The Forestry Forum

Hi all, I am not a builder or designer and am feeling really confused about ceiling heights. I'm having a 1 1/2 story post & beam house built. The architect says the 1st floor ceiling will be 9 feet. My builder says the ceiling will be 8 feet 10 inches (8 foot post and then beams that are 10 inches). The builder says that the first floor bottom to the TOP of the second floor will be 9 feet. My builder has already cut the beams and is waiting for the architect to deliver plans. I'd be grateful if anyone can clarify whether they are both saying the same thing.... thanks!

I can not imagine that both are saying the same thing.  Really need a sketch to fully understand the framing.  Is there really a ceiling or is the 2nd floor supports visible from below?

Thanks Den-Den. Is there a usual size beam that is used for a 26x38 post and beam house? I'm worried my builder is using 10 inch beams and that my architect is planning for 12 inch. I need to get them both on the phone together (a Herculean task) but thought I'd ask the forum first to get a better understanding. I wish I understood more about the framing - I suppose I'll learn much more by the end of this project!

The first thing to do is STOP WORK!
Wait for the plans or expect to be the proud owner of really expensive firewood.  
There is no standard size, it revolves around spans, loads, species and grade. I moved some 8x16 beams over the weekend for a smaller structure.

I would also suggest you tell the builder to not cut any more timbers until he has the plans in hand.

Jim Rogers

Thank you commenters for confirming what I thought - that this is something that needs to be figured out ASAP and that I'm not "overthinking" things. 

Cutting posts to a length without plans in hand and / or suppling timbers a different size than the architect specifies are huge red flags.  If they can't get on the same page you may need a new builder entirely.