Mortise & Tenon

Mortise and Tenon Joinery: To Have or to Hide?

The pocket in this beam is the mortise to another beam�s tenon. If you are in the market for a reclaimed beam, either for a mantle, ceiling, post, or any other reason, read on to understanding why chunks of wood may be missing from your beam.

Dating back 7,000 years to architectural sites in the Middle East, Europe, and Asia, this joinery method interlocked wooden components without using fasteners or glues. It allowed the wood to contract and expand based on humidity levels. Both simple and strong, mortise and tenons are still used today in carpentry, though it is a more methodical and time-consuming skill.

As a consumer, you may not want mortise pockets in your reclaimed beams. Often people want rustic but not �too� rustic. In this case, Evolutia can fill these pockets. We take wood from the drop of your beam and cut it so that it fills the pocket and matches the tones of the wood.

So to have or to hide? It is completely a matter of aesthetic preference and how attached you are to your beam�s story.