Optimised manufacturing processes made possible the production of larger dimensions timber products, which allow for the design of remarkable structures. In the last version of the EN 1995-1-1, it seemed important to its drafters to propose design formulas to estimate stiffness of joints in accordance with the needs of that time. Aware of the technical jump that had to be managed, the proposed rules remained simple. However, simple design equations became insufficient to cope with present-day challenges, which are, e.g., related to the design of high-rise wooden buildings. In EN 1995-1-1, the resistant capacity of dowel-type timber joints is no longer determined by empirical formulas but it is based on the limit analysis proposed by Johansen (1949). This methodology however shows limits for complex joints even though many improvements have been made since its introduction (Blaß and Laskewitz 2000). In parallel with these analytical approaches, developments in computational mechanics made it possible to develop simple numerical methods (Foschi 1974, Hirai 1983), which taken even into account nonlinear phenomena. These approaches have remained unused in practical design due to their complex implementation and their high running time, at the time of their invention, while todays computational resources strongly reduced corresponding limitations. Thus, numerical modelling of connections can help engineers to fill the gaps of the EN 1995-1-1 and to cope with variability in connection design. For this purpose, dowel-type fasteners are numerically modelled as elastoplastic beams on a nonlinear foundation in engineered in wood-based products (Sawata and Yasumura 2003, Hochreiner et al. 2013). This method is called Beam-On-Foundation (BOF) modelling and shows huge potential for engineering design. The purpose of this paper is to show how this method can substitute and complement limit analysis and empirical stiffness formulas of timber joints with dowel-type fasteners.