I wanted to thank Grigg for the help he offered me in my questions and hope and pray for his family members that they are recovered and doing well from the problems they had. I found many sites on line and went to the sites that were referred to me by others on here. Lam beams do seem to be a viable option with many benifits to whole timbers with applications that can not be achieved in whole timbers. Thank you also Mr.Rodgers and Mr. Houdek for your help.Rudy, I meant no harm with my comment about unanswered questions but there are many here still! NOT just a weak input on mine. I am gratefull and would have dug until i found what I wanted or moved along in another way.(which I did). For the other people that have"NO ANSWER" to the questions they pose I wish you all luck in your quest for "answers". I think that people looking for answers reguarding timber framing depend on this site. Where else would they go? Please let "THEM" know.Also,Im very happy no one just gave me any old answer! what good would that do? Have a great summer and I hope to see some of you at a timber frame raising soon!......~~~~~~~~Van~~~~~~~~~~