Box Beams vs Solid Wood Beams: Which Is Right for You?

Box Beams vs. Solid Beams

Which Is Right for Your Home?

Once you’ve made the decision to add beams somewhere in your home, the next choice is whether you want solid beams installed or custom-fabricated box beams. While both are beautiful options, one may be better suited for your particular scenario. First, let’s break down the difference.

Solid Beams

Solid beams are exactly what they sound like—beams made from a single, solid piece of wood. These can be new-sawn material, but more often they are reclaimed beams from old homesteads, barns, and even urban factories.

Typically, they represent the majority of an often old-growth tree that was felled, hauled, and then hewn or sawn into an intentional dimensional shape for a specific application in the structure they originally supported. Perhaps the best use case for solid beams is integrating them into your home in the same form at as they were reclaimed. This is often done with reclaimed timber frame gables. Essentially a selections of a timber frame structure are disassembled and the reassembled in your house.

Pros & Cons of Solid Beams

Pros

• Can recreate the original joinery and structure in your home
• Capable of carrying structural loads when engineered and properly installed
• Original reclaimed material exactly as it was used historically
• Extremely durable due to dense, old-growth wood

Cons

• Very heavy, often requiring special equipment and manpower
• The weight can introduce engineering and structural troubleshooting
• Limited by available sizes, lengths, and what can realistically be sourced
• Difficult or impossible to find exact dimensions for a specific design
• Minimal flexibility for customization
• Higher installation costs due to labor, machinery, and structural considerations

Solid beams are unmatched in authenticity and strength, but they can present serious limitations when used purely as interior design elements.

Box Beams

Box beams are custom-made hollow beams built from thick boards (typically ¾" to 1½") that create the illusion of a solid timber once installed.

They can be fabricated from reclaimed siding, flooring, roofing slats, or by milling the exterior faces from solid beams and reforming them into a new dimension. In most cases, the materials used to create box beams come from the same reclaimed structures and species as the solid beams from any given reclamation.

Why Box Beams Are Often the Clear Choice

Box beams offer many advantages and are typically the best solution for interior installations:

• Lightweight construction makes handling and installation far easier
• Generally more customizable
• Available in two-, three-, or four-sided designs for ceilings, wraps, and decorative features
• Seam-blended fabrication allows for long spans that would be difficult or unavailable in solid timber
• Able to utilize reclaimed materials like siding or weathered boards for unique textures
• Offer the historic look of reclaimed beams without structural limitations
• Reduced installation labor, cost, and equipment needs

The Takeaway

Both beam styles are beautiful and have their place. Solid beams are best when structural support is required, but for decorative interior applications, box beams provide the same timeless appearance with far greater flexibility, easier installation, and unlimited design possibilities.