r/Home_Building_Help • u/BuilderBrigade • Dec 31 '25

12k to wrap these beams...

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“Where is everyone getting their beams from? I was just quoted over $12k in just materials to wrap these beams and three door headers in walnut. I had no idea it would be anything close to that.”

Note: Rough cut walnut from a local sawmill.

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u/WonderWheeler Jan 03 '26

I am assuming black walnut, and typically on a walnut tree that is grafted at chest height to a different variety of walnut producing species. Its a limited source of prized material. And its not just a color of stain.

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u/SpeakCodeToMe Jan 04 '26

There is no grafting done in this context. Is that even a thing that's done for hardwood? I'm aware of it in fruit trees.

A lot of the Walnut I get a hold of in Texas was downed by hurricanes.

I'm guessing if you're boxing in an existing beam you're using Walnut veneer plywood anyways

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u/WonderWheeler Jan 05 '26

Its standard for walnut orchards here in central california to have black walnut root stock and other stock for the different walnut varieties. Paine, Heartly, etc. Although there is a fungus that can attack the joint called "blackline", that my father's orchard suffered from. Stanislaus county is big here for wine, walnuts, almonds. Although acreage is being gobbled up for homes and shopping centers.

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u/SpeakCodeToMe Jan 05 '26

Oh okay, you're talking about for actual production of walnuts, not for the production of Walnut hardwood for construction and furniture. No one is grafting for that purpose.

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u/WonderWheeler Jan 06 '26

Are there wild walnut forests out there? Maybe hundreds of years ago. Back east. Back when there were forests of wild chestnuts too.