Post & beam

The honest bent — vertical posts, horizontal beams, braced and pegged.

Post and beam is the plainest frame there is — and the most honest. Vertical posts carry the load, horizontal beams tie them together, and a knee brace keeps the whole thing from racking.

Unrecognizable skilled male carpenter with tattoo cutting wooden planks with hand saw while sitting on floor in professional studio during work
A through tenon, pegged.photo · Ono Kosuki

How it works

posts      vertical, carry the roof down to the sills
beams      horizontal, carry the floor + roof load
braces     diagonal, resist racking in the wind
joints     mortise & tenon, pegged with oak

When to use it

Anything you want to see the bones of. The frame stays exposed inside, so every joint is part of the room. This is the frame most people picture when they say "timber frame."