Many heritage buildings used round or squared wood timbers in their construction. The craft of 'timber framing' is still practiced today and uses some of the same construction techniques.

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Timber frame or post-and-beam construction was used in barns and houses across North America. European examples of this building type stretch back centuries in Germany, France and England.

Characteristics of timber construction:

• Made up of 'post and beam' structural members, held together using wood joinery.
• Bays (spaces) between posts and beams are filled in with smaller, dimensional timber - 4x6 or full 2x6. Spacing of infill members may vary from 2' 0" to 4' 0" on centre.
• Sill plates - the horizontal timber resting on the foundation - it may experience deterioration or rot because of proximity to the ground.
• Joinery at intersections may be loose from shrinkage or building settling.

Timber Frame Construction Process:

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Trees are felled and then cut flat on four sides. The timbers are then arranged in H-shaped bents, with vertical posts and horizontal beams. Braces and longitudinal plates tie the bents together and rafters are fit to the plates to form the roof frame.

If the timbers are not perfectly straight, they may be scribe-fit - this creates a very organic and natural looking frame.

Straight timbers can be cut using a method called square rule - measured effective depths and joinery, creating a "square" structure, with corners as close to 90 degrees as possible.