Laying Out Beams: Tips & Tricks

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Deciding to add beams to an existing house or to new construction can be very exciting! There are tons of pictures online of beautifully designed ceiling beam systems. But once you're ready to order your beams, it can be difficult to decide which sizes and designs will adequately fit your space. If you go too large, it can make the room look small, and if you go too small, your beams may appear flimsy.  The idea is to create something that appears authentic to the architecture of the house.

Flat Ceilings

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Adding beams to a flat ceiling is a really easy way to add architectural interest to any room. The look can be ultra-modern or super rustic depending on the aesthetic of the room and the beam itself.  There are many ways to apply beams to a flat ceiling.  Here are some example photos.

These beams are semi-rustic in texture and are tucked in a ceiling alcove.

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The beams below are simple in texture, which compliments the modern feel to the space.

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Selecting the correct beam size for the room is extremely important.  Here's our guideline for appropriate beam sizes based on ceiling heights:
 

Coffered Ceilings

 

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Though layout will likely be dictated by your own design style and aesthetic issues you may encounter, your ceiling size will be another factor. Generally, nine-panel grids work well for most rooms. If the room is square, the coffers should also be square. If the room is rectangular, the coffers should be rectangular. Build a grid on the ground first, and then attach it to the ceiling, to save yourself a neck ache. Snap chalk lines on the ceiling to keep the beam layout straight, and then use a different colored chalk to mark out joists, to avoid confusion.

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 If you're interested in adding beams to your home, feel free to contact us for free advice on layout!

End Tables

Another reclaimed wood product we offer is our end tables. In keeping with our aim to reduce as much waste as possible, our end tables are constructed from the drop-off of solid beams that would otherwise go to waste.

Often times the reclaimed beams we acquire contain large pieces of metal inherent to the beam's original construction and purpose. These metal piece make sections of the beam unfit to be sawed on our mill, and therefore perfect to be turned into end tables. They also add the distinct and unique character that one can only find in reclaimed materials

After drop off pieces are sanded to smooth out roughness and worked over with an angle grinder to ehnace texture, hairpin legs (ranging  are attached to give our end tables a mid-century modern touch that compliments the rustic appeal of reclaimed pine quite nicely.

Read more about the history of hairpin legs here: http://www.madformidcentury.com/2012/09/the-history-of-hairpin-legs.html#.VfLdJJdkYcM

Beam Inspiration

This week's beam inspiration:

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Using our mantels as floating shelves

Did you know we can make our mantels in custom sizes?  We can also make floating shelves!  Here are some inspiration photos of shelving we could custom make!

Beam Inspiration

This week's beam inspiration is a house designed by Laura U's Interiors.

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We're now stocking several mantel sizes for your ordering convenience!

Stock sizes available:

• 8" tall x 10" deep x 5'-0" long
• 8" tall x 10" deep x 5'-6" long
• 8" tall x 10" deep x 6'-0" long
• 8" tall x 10" deep x 6'-6" long
• 8" tall x 10" deep x 7'-0" long

We're still making custom sizes too.  Our turn around time for custom mantels is currently 2-3 weeks.  Contact stevi@oursodesigns.com for more information!

Click here for more information on our mantels!

Load 'em up, move 'em out

Hey everybody, Randy here. Just wanted to share my excitement about finishing up our biggest order yet-- 59 beams!! Here's a picture of Garrett and Miles loading the order onto a Hot Shot truck bound for Texas:

It's been a busy summer, and we've been cranking out the beams despite the heat (thank heavens for fans!). One kind of cool by-product of fulfilling large beam orders is rather artistic trash can arrangements:

Till next time...

Getting all the samples out: How we're coming along with processing our free beam sample offer!

Hi there! Stevi here from The Olde Mill...
As many of you may know we recently sent several free beam sample offers out and had an enormous response from them.  We are so excited to be sending thousands of our samples out nationwide! Here is a preview of what the actual sample looks like:

Currently we are shipping between 50-100 samples out weekly.  Since we've acquired the suite next door to us we have been utilizing the front office space as a sample & shipping facility.

 Here's Garrett & Miles clamping up some samples.

Garrett LOVES clamping!

As the guys gear up to put the last finishing touches on the samples, I start making boxes.  In between the clamping and box making we brand the coasters and the beam samples (but we'll save that for another post).

She made cardboard boxes til the day she died.

Here's a small batch ready to be labeled and shipped!

Order your sample today!  Click here.

Well hello there, everybody. My name's Randy and I'm the new Supervisor of Production here at The Olde Mill. This is my first blog post, and I want to use the opportunity to talk about one of the greatest advantages of our custom made beams and mantels-- their weight. Unlike solid antique wood beams, our hollow reclaimed antique pine beams are incredibly lightweight and easy to install.

Our beams can make you look stronger than you really are!

As an example, a fairly typical 3-sided beam size is 8" x 10" x 20'-0". A beam this size made by The Olde Mill would end up weighing approximately 110 pounds. A solid beam with the same dimensions, on the other hand, would weigh... a lot more.
Think of how much time and energy this saves on installation. We do the work, so you don't have to!

The Olde Mill Average Beam Sizes & Weights