Time for the beadboard update. But honestly, I’d prefer to skip the update. The half-day project turned into DAYS. And then it took me a solid week afterward before I was ready to deal with the aftermath. (aka: mess)
I’ll add my steps for beadboarding a ceiling here. But I’m going to preface with this. If your ceiling has:
- has uneven corners
- has edges that are not straight lines
- has vents that will need to be cut around
- is over 350 square feet
- is 100 years old
- has survived a tornado
STOP.
Do not pass go. Do not collect $200.
And for the love of mercy if your ceiling meets all of the above requirements, HIRE IT OUT. For your sanity. For the sake of your marriage. Hire it out.
Now that I’ve added this disclaimer I’ll get down to the how-to of beadboarding a ceiling.
supplies needed to beadboard a ceiling
- beadboard sheets, cut in store to fit ceiling
- construction adhesive, I used two tubes for every 3 sheets
- nail gun with nails
- jigsaw (if you will be cutting out around fixtures/vents)
- 1.5″ lath for trimming along the edges of ceiling
- spackling
- wood filler
- 2×4 boards for supporting the beadboard
directions
- Find ceiling joists and mark them in advance. If a stud finder does not work you can use a high strength magnet. Slide the magnet along the edge of the ceiling. The magnet will stick when it finds a screw in the joist. This is time-consuming, but do not skip marking joists.
- Apply a liberal amount of construction adhesive to the back of the first piece of beadboard. Have someone help hold it in place, making sure all corners are flush along the edges. Nail into place, along the edges of the board and then along the joists.
- Repeat the previous step until all boards are installed. If you need to cut around a fixture first create a template of the shape with a piece of paper. Trace the shape onto the beadboard with a pencil, then cut out with a jigsaw. If edges are rough, lightly sand before mounting.
- If you find it difficult to hold the pieces into place you can take small sections of a 2×4 and screw them to the beadboard and into the joist. After 24 hours you can remove the 2×4 and fill the hole with spackling.
- After all pieces are up you can trim the edges with the lath. Use the same steps, first apply adhesive and then nail into place.
- Once beadboard and lath are installed it is time to fill nail holes with spackling. If you have any seams that have a small gap you can use wood filler to fill in the spaces.
- After everything has dried you will want to paint the beadboard to give everything a smooth finish.
When edges are straight and corners are 90 degrees it really is easy to set up. Just be aware that you may need to use a skill saw to shave off edges before installing if you do not have straight or square walls. And sanding any rough edges before installing will save you a lot of smoothing after they are hung on the ceiling.
If you have any tips or advice for hanging beadboard please share with us in the comments.
This room update is part of the One Room Challenge. You can see the initial post here, as well as a recap of weeks 2-5 here. Head back to the linkup to check out progress posts for other awesome room redesigns!
Always wishing you the best, xo
Libbie says
Eek. Sounds like diy hell. Happy to see you got through it!