your hand hewn resawn white oak?
These carry the original 1800s axe work on the outer faces of the timber — every mark is antique, and no two beams match. Our hand hewn resawn white oak is the same old wood, hewn by us in the shop for consistent color and mark depth. Original character here; matched consistency there.
Can I get long lengths without a seam?
Yes — hand hewn white oak is one of the styles where long seamless single-length faces are available. Tell us your run and we’ll confirm what we can pull.
Can these be matched to a mantel?
Absolutely. We build mantels from the same reclaimed white oak stock, so your beams and fireplace can come from the same era of barn. Ask for both in one quote.
Are hand hewn white oak box beams safe to use indoors?
Yes. The wood is already seasoned — these timbers spent a century or more in a barn — and every beam gets a Bora Care treatment before it ships, which kills insects and fungus. That’s a deliberate choice: we treat rather than kiln dry, because kiln drying reclaimed wood tends to make it check and crack afterward. One thing to be clear about — box beams are decorative. If the beam has to carry load, that’s a solid beam, and your builder or engineer specifies it.
Do hollow box beams really look like solid timbers?
They do, because the faces are the real outer surfaces of an antique timber — same axe marks, same patina. From the floor you are looking at facets and shadow, not a flat board. Building hollow just keeps the weight down so one or two people can lift a long run.