Faux Wood Workshop

Corbels are beautiful architectural features that add class, flair and realism to your project. A corbel visually anchors the end of a beam so it looks solid and well supported.

But how do you know what size corbel to use? The answer depends on the kind of beam you’re using.

Suppose your beams have well-defined edges that are square and straight or just slightly rounded. These include our Raised Grain, Woodland and Sandblasted beams. In this case, choose corbels that are the same width as the beams or just slightly narrower.

The first photo shows a corbel slightly narrower than the beam it supports. An equal-width corbel would also look great with this beam.

On the other hand, suppose your beams have irregular edges that are distressed and significantly rounded. Our Timber beams are like this. In this case, choose corbels that are at least a couple of inches narrower than the beams. This lets the corbel rest against the flat part of the beam and avoid overlapping the rounded edges.

The second photo shows corbelsnarrow enough to rest against only the flat part of a heavily distresssed and rounded beam.

Timber, Raised Grain, Regal, Rustic, Woodland, et cetera, et cetera. Sometimes the choices are overwhelming. Where do you start? How can you home in on just the styles that suit your project?

Fortunately, if you know something about what you’re looking for, you don’t have to wade through page after page of descriptions and specs for each and every beam style. You can let the Beam Selector do the work for you.

Say your project design calls for one or more beams with an exposed end. The end doesn’t butt against a wall or against another beam, but hangs in the middle of somewhere exposed to view. Obviously you need to know which beam styles are available with a cap to close that exposed end.

It’s a perfect 1-2-3 job for the Beam Selector:

1. From any page on the website, click Beam Selector Tool.

2. Let your eye scan down to item 8, Available with closed ends, and choose Yes.

3. Click Search for Beams, and behold the results.

In 10 seconds you’ve narrowed your choices to Timber, Woodland, Sandblasted and Chalet. Not only that, but at a glance you can see essential specs for each style: shipping time, largest dimensions, number of sizes, number of sides, endcap availability (of course) and suitability for truss construction. Click any style to see the full details.

I always believe in letting the computer do as much of the grunt work as possible, so I can do the brain stuff.

You can learn a lot about the beam styles and colors you’re considering by looking closely at the photos on our website. Open two or three different product pages side by side and compare. Drag several of the closeups from your browser window to your desktop, then open them all in an image viewer so you can examine the differences. Make each one a desktop background and live with it for a while on your screen.

But if a picture is worth 1000 words, an actual sample is worth 10 times that. A photo can tell you just so much about the way a certain texture will look in person. And the glowing image on your computer screen can’t show you how a beam will look in the actual lighting conditions of your family room or bedroom.

The great thing about samples is that they’re free. Well, you have to pay a few bucks for them up front, but then you get your money back when you place an order for the beams you’ve picked (or corbels, or whatever). Order as many samples as you like, and then use the coupon you get with the samples to take their entire cost off your next order. You can order them from individual product pages or from the central Product Samples page.

Bonus tip: If you’re a builder or architect, you can order a whole kit of samples at no cost. See our website for ordering information.

Ready to get started on your project? Be sure your beams and planks are ready too. You don’t want to get “short-changed” on the final result.

There’s nothing like the sight of a pile of newly delivered beams to get you going on the project you’ve been planning. But not so fast. Before you start measuring and sawing, be sure to let all your materials get used to their new home.

Polyurethane beams and planks get longer and shorter as the temperature changes. If they’ve just come off a truck, or have been sitting in your garage or basement for a while, they’re not ready to install yet.

Before you get started, lay all your materials in the room where they’ll be installed. Then slowly back away. Don’t come back until they’ve had enough time to acclimatize to their new environment.

How much time is enough? If you can lay out all the beams and planks in a single layer, wait 24 hours. If you have to stack them in a pile, wait an extra day to be sure they all come to room temperature. Remember that polyurethane is a good insulator, so piling them up really slows down the acclimatizing process.

When it’s time to measure and cut, remember that the faux beams and planks will continue to expand and contract with temperature after they’re installed. So will the room, of course. But to make sure no cracks open up, fit them tightly as you install them, cutting them about 1/8 inch long and compressing them into place. (Use our plastic bag tip to help fit beams tightly into place.)

Also to help prevent the issue of expansion and contraction use the glue on top of the beam as prescribed in the basic installation instructions. This way the ceiling and the beam are more apt to expand and contract together.