How to plank your ceiling
I mean, isn’t this what everyone does the week of Thanksgiving…. tackle the biggest project of the year by adding wood planks to the largest ceiling in the house….. in between decorating, eating and watching football?
In all honesty, it’s not like we woke up on Saturday morning and said lets add 100 pieces of wood and beams to the ceiling in the breakfast room. Nah, this plan has been plotted out since we finished this ceiling in the family room a year ago. You can read about that here.
My husband took the week off to cook turkey and go up and down on the scaffolding, which by the way is the house Christmas present this year. It was cheaper to buy the scaffolding then to rent for the amount of time that we would need it for this and other projects. We got it at Home Depot.
Tips on how to plank your ceiling with wood
First and foremost was the removal of that old ceiling fan, that actually has not worked in years, but was way to high to get up there to remove. I am replacing it with a hanging pendant, that should be here at the end of the week.  Next was the positioning of the beams. They will look exactly like the ones in the family room (see first picture). The wood will be clad in wood and then stained.
A fair amount of time was spent locating all the ceiling joists that the boards will be nailed into. We used our electronic stud finder to do that, and marked each stud. Then for two straight days, it’s all about putting the wood up, staggering as you go. We used 100 14 foot boards for this ceiling. The most important pieces that you put up are the first couple of boards. Making sure the boards are even and straight with a level, will most definitely produce a ceiling that won’t look quite so wonky in the end.
Here’s some progress shots.
After that last shot, we called it a night. There’s something about going up and down scaffolding for 8 hours that kinda makes you tired. We are hoping to wrap up the wood today, get some primer on the wood and hopefully get the ceiling painted. After it’s painted we will install the beams. We are using the sprayer so I will need to prep and get the room ready.
I hope how to plank your ceiling may inspire you for your next ceiling or wall project.
For more of my diy projects click here.
grateful
for my very own carpenter
That looks so good. I showed this to my hubby and he said don’t even think that’s going up in our house. Well, a girl can dream. Just send your hubby over when he gets through. 🙂
Wow! What a guy! And what a great Christmas present! Interesting fact about buying the scaffolding rather than renting! We may need to explore that. It is looking magnificent! Happy Thanksgiving!
OH my gosh that looks wonderful! I too showed it to my husband and he said it looks very nice but don’t get any ideas, it’s a lot of work & I should have known because our world stops this time of year (bow hunting) that means sitting in the woods enjoying nature, going to the store & buying meat.
I can’t wait to see it finished!
This is really awesome! We just finished putting board and batten in our entry and bedroom and I don’t even dare mention to my husband about planking a wall in a couple other rooms. My ideas will stay put until a later point.
WOW… what a big job, but worth the rewards of one fabulous ceiling when it is complete. Happy Thanksgiving
Hi Laura, Now, this is quite a grand project to tackle but it’s absolutely gorgeous. The planking is beautifully executed and I really love the beams too.
I’ll have to build up a bit more nerve to try this myself but you’ve certainly provided some inspiration.
Beautiful room.
By the way, I popped over here from another blog and I’m glad I did.
Happy holidays.
Hi Lisa, I am glad that you popped over too! Come back to see the reveal, hopefully next week. Have a nice Thanksgiving.
Wow….what a project! You are so lucky to have your own carpenter! It looks fantastic so far! 😉
thanks! he’s the best. Hope you have a nice Thanksgiving.
Hi Laura
What type of wood did you all use for the ceiling ? Did you get it at Home Depot ?
What is the width of the pieces ?
Talked my hubby into doing our ceiling, but want to copy your look.
Looking forward to your reply.
Thanks so much
Carrie
hi carrie- it was pine tongue and groove from home depot stock no special order.