Wood & Steel Joinery

Traditional joinery can look great with added steel as an architectural accent or for added strength. This photo shows a king post with traditionally joined webs and steel tension ties. It is an elegant joint both aesthetically and structurally.

Steel joinery will often make the cost of a frame more expensive. Because extra strength is not needed everywhere, steel can be added in the places where it is needed and traditional joinery can be used everywhere else. Structural steel joinery can be hidden or exposed depending on the aesthetics of the frame. If the owner or architect wants the wrought iron look of steel joinery, gusset plates can be exposed and sometimes the timbers can be reduced in size to help balance out the additional cost.