r/timberframe

Will make this brief.

Rebuilding a grainery built in 1946. Replacing floor joists that span 14 feet with 6x9 white pine beams. Will have a full support mid span, so real span is 7 feet. Any special considerations I should take with a scarf that will sit directly over mid support?

Pics for attention.

Finished this log sauna house in spring 2026. The main frame is spruce and was bought as a kit. Sauna room is finished with aspen wood.

If wrong sub I’m sorry! I bought 2 x 8 polycarbonate panels for the patio because I would like to be able to sit outside when it rains. I want to frame out some way of installing these panels. Two issues to overcome is the existing frame sits lower than my rain, gutters and the roof overhang. Problem 2, I have gutter leak through to eave in one particular area so I was hoping to not really have to fix that but rather have the leak drip on to the panels somehow. The issue there is there is a gap of not only from bottom of gutter (which I would assume is a good thing to incorporate slope) but also edge of existing frame to eave. Any ideas on how to work with existing frame to build new frame for installation of panels?

this housing was cut with a 1" irwin chisel from the box store.

would a dedicated timber framing chisel be better?

sure.

but this taught the same lessons:

clean edges.

cross-grain work.

paring.

patience.

sometimes you just need to stop researching and start cutting wood.

what was your first chisel?

I am desperately trying to find this style of truss brace for a little project I’m working on with a friend. I had found a link on Lowe’s’ website but it was “no longer available” and I can’t seem to find a trace of it anywhere else. Anyone got a source for these? Just need a couple.

I'm adding the final 4 braces to the remaining two rafters. I'm scribing them in situ. Should be all set up by the end of tommorow. Afterwards it's just building the deck railing and reinstalling deck stairs. One of the rafters was pretty twisted. I'm gonna live with it for now, if it does anything other than add character i'm replacing it.

Almost done!!!

This log cabin was put up about 1.5 yrs ago. I’ve since put internal stud walls inside (not attached to the walls but screwed into the purlins and floor) insulated it and attached 1 layer of heavy sound proofing plasterboard. It gets lots of sunlight and over the course of the sunlight and recently large gaps have appeared and twisting mostly in this corner. I’m starting to freak out that the cabin is on the verge of collapse. I’m wondering about clamping a bit of straight wood to this area to straighten out the warping. Can someone advise what I should do please? Any help much appreciated!

*edit - building bought from Dunster House

My day job, family and the weather caused signifigant delays, but I finally got the bents up. I have a nice stretch of sunny skies to finish staining the rafters. Scary part is over... It all fits and is square and plumb.

Hi everyone,

I'm an architecture student from South America working on the structural concept for a small single-story house built with wood framing. The house is elevated above the ground on reinforced concrete pier footings, so the floor framing also serves as the structural platform for both the interior floor and an exterior deck.

My initial floor framing layout was:

• Main beams spanning between the concrete piers in one direction.
• Floor joists at 16" (400 mm) on center running perpendicular to those beams.
• Structural sheathing (OSB) over the joists.
• Wood-framed walls sitting on top of the floor platform.

During a review, my professor suggested that I should also include primary beams (or major girders) in the perpendicular direction instead of relying only on the joists. His reasoning was that this would make the platform much stiffer and prevent movement or twisting of the structure.

I'm trying to understand the structural reasoning behind this recommendation.

My questions are:

• Are there any general rules of thumb regarding beam spacing, girders, blocking, bridging, or diaphragm action for this type of platform?
• Is it common practice to create a two-way beam grid in elevated wood-framed houses?
• Under what conditions are joists alone sufficient, and when are additional girders needed?

I'd also really appreciate any books, design guides, framing manuals, or other technical resources that explain the structural behavior of elevated wood floor systems.

Thanks in advance!
*first picture is the reference of what i want to achieve

Hello all,

I know that hemlock is prone to ring shake, I’m looking to see if others have still had success. Attached is a photo of green 8”x12” hemlock. I see shake in the center, would this be disqualifying for use as a structural post? It’s smaller compared to other ring shake I’ve seen. You’ll have to zoom into the areas arrowed to see.

A few weeks ago I milled some pine wood with my chainsaw mill because I planned to build a firewood shed. But I’ve noticed that some of the timbers have started to bend. Is there any way to fix that? Can they be saved?

My contractor framed the rafters to the ridge beam for my ADU like this. I don't know anything about framing or timber design, but it looks a bit off to me.

Is this an issue or nothingburger?

Thank you in advance!

Short clip from a recent timber framing class.

This student was drilling his first peg hole using a 1" x 18" WoodOwl ultra smooth bit and a simple shop-made jig built from scrap wood.

The jig helps keep the bit aligned, reduces wandering at the start of the cut, and makes it easier to produce a clean, straight hole through the timber. It also helps reduce tear out on the exit side.

Nothing fancy. Just a simple solution that works surprisingly well.

Curious how others are drilling peg holes in larger timbers. Are you using guide blocks, commercial drill guides, or freehanding them?