How to Install a Wood Plank Ceiling
- 1). Locate all the ceiling joists, using an electronic stud locator. Draw lines across the ceiling with your level and pencil to show where each joist is positioned.
- 2). Measure the ceiling along your starting wall (which must be a wall that's perpendicular to direction of the joists). Cut a ceiling plank to the length of your measurement, using the miter saw.
- 3). Set the plank on the ceiling with the grooved side facing the wall. Leave 1/4 inch of space between the edge of the plank and the wall (this ``expansion gap'' will allow the wood to move with climate changes; it will be covered by the ceiling trim). Use your trim nailer to shoot two nails through the surface of the board at each spot where it crosses a joist.
- 4). Measure and cut your next plank. Set it against the first one, locking the tongue-and-groove sides together. Nail the piece by shooting in one nail through side, at an upward angle, into each joist.
- 5). Hang the rest of the planks the same way, covering the whole ceiling. Cut the last piece along the length on a table saw to get it properly fit against the wall (leaving the same 1/4 inch gap as before).
- 6). Hang ceiling trim around the perimeter of the ceiling to cover the gaps at the walls.
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