How to Install Wood Ceilings

I am gonna do my best to tell you how to install wood on your ceilings for a beautiful farmhouse look.

 

I’ve always wanted to have wood ceilings.  I was hoping for an inexpensive way to get the “look”.  So when I saw Kevin and Layla’s post about installing wood ceilings in their dining room, I knew I could make it happen.  They used pine tongue and groove boards that came in a bundle at Lowe’s.

ceiling_ideas_2

The most important thing in installing the wood is finding where your ceiling joists are so you know where to nail the boards to the ceiling.

We used a chalk line to help us see where we were suppose to nail.  I show you how we did it in my video.

I used a power saw and a nail gun for this project.  These tools make the project a whole lot easier.  I cannot imagine nailing those boards in by hand!

Here is a video I put together of the process.  I am a visual person, so I hope this helps some of you “see” how I did it.  (Yes!  I installed the whole ceiling all by myself!)

(If you are reading this post in an email or reader, you may need to click on the post title to view this video on my blog.)

We decided not to paint the boards before installing them. Either way, I think it will be a pain. We used SO many individual boards on this ceiling, that I cannot imagine painting each one individually, then waiting for them to dry, and then installing them.

We are going to use a paint sprayer to paint the ceiling, and I think that will much better than rolling it. We’ll see. Smile

 

It cost less than $250 to get our wood ceiling, and I think it was worth every penny.

Tomorrow, I will be installing shelves in the pantry and painting it.  I’ve got to have that pantry finished so I can put the food back in it!

Right now, all of our food is on Adam and Eli’s dresser in their room!

Sheesh!

Also, the winner of the Knitty Bitties Giveaway is…

BizzyMom

(ricktoini)

Congratulations!!!

I will be contacting you about how to claim your prize!

26 Comments

  1. Yay! I’m so glad you were able to use the same product!
    We painted our before we put them up- but spraying them sounds like a great idea!
    I look forward to seeing your ceiling when you’ve got it all up!

    :-D

  2. This is great, you crack me up in a totally good way. I can’t wait to show my husband your video! Please show us the completed project when you get to that point.

  3. Omgosh, I LOVE it! I would love to have our half-bath done this way. I might need to seal my pieces with poly or something before installing/painting, but it’d be worth it! Such a gorgeous look!

  4. My mom & dad have a wood plank vaulted ceiling in their living room. When they bought the house several years ago, the wood was stained in kind of a hickory color. My mom was DYING to paint it white, but my dad didn’t want to. They argued about it off & on for a few years and then finally one day he GAVE IN! They used a paint sprayer to do all of the work & it did a great job! Good luck with the rest of this project…I can’t wait to see it! I know its going to look fabulous!

  5. Since you know that I am Deaf. Can you tell me why you had to mark the ceiling to nail the gun at?
    I can NOT wait to see the final product…You guys are my hero! I just might do it very soon.

    Thanks for the tutorial… BTW, I am very much in love with Eli! :)

  6. Can’t wait to show your video to my husband. My husband and I are now empty-nestors (we raised 4 sons) and now we are 5 yrs away from retirement (unless he retires early), so we are thinking about downsizing the house, and build a new place, about 1000 sq ft (yes, I said 1000 sq ft!) on a couple acres out in the country. I know, ambition for two “almost seniors” but that is our intention right now anyways. From the start, my husband has stressed that he really wants wood plank ceilings……………so tired of the “popcorn” and even the “knocked-down popcorn” look. Love your new pantry (and can’t wait to see the finished product!) and will definitely consider that for when we build. Just watching your blog has gotten me so excited! And seeing your 4 kiddos eating the cereal for dinner (something we did MANY TIMES with our 4 boys!) really gave me a BIG SMILE! Been there, done that…………and we had a great time doing it!

    Keep up with the great ideas! Looking ward to seeing your finished projects! Nothing like living vicariously through another, while waiting for “our time” to get here! Thank you SO MUCH!

  7. I love doing projects when my husband is at work or in the woods hunting! Gives me such a good feeling of accomplishment to do things myself. Your ceiling looks great, and I loved the video! Your boys are precious! And you’re always a mom….loved the “stop it” during the video with the kids! Funny and so real!

  8. I love all the things you are working on in your new home. It is going to be so fabulous!!! I love, love, love the white wood ceiling! I wish we had done it in our kitchen but my brother was doing it with me and he was a little leery of trying it. I wish you could come over and teach me how to do all these amazing projects. You are a wonder with power tools.

    I can’t wait to see it all completed.

    Ruth

  9. Thank you, thank you, thank you, Traci. Now I know this is possible and affordable, I am so excited.

    You are a brave woman to do all this without your husband home. I also really want to applaud you for sharing that you served Apple Jacks for supper. You are not only offering inspiration to your readers but making such wonderful memories with your boys.

  10. Ooooh! Thanks for sharing what you are using. We have an exposed beam ceiling in our family room. We are going to refinish the beams and the center pieces are going to need new planks to cover the installation we need to do. This works great!

  11. I am in love with your ceiling!!!! I am trying to talk my dear hubby into doing this. Our ceilings are really low (just over 7 foot) so I am not sure if it would look ok. I really love the look and can’t wait to see your finished Kitchen! Oh and your boys are just too cute for words!

  12. I have an oval recessed tray ceiling in my breakfast nook that adjoins my kitchen. Any idea how to finish that oval area? I so want to do this but I don’t know if I can with that oval. Can’t wait to see your finished results!!

    Wanda

  13. That looks so amazing! Now I want to cover our ugly ceilings. It’s amazing how that changes the entire feel of your room! And I’m so impressed that you did it all by yourself! WOW!! superwoman! :)

  14. Love the video, Traci. I will no longer feel guilty when I feed my family cereal while I’m in the middle of a DIY project! I was also inspired by your most recent post on what you don’t want to create on your blog … discontent, frustration, etc. I covered that subject a bit last week with my “DIY project gone bad” post and I was planning on posting on that very subject again today. I will BE SURE and link back to your post because I think you, well, hit the nail on the head with that topic;) Keep doin’ what you’re doin’.

  15. Oh, Traci – I love this video so much! Especially seeing all your boys at the end! You are such an inspiration in so many ways!

    And I was literally just standing on my bar stools measuring my ceiling this morning, and then saw that Layla posted this on facebook today.

  16. Traci, bless you!!!
    I’ve been in such despair over the popcorn ceilings in the older home we are in the midst of buying…
    We found out that they contain asbestos, therefore we connot simply spray & scrape to remove them. The job has escalated into the thousands (and there’s much more to do !
    Then we found out it was going to cost far more to buy the buy the home than quoted, seriously draining our renovation funds!
    Your ceiling idea is wonderful
    Thank you for sharing your passion!
    Sarah

  17. I just have a quick question about the chalk lines. obviously the ceiling joists are wider than the pine board, so are you only nailing like every 4th board? Iihave popcorn ceilings and would love to do this.

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