Creativity in Installing Old Original Beadboard on Vaulted Ceiling

We had to use some creativity in installing old original beadboard on our vaulted ceiling with little help. This is how we continued the work from when the first beadboard was installed.

It was a true labor of love installing old original beadboard on our vaulted ceiling. And yet there was still a long way to go. Especially since Nate was working on this all by himself. But, he always found time to enjoy a nice hot cup of coffee in between. We certainly made the most of our situation and living in a construction zone. 

There were also many times when Nate would recruit me to help him out in small ways like this random little task. My job was to suck up the sawdust with a shop vac while he cut holes in the beadboard for our light fixtures.

To be honest, I’m not sure this was the best method as sawdust still got everywhere. Including all over me!

MAKING CUT OUTS IN THE BEADBOARD FOR LIGHT FIXTURES

Nate was proud of the cut out he made and said that it was the best measurement he’s done. He marked a line going up and down. He started from the cracks and worked up 4 and 5/8 of an inch to the dead center. Once you get all those boards on the ceiling, you’re not really sure how perfect it is. But, this project turned out flawless in his opinion. 

The cut out was evenly spaced all around. The day before, he placed some durabond (like hard drywall mud) up in there. Next, he just needed to caulk some of the cracks where the drywall mud came out. After he finished caulking, he realized that maybe what he did was a bit overboard for some folks and extra work. But, he prides himself on doing things very properly or as best as he can. His goal was to keep it nice and sealed.

Anyone else struggle with perfectionism? Both of us are that way and it makes it hard sometimes to get projects done. Nate on the house and me with our YouTube videos and these blogs here.

The light fixture fit perfectly and looked great. We found a temporary light fixture that was on sale at Home Depot and installed it. The plan is to hopefully find a nice affordable chandelier to replace it. We’re always looking at antique shops for the perfect gem. They are either not the right size, not really antique, or very expensive. It’s only a matter of time and I’m sure we’ll find the right one! And well, it’s not really on our priority list right now anyway.

REFLECTIONS ON THE PROJECT

The beadboard ceiling turned out so good and was beautiful! All original old wood from a neighbor straight out of her own historic house. It’s so incredible that we have old original beadboard and shiplap in our little pine cottage from heritage homes in our neighborhood. I always feel like we’re building a historic preservation museum of our neighborhood right in our home.

We would also eventually place a wooden beam at the peak of the ceiling to go across. It’s all really coming together!

And don’t mind what the house looks like around us. We were (and still are) living in a fixer upper while we’re fixing it up. We had no storage, cabinets, or pantry yet so we placed all of our kitchen items and food in totes on a temporary table set up like an island. At least we had a nice temporary little picnic table cloth over it, which made it less of an eye sore. 

CREATIVE WAYS TO INSTALL BEADBOARD ON THE CEILING

Nate made a little “jig” is what he called it to help him install the beadboard ceiling on his own. He saw a guy on YouTube using it. Basically you place a small stud on the ceiling and put a screw through the middle of it. So when you have a long piece of beadboard and you’re installing it by yourself, the stud will help to hold the board in place for you. Kinda like having a second pair of hands to help you out. 

Then you tighten the screw a bit more in the stud to get a tighter fit on the board placement. That helps you to get the beadboard in the grooves better as you hammer them together and nail them in place. 

This invention became his handy help. It was especially useful when he was working with warped and crooked boards, which most of them were since they were so old. While the stud kept the beadboard in place, he could work on fitting it properly on the ceiling throughout the entire length of it. It was such a great one man show tool!

Then he demonstrates actually using the stud to help him install the breadboard on the vaulted ceiling. As the stud held the beadboard in place, he was able to hammer and nail the beadboard on the ceiling properly.

OTHER THINGS TO CONSIDER

Another part of this task was to measure out the boards. Then cut them down so they fit in perfect rows on the ceiling. Nate used a table saw to get this job done.

He also placed a half inch thick piece of plywood on the top of the wall that connects to the ceiling. He lightly screwed it in so it remained in that spot temporarily. This created an even space or gap between the beadboard and the wall. That way as the wood expanded and contracted, it would be away from the wall. 

After the job was almost completed, I caught him resting on the couch. His body was so sore from leaning back and installing the beadboard for so long. His neck and back really took a toll and he had to rest it off. 

I’m so proud of what he was able to accomplish on his own in such creative ways!

CHECK OUT OUR VIDEOS

Thanks for joining us on this journey! We hope that you will find inspiration watching us learn as we go while we’re attempting to renovate and rebuild this old small historic cottage mostly on our own~ while working full time jobs! Stay tuned for more progress updates ahead. Read more about us here. 

You can also watch a video about this here.

To see more adventures of our fixer upper journey, click on the links below.

🏚💚 ADDING TRIM TO LITTLE COTTAGE GARAGE AND INSTALLING BEADBOARD CEILING 💪🏼🧰

🏚🪵 RESTORING OLD ORIGINAL BEADBOARD BY REMOVING LOOSE PAINT 🎨