
A crown post is a term in traditional
timber framing
Timber framing (german: Holzfachwerk) and "post-and-beam" construction are traditional methods of building with heavy timbers, creating structures using squared-off and carefully fitted and joined timbers with joints secured by large wooden ...
for a
post in roof framing which stands on a ''
tie beam'' or ''
collar beam
A collar beam or collar is a horizontal member between two rafters and is very common in domestic roof construction. Often a collar is structural but they may be used simply to frame a ceiling. A collar beam is often called a collar tie but this ...
'' and supports a ''collar plate''.
[Alcock, N. W.. Recording timber-framed buildings: an illustrated glossary. London: Council for British Archaeology, 1989. G5] Historically, crown posts were called
king post
A king post (or king-post or kingpost) is a central vertical post used in architectural or bridge designs, working in tension to support a beam below from a truss apex above (whereas a crown post, though visually similar, supports items above f ...
s, but this usage is confusing and obsolete. A crown post is designed to be in a compression and transfers weight to the tie beam, where a king post is designed to be in tension and supports the tie beam. In the U.K a ''crown strut'' is similar to a crown post but does not carry a
plate.
References
{{Reflist
Timber framing