Not So Concealed Connections

Being a custom glulam manufacturer we get to do a lot of unique shapes and styles of glulam, we also do custom steel connections for our beams. Like we talked about in our past few Wednesday’s Word of the Week posts we offer three types of connections: exposed connections, concealed steel with exposed hardware, and fully concealed connections.


Fully concealing steel and hardware requires us to countersink the bolt into the beams and supply wood plugs to cover the bolt heads. The plugs are typically stained to match the beams. The Dharma Drum Retreat Center in Pine Bush, NY opted to use a contrasting color for the plugs in lieu of a matching stain.

This unique choice adds interest to a connection that is normally meant to blend into the background of the building.

Chan Hall, Dharma Drum Retreat Center in Pine Bush, NY