by Laurie Sharp
We have been following the Tiny House Blog for years, always anxious to see what our friends and neighbors are up to. The Small Home movement is in full swing and we believe post and beam framing has not been addressed often enough as one of the choices available.
We have a unique “T-Rex” Connector to be used strictly with post and beam framing, offering an alternative to the many small home advocates out there. Our exclusively-designed post and beam connectors are extruded from 6061 structural grade aluminum, which is used in everything from ship building to skyscrapers; in addition, our “T-Rex” Connectors are engineer-approved.
For the DIY individual, we have extensive plans and connectors available; you can either use milled lumber from your own land or purchase economically from a local sawmill.
For one who doesn’t have the time required for a DIY project, you can purchase the kit with everything needed to construct a post and beam frame, using the pre-slotted and pre-drilled white pine. Windows, roofing material, doors, and siding can be added to any order.
For someone who can’t wait, we can add a covered porch and construct your post and beam home for you in the New England area.
Take a look at our website at www.ctpostandbeam.com to see what post and beam framing can offer you! We are willing to work closely with anyone from the Tiny House community.
From the photo, I can see Post and Beam as very strong when used on a solid foundation. Way too heavy for a mobile foundation since 4×4 or 6×6 or even 8×8 are used. One must limit 4×4 use to reduce weight and conserve space for a mobile tiny home.
Travelling by bus in Maryland will allow you to get the most out of your money, as long as you know how to get around. Depending on your travel needs and your budget,
Beautiful work! For a standing location this would be beautiful but I am curious, would this still be applicable for moving house? Built on a trailer? Or would the weight be an issue? Just asking for those out there!
You can build a trailer to haul very heavy loads, much heavier than that house. The problem here is that this house looks too wide and too tall for transport on a road in a normal manner. It looks about 10 feet wide, over 14 feet tall, and about 20 feet long. You would have to move it like you move a house on the road: block traffic, get special permits, lift wires, etc.
If you want to move your Tiny House down the road you need to follow the laws governing the dimensions of the load. In the US to be legal in all 50 states I believe that would be:
1. Not be over 80,000 pounds
2. Not over 8 ft. 6 in. wide
3. Not over 13 ft. 6 in. tall INCLUDING THE TRAILER
4. I think the maximum length is about 70 feet, front bumper to the end of the load.
Check out RV’s, which are one type of tiny house, and you can gauge how large your dream home could be and still be legally on the road.
Delighted to see these clear pictures and have your contact info. Live in MT so not likely to have you build my house (if ever) but good to know about your product. Thank you!
A classic beauty that has been around for years!
Love the concept of the TRex. Your web page has full color photos, showing details. Amazing! if I ever rebuild my home…this would be my choice.
Love your work guys! 🙂
They are eye candy and examples of very, very nice workmanship, yes, but echoing previous sentiments on this topic, not only is post and beam very heavy, but it seems totally overkill for tiny houses. I would never build a tiny structure like this, especially one meant for relocation as most of the tiny houses are. I’m aware that people living in cold northern climes, who are used to seeing log cabins daily, and who like to build like their ancestors, might find this the way to go. I do find them beautiful, cozy, built like a brick @#$@house, yes, but the tiny house movement, from what I’ve seen, is based on simplicity not only from a financial point of view, but in terms of construction, ease of moving, etc. These buildings I would think, would be great candidates for tornado proof structures if they were adequately tied down, but beyond that the only advantage to using such massive members in construction I see would be for aesthetics, and When building a small structure, I’d be more inclined to emphasize ease of construction, thermal characteristics (the heavy beams don’t do a thing to help insulate).
Very nice to see a small place that is not mounted on wheels.
Nice work, for me 16×20 or 16×24 with loft. Would make a wonderful place in the mountains.
Very good to see another small building style. These structures look reliable and attractive…..
Timberframe is one of the best forms of construction it’s overlooked so often due to the need for a minor amount of expertise over regular framing the best part is the whole structure can be disassembled and reassembled somewhere else 100 years down the road if you so desire or expanded on with relative ease as the walls aren’t structural like in spec construction.
At the risk of sounding ridiculously ignorant, I see what *Post and Beam* is..but what makes it better? As opposed to,..what?
Post and beam is a general term relating to old traditional techniques of using heavy timber for a frame. There are various styles. The result is very strong, and many people like the visual impact of all the massive wood posts & beams. It was common in Europe and Asia.
You need access to some pretty heavy timber, and in a structure this small it is obviously very overbuilt to make a safe home.
There seems to be two sides of the question to me about post and beam framing.
I think post and beam with hand laid rock is the most beautiful type of structure in the world and it feels solid and lasting to me. I can’t say that I have ever seen any large beam structure I did not like. Just reclaiming old timbers from structures is a job in itself before using in a new build.
The other side it is not a cheap or easy method to use for framing even with the new type fasteners and supports in small builds that need to adhere to a strict timeline and very tight budget.
I don’t think those with no carpentry experience should even attempt on a first build unless they have oversight by those with experience.
Still, I do like timber framing. I wonder how anyone could not like it.
Another thing….there are different manufactured variations of the T Rex connectors that are not meant to be hidden and resemble the old hand forged and Hammered connectors and plates and hangers and timber split wraps that are also very nice and add to the appeal of the exposed timber frame, but also very very expensive.
This is one very fine frame that is shown here, no matter what the cost.
I am really impressed with this house, it is good to see a home that looks solid and well built, out of real wood. I just finished looking at some micro-mobile homes, or you can call them idea boxes. This house looks like it would last; and from my perspective, it would be much more affordable than some of the others that I have looked at. I have some property with woods so having my own lumber would be great!