Adding Solid Beams vs. Box Beams

Are you considering building a custom home? The number of decisions you have to make can be challenging for anyone. For example, you may want wooden beams for feature spaces in your home. Here is some information if faced with this decision.

Custom Home Builder Tips: Solid & Box Beams

Where to Use

Because solid wooden beams are all wood and strong, they can be used as support. So, they are decorative and structural. They usually cannot be added in a renovation or remodel because the existing structure cannot support the additional weight. Box beams are purely decorative. Sometimes, the box beam can wrap a structural component like a Glulam or steel I-beam. In this case, the box beam is custom milled to match the solid beam.

Aesthetics

Solid beams allow you to choose between a rustic, antiqued look or a clean-lined, more transitional aesthetic look. One of the significant advantages of using solid beams in places that require very long beams is you'll never see a seam. With box beams, the manufacturer has to piece together the planks that come in specific lengths requiring a highly skilled carpenter and painter to mask the seams by matching the staining and grain, but the seam is always visible.

Box beams have a better, clean-lined, and more transitional design aesthetic. They are also the best when you want the finished beam to be painted and not stained because you don't have to match graining, and you can choose a more economical wood type.

Price

Painted box beams are the most economical choice for interior decorative beams. If you prefer stained, you can save money by choosing box beams built by a professional and skilled trim carpenter. However, confer with your custom builder to ensure they are adept at masking seams and mitering edges. If you want a rustic antiqued aesthetic, your best choice is to go with solid timbers, even though it might be an expensive beam option.

When considering solid and box beams for your custom home, you should talk with your interior designer, architect, and custom builder. The custom builder can advise you on the availability and pricing of solid timbers and wrapped beam planking, as well as on the ability of their trim carpenter to get a solid beam 'look' in the box beam application. Your custom home builder should be a trusted advisor, resource, and advocate for you along this journey.

Grayson Homes

Are you looking for a custom home builder to guide you through the custom home-building process from start to finish? Then, Grayson Homes is for you. Our team can present you with options that meet your expressed design ideas. So contact us today at 919-578-6222 and see what we can do for you.