Why Homeowners Prefer Real Wood Beams to Faux Wood Beams
When building your new home, you have a wide range of style and material choices to make. Today, faux wood beams seem to offer a way to capture the essence of real wood while keeping costs lower. However, many homeowners have found that faux wood simply can’t deliver.
Instead, they’re choosing the real thing to enjoy certain key benefits you’ll only find with authentic wood beams.
Authenticity and Craftsmanship
There’s no denying that there’s something special about having true wood. While faux wood beams can pass aesthetically, they can’t capture the authenticity of hand-hewn wood beams.
High-quality, hand-hewn beams show each ax and chisel mark, creating an authentic and entirely unique piece. This aesthetic is exactly what most homebuyers are looking for when going with timber framing. Faux wood beams are a noticeable downgrade in this area, providing a more sterile and synthetic approximation compared to real beams.
Diverse Wood Selection
Choosing real wood beams opens up a variety of options for your home. You’ll find beams and other timber frame products available in a myriad of different wood species, each with its own color, knot pattern, aroma, and texture.
When choosing your real wood beams, you’ll have options such as Eastern White Pine, Western Red Cedar, Douglas Fir, and more. Each can suit certain styles perfectly and can be further refined with many stains and finish options.
Versatile Applications
Your real wood beams can be a stunning centerpiece of your home’s aesthetics. However, they’re also vital structural elements that do the heavy lifting for your home. The strength of real wood beams makes them a suitable option for many architectural applications.
Using real wood beams opens the door to a wider range of architectural design options. They integrate seamlessly into many different styles and can meet the demanding functional requirements of ambitious architectural designs.
Timeless Appeal
Real wood beams have a timeless appeal, both in terms of the longevity of their style and the durability of the specific beams installed in your home. Natural wood beams are incredibly long-lasting, which is why you’ll find historic timber frame buildings still standing around the world.
You can expect real wood beams to last far longer than your lifetime, standing up to all kinds of challenges. And they only look better with time, as the aging process instills a unique look that can’t be replicated by faux wood beams.
Healthy Living Spaces
Having a nice-looking home isn’t enough. You also need to know that you have a safe and healthy environment for you and your family to live in. Natural wood beams help support a healthy living space by avoiding air quality risks associated with other materials.
Many faux wood beams are made of synthetic materials that can emit volatile organic compounds (VOC) over time. These chemicals are associated with many serious health issues. You don’t have to worry about these issues when you go with natural wood.
Sustainable Homes
Modern home buyers often put sustainability at the top of their lists, whether looking at renewable energy options or natural materials. Choosing responsibly harvested real wood beams reduces the environmental impact of your home both today and in the future.
Faux wood beams are typically made with synthetic materials that don’t have any safe end-of-life disposal options. They are also often sourced from petroleum byproducts, creating a substantial carbon footprint. When it comes to sustainable homes, natural wood can’t be beat.
Embrace the Beauty of Real Wood Beams
Whether you’re considering style, versatility, or sustainability, going with real wood is your best bet. While faux wood beams may be appropriate in some cases, they simply can’t replace the authenticity or durability of real wood.
At Reliance Timber, we take pride in creating master-quality timber using beautiful natural materials. To learn more about how our timber frame products can bring out the best in your new home, contact Reliance Timber today.
