My house was built in 1820 and the beams (floor joists) in the basement below the first floor are "and hewn" beams where the two verticle sides of the beam still show the shape of the tree and some still have bark on them whereas the upper and lower surfaces of the beam show the marks where the beam was cut amd leveled out by hand. I'm not real familiar with exactly how they cut beams back then by hand and was just curious about it. Does anyone know of a website that shows the tools and methods used?
Also, there are a few of these beams that have been damaged over the years by water and such and I was interested in replacing them with beams that fit in with the rest of the construction. Is this something that is done often, or would replacing the beam with a beam from the lumber yard be the wisest move? The beams vary in size but most are probably around 10" square or thereabouts.
Rob NE PA