beadboard panel installation (ceilings)

t_mccann

hi there,

I am about to begin installing beadboard paneling (4x8 sheets) on our kitchen ceiling and have a couple of questions.

most of the beadboard tutorials that I read say that it should be installed perpendicular to the ceiling joists. I can understand why you would need to do this if one was using individual planks, but is this necessary when using the sheets? our joists are 24"oc, and we plan to glue as well as nail.

what size/type nails should I use?

and lastly (this is mostly a design question), I'm wondering what, in a bunch of "stanger's" opinions would look better on our vaulted kitchen ceiling: the "planks" running up the incline, or the "planks" running the length of the room, perpendicular to the incline? the kitchen is a long rectangle, the ceiling slopes upwards across the width of the rectangle as opposed to the length of it.

thank you very much!

- john

leezarrd

On the design issue I would think it would depend on the dimensions of your ceiling. The bead board sheets would have butt joints at the 4' end but would look like a continuous piece if you can have most of your joints on the 8' side. What are the dimensions?

t_mccann

the kitchen is about 26 feet long by about 10 or 11 feet wide. the ceiling slopes up the short way, across the 10ft length.

thanks!

send_it_all

I have a couple of suggestions. In that size kitchen, using the 4x8 sheets of beadboard is going to make it very difficult to end up with a good looking result. How would you get the end seams to look good. I STRONGLY recommend using individual planks and staggering the ends as you would on a wood plank floor. If you are going to try to do the job alone, it will be extremely difficult to use the sheets. Even with one helper, it will not be easy to get the sheets to lay flat and straight and line up perfectly with the previous sheet while you are holding it with one hand and trying to nail with the other hand. I understand that the planks are more expensive, but the finished product will look FAR better and have a better chance of staying up with no popped seams or sags. It will be worth a couple hundred extra dollars to get the look you are picturing and avoid the cussing that will happen when the sheets are MUCH more difficult than you thought they would be.

Handyman50

I agree with the above suggestion. The individual planks would give you a far nicer look. I have bead board wainscot in my family room. So, I am not adverse to using it. However, there are places for it that work better than others.

If you decide to use bead board, however, (which is your choice, of course) I suggest using construction adhesive. If applied correctly, it will never come loose. You can use a few aptly placed nails (minimum 1-1/4/1-1/2" through 1/2" sheetrock) for added strength and support while it dries. Remember to assure that the ends and edges of the sheets meet on a nailer. This is important. This problem is eliminated using adhesive. Also, you can use crown or other type molding on the ends of the bead board.

One additional suggestion. If you use a stud-finder and mark the studs on the adjacent walls, it will be much easier to keep the nails running in a straight line.

t_mccann

thank you for the suggestions!

we are going to use the panels, primarily for time and money constraints. I have no doubt that individual planks would look and feel nicer, but we've got to make due with the time we've got right now.

as for the adhesive (I've got several tubes of liquid nails), should I run a bead along each rafter? what is the recommended nail spacing on the edge and throughout the field?

thanks!

John

Handyman50

John said: "as for the adhesive (I've got several tubes of liquid nails), should I run a bead along each rafter? what is the recommended nail spacing on the edge and throughout the field?"

John, do what you have to do. There is no right way or wrong way in this case, only your way, as far as the bead board goes.

When I secure anything with adhesive, I always put it on the material that I am installing. It is best to apply it in a "S" pattern the length of the panel, to assure that it is evenly dispersed when the panel put into place. In the case of panels, several "S" patterns edge to edge will work best. As I said previously, a few aptly placed nails won't hurt.

I have never had any installation fail using this method.

t_mccann

just to follow up on the project and close out the thread:

we ended up using the ply-bead and are very happy with the results.

it's an old house, so we spent a lot of time preparing the rafters and joists to give us a pretty level and consistant surface (pretty level...in our old house, nothing is plumb or level or square, really!).

purchase a finish nailer for the job. it's worth it, believe me.

you were right about the but joints: they are very visible. we used 1/2" x 2" pine to trim over those joints.

our walls are drywall, so we needed to put up some moulding there (also to cover the gaps that we were left with). we used 1x4 pine for this. we bevelled and planed all the moulding, by the way. it was a quick step with a huge effect.

after all of this, I used some paintable silicone caulk on the lap joints and dabbed some over the nail holes along that joint as well. used the same caulk (tooling with my finger) to cover imperfections along the perimeter moulding.

once it's primed and you get a finish coat on there, it looks good. much more character than drywall!

thanks again for the advice, everyone.

Handyman50

Thank you for sharing your finished product. It looks very good!! The extra time that you took preparing the surface definitely paid dividends. I always tell people doing projects that planning and preparation are 80% of the job. The remainder takes care of itself.

lee polowczuk

great idea on the trim piece....

Cole

Beautiful Job!

t_mccann

thanks guys!

federer

old thread i know, but we are thinking about doing this for our bedroom ceiling in the attic right under the roof. what do you guys think?
we are looking at this:

we think its easier than putting up drywall