A hanging beam is an intermediate beam in a timber frame that is carried by no wall, corbel, wall post or other beam, but hangs from the structure above it. It looks like an ordinary tie beam, but it does not shed its load in the usual way — hence the Dutch name leugenbalk, literally “lying beam”.
In the Twente region it is also called a misbalk. The construction was found above all in the Dutch provinces of Overijssel and North Holland, among others in the timber framing of traditional farmhouses.
How does it hang?
A hanging beam sits between the real bay frame beams and is suspended from above. This is done in various ways:
- from the plate or wall plate, the horizontal longitudinal members of the frame;
- from a frame beam above it, via a short hanging post;
- from a hanging post that takes the suspension and passes the force on to the truss;
- with ropes, or later with bolts and nuts.
The reason is almost always practical. A farmhouse frame stands at a fixed bay spacing, but the use of the space sometimes demands a beam where no post may stand: above a threshing floor, a byre door or a passage. Suspending the intermediate beam gives you a bearing for the loft floor without a post getting in the way.
Why “lying”?
The name refers to the appearance: it looks like a frame beam, but it is not one. It takes no frame forces and carries no roof load down to the foundation; it hangs from the structure and carries only what rests on it.
Points to watch in an existing building
- Recognise it before demolishing. Anyone cutting out a hanging post or tie rod in an old farmhouse because it is “in the way” removes the suspension of the hanging beam. The beam then drops and takes the loft floor with it.
- Check the suspension, not just the beam. The weak point is usually the connection: a split tenon, a rotted hanging post or a corroded bolt.
- Historic bolts are not modern bolts. Old wrought iron bolts have different strength properties from present-day steel. Do not replace them by eye; have the loading recalculated.
- Recalculate on change of use. A loft that once carried hay and is now a bedroom takes a different imposed load. With a hanging beam that counts double, because the load travels through the suspension into the truss.
- Seek advice on listed buildings. In a protected monument, work on the frame almost always needs consent.
Related terms
- Bay frame
- Frame plate
- Anchor beam frame
- Cross frame
- Longitudinal frame
- Wall post
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