Timber framing and "post-and-beam" construction are traditional methods of building with heavy timbers, creating structures using squared-off and carefully fitted and joined timbers with joints secured by large wooden pegs. If the structural frame of load-bearing timber is left exposed on the exterior of the building it may be referred to as half-timbered, and in many cases the infill between timbers will be used for decorative effect. The country most known for this kind of architecture is Germany, where timber-framed houses are spread all over the country.
The market square of Dornstetten, Germany, showing an ensemble of half-timbered buildings
Rue du Gros-Horloge in Rouen, France, a city renowned for its half-timbered buildings
Lemgo, Germany, downtown
A "true" or "full" cruck half-timbered building in Weobley, Herefordshire, England: The cruck blades are the tall, curved timbers which extend from near the ground to the ridge.
A beam is a structural element that primarily resists loads applied laterally across the beam's axis. Its mode of deflection is primarily by bending, as loads produce reaction forces at the beam's support points and internal bending moments, shear, stresses, strains, and deflections. Beams are characterized by their manner of support, profile, equilibrium conditions, length, and material.
A beam of PSL lumber installed to replace a load-bearing wall
An I shaped beam of metal under a bridge
