Dried & dressed posts & beams

Dried and dressed beam runs are harder to come by than rough yard stock. Most suppliers don't dry and surface heavy timbers in-house, so lead times and scheduling are real. When you need a clean show face in a heated interior, that extra process is what you're paying for.

Where it's worth it

Exposed ceilings and vaulted rooms, mantels, architectural timber, stair stringers, and any run where you don't want rough stock moving after it's installed. The goal is finished dimensions and a stable board before it leaves the mill.

How we approach thick stock

Thick timbers dry differently than 1-inch boards. The sequence that usually works best is rough mill oversized, dry to a target moisture range, allow stabilization, then final surface and dimension—so movement during drying can be corrected before the show face is produced.

• RF vacuum kiln drying for many thick-stock runs
• Beam planing and dressing after dry
• Douglas Fir — our primary stock for dressed beam runs
• Lengths on 4′ increments when your job allows (8′, 12′, 16′; 20′ by request)

For more on why drying sequence matters on heavy stock, see Why kiln drying matters for beams and thick stock.

If you need maximum fiber and the beam stays hidden—or you'll dress on site—Rough Cut Posts & Beams is usually the starting point. For one-off profiles or matched runs, Custom Milling covers the rest.