Faux Wood Workshop

Whoever invented the butt joint should have called it something else if he didn’t want people making bad jokes and puns about it.

No matter. The point is that you might have several reasons for using butt joints between beams, and you need to plan them and dress them up so they look beautiful rather than ugly. I’m talking about butting the end of one beam against the end of another so the two look like one continuous beam. You might do this if:

- You can’t get a single beam long enough to span the distance
- Piecing beams together turns out to be cheaper than using one longer beam
- Handling a long beam is difficult in the space you have available

Whatever the reason, you can’t just squeeze the butts together and leave the joint exposed. Not even if you stain the ends before you install them, so that no raw polyurethane is accidentally exposed. No amount of care will hide the fact that you’ve got two beam ends hanging unsupported in midair. (If the joint rests on a post or another beam, that’s a different story.)

The solution is easy. Cover the butt joint with a strap. This preserves the illusion of a continuous beam and adds a nice decorative touch as well. It also requires extra planning, because you don’t want straps scattered randomly about. They need to line up nicely across a series of beams. So you have to plan joint locations carefully, and you might need to add straps where there are no butt joints for a consistent look.

Check out our straps page and our previous post about straps for more information.

The right finishing touches can make a good project into a great one. Did I hear someone say “Straps”?
You use straps to cover end-to-end joints between beams. You can also use them where a beam butts into the side of another beam, where a beam meets a wall, and at intervals along a beam. The photos show some possibilities.

There are three kinds of straps.

The first kind is made of heavy black rubber with hammered nailheads molded into it. It comes in a roll, and you simply cut it to length with scissors and glue it in place. You can wrap it around the sides of a beam or use it as a flat plate. Use the wide strap with two rows of nailheads (model S-02) for big beams and for end-to-end joints. Use the narrow strap with a single row of nailheads (model S-01) for smaller beams and joints.

The second kind of strap is a universal rigid straight strap with molded bolt heads or nuts (models DS-412A and DS-412B). You attach them with small screws, which you hide with putty. Use a bolt-head plate across the bottom surface of two beams where they meet in a T. Or use a pair of plates, one with bolt heads and one with nuts, on opposite sides of a truss or similar joint.

The third kind of strap is a rigid U made for a specific beam design (such as Rustic) and size. These straps have the look of wrought iron but are lightweight like the faux beams. Some designs include variations such as a beam-end hanger and a chevron-cut strap for the peak of a cathedral ceiling. You attach them with glue and small screws.

The right straps will make your project glow.