oak beam cladding for rsj steelbeams - disstressed oak

Real oak beams to hide RSJ’s and steelwork

oak beam cladding for rsj steelbeams - wide view
oak beam cladding for rsj steelbeams – wide view

Steelworks and RSJ’s are an essential part of modern building practices these day but they look so awful in older cottages I came up with a way to clad the steel beam using real oak planks, glued together in such a way as to create the appearance of a solid oak beam.

oak beam cladding for rsj steelbeams - disstressed oak
oak beam cladding for rsj steelbeams – disstressed oak

Sometimes I will make metal straps and apply polyurethane and earth pigments to imitate old rusty straps, these straps are a great way to hide joins especially when the beam is long as shown in the photo’s.

oak beam cladding for rsj steelbeams - pegged tenon
oak beam cladding for rsj steelbeams – pegged tenon

In certain situations I will make fake joints to imitate a second beam at 90 degrees to another as in the photo above, this also provides interest in long expanses of wood.