Post and Beam Homes
Rand Soellner is one of the leading architects of post and beam homes in the USA and world today.
(C)Copyright 2005-2010 Rand Soellner, All Rights Reserved Worldwide. Designed by Rand Soellner: post and beam homes in NC
His post and beam homes are featured in books and magazines worldwide. One of his projects is to the side here. Most people are immediately impressed with the muscularity of Soellner’s post and beam homes. He believes in massive proportions and each of his projects seems to use larger posts and beams than the last one.
Often, Soellner’s front and rear porches utilize post and beam technology to yield an aesthetic effect and to provide open spans so that people can use the space below. Post and beam homes have the muscle Soellner wants to resist the mountain winds he often must meet (up to 130 mph, per code) and satisfies the artistic mission he is on to make his clients happy.
Outdoor Living Spaces Really Show Off Post and Beam Homes
In the post and beam homes in his Western North Carolina residences, he will typically design a spacious Summer Kitchen arrangement similar to the above photo, overlooking a beautiful mountain lake. Note the massive outdoor fireplace on the left.
The flooring on this deck is Brazlian ironwood, also known as ipe. It is regularly stained to keep that mahogany-like furniture appearance. Stainless steel biscuits secure the planking to the joists and beams underneath so you don’t see nail holes or blemishes from hammer blows. It is this kind of attention to detail that sets apart Soellner’s post and beam homes: quality and presence.
Sometimes Soellner’s post and beam homes are really equestrian barns, artist’s studios and other functional facilities. He really doesn’t care. It is a medium in which he loves to work and he enjoys it all. Post and beam homes are his favorite because these houses have a lot of flexibility and this gives him room to try arrangements that seem suggested by his clients’ lifestyles and sites.
Timber Frame Architect receives many calls about post and beam homes.
One the post and beam homes of Rand Soellner. This is actually a true timber frame, complete with bracing and timber roof joists. House design (C)Copyright 2005-2010 Rand Soellner, All Rights Reserved Worldwide. Timber frame fabrication, delivery and erection by Jeff Johnson Timber Frames, Inc. , and photo.
Soellner said that he receives quite a few calls from clients asking for post and beam homes. He notes that there is a fine line between timber frame houses and post and beam homes. The main difference is the addition of bracing at inside corner connections of the posts and beams, and on fancier projects, bracketry, which are projecting elements that can be decorative, but often actually supporting some portion of a roof overhang or other components.
Also, real timber frame joinery uses mortise and tenon connections, which require the vertical elements to be cut at their ends (or tails) to be thinner. These are the tenons. There are then slots cut into the horizontal beams (although these slots can also be cut into posts when preparing them for the diagonal bracing). These are the mortises. Special wood glue may be injected into the mortise, but not always. Then the tenons are inserted into the mortises. A powerful drill then bores holes completely through the post and beam (and/or brace) assembly and then oak pegs are hammered into those holes. These pegs actually perform the work of bolts, holding together the various pieces of timber, post and beam and bracing, in real timber framing. We have heard timber frame fabrication companies declare that the oag pegs are about 75% of the strength of actual steel.
Post and beam homes versus timber frame homes.
Okay, now that you know about real timber framing, forget about it. Well, not entirely. In post and beam homes that are not real timber frame systems, you may not have the bracing or fancy bracketry, depending on the architect and homeowner’s aesthetic preferences. But, clients often want that look. This is where the technology and artistry of home architects like Rand Soellner comes into play. He knows how to get that look for pennies on the dollar. Many of these techniques are trade secrets. The basics in post and beam are: you have vertical timber posts and lying on top of them are timber beams. The precise method of connection is up to the artistry of the architect and structural engineer and timber craftsmen and builder. There are some cardinal rules: you only split a beam over a post, for instance, unless you have an engineered solution of balanced forces in a timber truss member, for instance. The result is that post and beam homes can have nearly the appeal of their bigger brother timber framing at a fraction of the cost, depending on the details.
Timber frame architects or post and beam architects; sometimes it is hard to say which is which. Rand Soellner Architect is both; he is also a post and beam architect. He mixes post and beams and the bracing and bracketry of timber framing together seamlessly, blending the two where it makes sense structurally, economically and aesthetically.
Contact Information for post and beam homes :
Rand Soellner AIA/NCARB
Rand Soellner Architect
828-269-9046
www.homearchitects.com
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