Articles: Oak Beams - Quality and Uses

As specialists in Oak timber, we’re here to give you the answers to your most pressing questions!

1. What can I expect from my beams?

First of all, when it comes to Oak beams you can expect high quality timber suitable for a variety structural and decorative projects. How the beams arrive and the aesthetics of them depend greatly on the grade of timber you choose and whether or not you buy them sawn to size or planed all round.

QPA is the cleanest grade with the least amount of knots and wane. This is a European visual grade which equates to D30 and is currently the highest grade of Oak that can be brought in from the continent. In some cases a qualified grader can upgrade the timber to D40 if it meets the requirements within the UK.

QP1 is the second Grade of Fresh Sawn beams we can provide. The timber is still structurally sound (equating to D24) and is the grade of timber we build a lot of our Oak Kits from. You can expect to see more wane with QP1, with larger knots appearing throughout the beam.

The third grade of structural Oak we supply is Air Dried, these QP1 beams have been left to dry naturally for 1-3 years so a lot of the natural movement will have occurred. The natural aging of the timber leaves them with dark silver faces and splits and cracks running down the length of the beam.

All of our Oak is available either planed all round or cut to size. Planing gives a more accurate finish so when it comes to using fresh sawn beams it is recommended if you are not working off centre lines. We also highly recommend planing air dried Oak to reveal the fresh faces of the beam, bringing back it’s natural colour so you don’t see the darkened faces (These will return if the timber is used outside naturally).

2. What type of Oak Beams should I choose?

When it comes to choosing the Oak Beams you need, the first thing to consider if whether or not you need to get a structural engineer involved. For anything that is going to be of structural you should go through this process to make sure what you are building is going to be safe. What the engineer comes back with, then dictates what kind of Oak, and what sizes they need to be, you can use.

You can expect to see more movement with Fresh Sawn Oak compared to air dried, however the movement makes the structure stronger because it tightens all of the joints. You will only ever get movement in the section, never the length, which can be a common misconception.

Another thing to consider is that although Air Dried can be suitable for structural use, it cannot be structurally graded due to the drying process it has already gone through. So it tends to lend itself to internal work for decorative or light structural use (providing you have checked it is suitable).

3. Do I have to Treat Structural Oak?

Not necessarily, treating the Oak won’t increase its lifespan. The main reason to treat it would be to preserve the golden brown colour of the wood. One thing you might notice on the beams is a dark blue stain where the timber has reacted with metal. To remove this all they need is a coat of Oxalic Acid. To stop further staining it’s important for the beams to not be in contact with any metal apart from stainless steel.