Wood Overlay for Painted Ceiling Beams
 

Will be moving into a new house this summer. The living room has two horizontal ceiling beams, 4''x6'', that run from wall to wall under the cathedral ceiling. The former owner painted these white. I'm not a fan.

I've done some research on removing the coating and everything I'm seeing is that its a nightmare and with no guarantee of ever restoring the original look.

Have any of you guys ever seen or done any wood overlays on ceiling beams like this? Boxing in the beams and finishing the outer wood. I've seen a few pictures that look pretty good. Any recommendations on what type of wood might look interesting and on the rustic side? The wife is already conceded to just slapping another coat of paint on there, but I'm not ready to do that yet.

thanks,

Mike

See if there are any sawmills local to you. Check out if you like the look of quarter sawn or rough sawn for the faces. I would be looking at cedar, the darker, pricier stuff, not the fence stock. Also consider joining the three sides on the ground and lift up as a whole unit. Cedar will be less weight for this too.

i guess sand blasting is not an Option ?
makes a mess i know
but the new house is empty...

it could carve the old beams bringing out the textures.

I'm definitely going to check out a sawmill. The place is in Kingston, MA so Copeland and Sons in Marshfield is where I'll start. I also want to get a custom slab to replace a tiled mantle in the same room so they may have some advice on making the two look good together.

I'm thinking about using some wrought iron nails and straps to use as fasteners. The straps could hide seams with a little planning.

I thought of the sandblasting Raven. I would do it before we moved in. I'm just worried that after all the work the end product would leave me wishing I went the other way. I definitely don't want to do both!

Hey Mike, Congrats on the new house! Have to grab some sodas soon since you are down this way now.
Posted from my iPhone/Mobile device

Thanks Dennis, I'm excited to be out of Southie and based down there finally! South Shore Livin!

think about mitering it so the seams don't show and it would then look like a 1 piece beam

Take a scraper and a grinder to it

Posted from my iPhone/Mobile device
Welcome to my hometown

Thanks RedLite! We are very happy to be landing there.

Slip has all the angles heh heh

True. But you will need to make precise/straight cuts to make it true over that long length. Might want to consider putting a wood spline, biscuits, or dominos in to help hold the joints tight over the whole length.

Probably too late but take a look, this just showed up in my mail

http://www.theoldemill.com

http://www.theoldemill.com