Best hardwood for exposed beams in timber frame home

[Matthias James]

Hello all,

I reside in central Missouri, where there is an abundance of red, black, and white oak- as well as hickory, ash, walnut, and some cherry on our farm.

I am harvesting trees for a timber frame construction and would like to incorporate exposed beams. Is there a consensus out there on a preferred hardwood for beams- I know white oak is desirable for its durability- but there is a stave mill close by that offers good prices for white oak logs- so I was wondering if any of the other species would be desirable for beams.

Thanks in advance for your input. 
Matthias 

[Jim_Rogers]

Red, black oak are good, also, ash, walnut and cherry. Hickory is going to be difficult to keep straight but may make some short brace stock.

White oak for sills would be great as well, but you could sell them and use the money for your frame.

Good luck with your project.

Jim Rogers

[beenthere]

Mathias
Welcome to the Forestry Forum. Sounds like you are in good shape for tree species. Hope you will take us along on your search and harvest and production of the exposed beams for your timber frame home.  We always like pics. 

Look forward to hearing more. 

[Matthias James]

Thanks Jim! Good food for thought on hickory.

And thank you for the welcome, beenthere- this forum has already provided a wealth of great information. I'll be sure to upload some photos of the progress. 

[Den-Den]

Just for clarification, by "exposed", do you mean visible on the inside or exposed to weather?

[Jeff]

Excellent question.