How to Achieve the Look and Expressive Beauty
of Hybrid Timber Framing

“Ho-hum, predictable, and boring.” Or, “The vanilla of building styles.” This perception is loosely associated with the word, Traditional. But then again, so is safe, reliable, and predictable. In colloquial terms, Traditional style is perceived as the tried-and-true normal. Architecturally speaking, Traditional style might include colonial-style, Federal style, George and style, or Prairie and Farm style. From both perspectives, Traditional Style tends to be some form of a boxy two story with different roof, post, and window treatments. So a project with clean simple lines, uniformed (often mirrored) design touches, with an old, familiar feel, might be good candidates for the “Traditional” style label. Learn more about this style and how to avoid the pitfalls of this design.

This is often referred to as the crown jewel of the Timber Frame industry, and with good reason. It is very aesthetically pleasing. It has a well established and rich history. One can even create a lofty living space and yet retain a feeling of closeness, warmth and security. Hammer Beam Truss Typical uses are in great rooms, churches, entries, and attached pavilions. When you choose a Hammer Beam truss, you will be locking in the “old” or rustic factor of your living space. This truss is more along the lines of Old European style. With heavier beams, angular beam details and a lower roof pitch this design begins to fit more into the Western Lodge class. There are two advantages regarding the Hammer Beam truss: Short pieces, and Many pieces. First, short pieces mean you will not have to pay a premium price as short members are less costly. Second, having many pieces means you can influence the overall feel of your living space fairly easily. To add elegance, braces can be curved, and beam sizes can be trimmed. Conversely, adding beam girth and straight braces creates a stronger feel. Due to the fact you have so many braces, your choices can have a big impact. Personally, I like to use the Hammer Beam Truss for bigger applications that are designed for specialty use. By specialty use, I mean a place such as a church, a gathering hall, park pavillion or even an indoor pool space. Any space designed to handle a group of people on special occasions or events is made more cozy with the Hammer Beam Truss Style To explain why the Hammer Beam Truss fits so well in bigger applications, I’ve developed a theory. It seems that the Hammer Beam Truss has a special advantage that makes it work especially well in areas of big volume because of its special ability to make bigger spaces feel more intimate. Somehow I am drawn to the principle that a big space or space with a lot of volume needs to be filled with a lot of people. If you are thinking of using the Hammer Beam Truss in your home, you may want to be mindful of this principle. It seems uncomfortable to set up your own personal relaxation space in an area that is oversized. You’ll want to think about proportions and how you want your space to feel. The Hammer Beam truss is a special truss. After many years in the Heavy Timber Frame building and design industry, it has become clear that a significant percentage of people that become attracted to Timber Living are first attracted via pictures of Hammer Beam trusses. They may ultimately choose a different truss style as they move through the design process, but the fact remains that Hammer Beam trusses have one of the highest “Wow” factors of all truss styles.

This truss is a close cousin to the multi-web truss. Its form mandates many webs to achieve strong stability. The most common reason for the use of this truss is for the unique style it has and the message it gives. The style it portrays is along the lines of a Hardworking Lodge style; it gives a powerful message of “This is a place where things get done.” Parallel Chord Scissor Truss This truss is not elegant by any means! This truss fits best in a situation in which there is a high ceiling to work with and a desire to achieve a more rugged and industrious feeling.

The Gambrel Truss would fit perfectly for a barn, an art studio, or any place which naturally has a strong connection with nature. The reason this style fits so well with nature settings is mainly because of the almost universal shape we know as barns. Some Victorian homes I once saw are an example of where this truss style was incorporated well. These homes incorporated a special roof style, known as a Mansard roof, which is basically a barn roof on all four sides. Generally, your choice to build using a Gambrel Truss will show your close affiliation to nature, farming, and self reliance. Gambrel Truss When designing the truss itself, I would recommend a straight forward design. Arches should be left out and needless timbers avoided. The same minimalist strategy applies to the timber sizing also; nothing extremely massive, just functional like the barn itself.