Patent ID: 8028480

Claim:
A modular wall section for a building comprising: a) a first sill timber having distal ends, each distal end comprising a notch to provide a half-lap joint with an adjacent sill timber, each distal end having an aperture formed therethrough for receiving a vertically placed securing member; b) first and second upright timber members spaced apart and extending upwardly from said first sill timber and coupled to said first sill timber with a vertically placed securing member, each upright timber member having a face which faces the face of the other upright timber member and a vertical mortise formed in the face; c) a plurality of elongated, horizontal timber members stacked vertically in alignment between the upright timber members, each horizontal timber member having formed in each of its ends a mortise which faces and aligns vertically with the mortise of one of said upright timber members when said horizontal timber member is stacked; d) a spline inserted between each end of each one of said horizontal timber members and said upright timber members, said spline occupying said aligned mortises; and e) a first tie beam extending between the tops of the first and second upright timber members, the first tie beam having distal ends, each distal end comprising a notch to provide a half-lap joint with an adjacent tie beam, the distal ends of the first tie beam being positioned above the first and second upright timber members, wherein said horizontal members are free to settle or shrink in a vertical direction beneath said first tie beam, and said tie beam is retained at a substantially constant vertical position by said first and second upright timber members.