When a tree or log is transformed from its natural round shape into a timber with roughly flat sides, this is called a hand hewn. Before lumberyards and sawmills were common, old-world craftsmen used axes, skill, and effort to turn fallen logs into timbers. This leaves hand hewn axe marks and old original patina on all four sides, creating an incredible aesthetic for your project. Hand hewn beams often have mortise and tenon pockets, which is how the beams were assembled with each other whether is was a barn, warehouse or other historic structure.

For more information on hand hewn beams, checkout the following articles from our blog!
Signs That Reveal a Hand Hewn Beam
Hand Hewn or Rough Sawn Beams?

The traditional reclaimed mantels will be rougher to the touch, have more
authentic and varied characteristics, more variance throughout, and be a bit
darker in color. With this process we get the dirt and debris off of the pieces
but leave them to be as natural and authentic as possible. The skip-planed
option will be rustic but not too rustic. This process is achieved by running
the reclaimed barn wood through a planer set to only remove the high
points, “skipping” over the low points. This will be slightly smoother to the
touch, have crisper edges, less authentic and varied characteristics, and will
be lighter in color overall.

If you have any questions about our different types of reclaimed wood fireplace mantels or beams, please don’t hesitate to contact us so we can help.

Yes! Our hand hewn and authentic 6x6 barn beams will come with a heavy
duty mounting bracket as the standard. These pieces will be pre-routed and
pre-drilled to accept the hardware as well. For our 3” and 4” thick mantels,
they will come with a set of standard floating hardware and be pre-routed
for the hardware. You (or a contractor) will just need to drill the holes in
accordance to where the brackets will need to be placed for maximum
weight allowance once mounted. Don't want to drill the holes? You can
upgrade any of these pieces over 24” long to our heavy duty mounting bracket where the piece will come pre-drilled as well.

We do not stain the hand hewn or authentic 6x6 barn beam mantels. We
always leave these mantels unfinished and recommend testing different
stains or oils to the back of the mantel before applying all over once you
have it in hand. This ensures that it will be as close to the color that you have
in mind as possible. If you would like to request that your piece be a darker
or lighter shade naturally, you can do so during checkout by leaving a note
on the order in the ‘special instructions’ portion of checkout.

For custom lengths not listed, you will want to add the next size up into your
cart. For example, if you need a 58” length, add a 60” length to your cart.
Once in your shopping cart you will see a space that reads ‘add special
instructions’. In this space you can add the custom length needed and we
can take care of the rest from there!

The oil finish will be the darker of the two finishes. The oil finish will vary based on geographical location, prior use, prior exposure to elements, and type of structure it was in. It will always be a medium brown color but can pull with a red or golden undertone and can sometimes even be varied within the piece. The unfinished option is the lighter of the two finishes. This option is the natural color of the wood once cleaned up. The unfinished option also comes ready to oil/stain/seal if you wanted once you had it. Although it certainly could be left as is if you liked the color of the natural wood. All of our Hand Hewn and Authentic 6x6 Barn Beams will come natural as the standard.