This fireplace mantel beam came from an old granary near Henderson, Minnesota. The building probably dated back to the late 1800s. The beam has some great character to it. The bottom and face are hand hewn following the grain. It has the great, warm brown color. The top surface has been cut to remove rot, but exposing a beautiful color with black streaks.

This piece was sill beam. The notches in the face are where the floor joists rested. The few holes in the top were where the studs were mortised into place. Imagine, back in the day, they cut mortise and tenons to place in all the studs. No instant hit with a pneumatic nailer on a tiny “2×4” pine stud. We filled each of the holes with some great quality oak. It’s fun to look at the end grains and count the rings. There are some really tight grains on the end of this mantel.