When it comes to beams, go for faux

Q. We’re trying to decide about using exposed beams in our renovation. We have a Tudor-style house, and our contractor is telling us that we’re better off with fake beams instead of uncovering the real ones in our high ceilings. He claims that the real ones will mean more money and more problems. We like real. What do you think?

A. Beam me up, Scotty; your contractor makes a lot of sense. Fake, or faux (since French seems to sound better) beams are lightweight, less costly to install and may have few or no finishing costs. I was also a purist with architectural elements, especially when, during the ’70s, it became popular to use fake beams, which really looked awful. They looked like the foam they’re made from. It reminded me of first-generation vinyl siding, shiny and textured. When did wood ever look like it was being preserved in plastic food wrap?

Today’s faux beams are much more realistic-looking and come in many choices of stained finishes to match the rest of the interior design. Two people with two ladders and a screw or nail gun make the installation simple. No structural issues — but they should be installed to make sense, architecturally, by following vertical support lines at correct intervals. Placing one so it lands over a doorway below will broadcast the fakeness. Authentic Old English architecture was built with post-and-beam construction so that beams ran horizontally to the posts that carried the loads down to the foundation. I chuckle when I see beams running into the side of other beams, or over a window, because nobody built like that. If they had, the rough-hewn beams would not only split, but would also possibly fail. Purists would never go for this.