Fake Exposed Wooden ceiling Beams-Anyone done them before?

[MrDavidRoberts]

Was about to start installing some new ceiling lights and skimming some nasty artex ceiling in kitchen refurb but I have always liked the look of exposed wood beams.Since I will be redoing the ceiling might as well do something extra.

Plan was to get some cheap 3x7 chunky joists from local place ,screw them under existing floor joists which are under the plasterboard which would be replaced with new plasterboard and just make it look like they belong there.
Sounds simple enough? I see people are sourcing reclaimed beams so they have the extra rustic look , but those things are so expensive and hard to get compared to new ones- So I had the idea of just taking new timber, roughing it up a bit (chain/hammer/whatnot ) and staining it in nice tone so it looks more old than it is.

was wondering if anyone has done something like this and if you can maybe share how it turned out for you,maybe any tips etc..?

This is the look I'm going for

 

[woodbrains]

Hello,

What sort of house do you own?

I would be concerned about the context of the beams in relationship to the architecture. I'd be very surprised that a home that would look good with exposed beams would not have them already. Putting them in a modern home, an Edwardian house, Victorian with high ceilings, anything with nice architraves and paneled doors, actually anything that is not cottagy, they are likely to look bloody awful.

I recently took some out, actually; someone elses inclusion in my quite modest Victorian house. They looked terrible.

Examine the photo you posted, that space is massive enough to carry it off. Unless you have that sort of space, expect the ceiling to look visually lower and repressive. Only you know your home, but my reaction to the idea would be leave well alone. You can introduce detail into a room with plaster cornices, ceiling roses and picture rails. Of course these will look awful in a cottage! A bold architectural statement like exposed beams is something that needs very careful consideration.

Mike.

 

[ColeyS1]

Champfer the edges with a flappy disc in an angle grinder. Choose a course grit, turn it on, angled to 45 degrees and just drag it from one end to the other. Do that 3 or 4 times depending how big you'd like the champfer. It should look uneven and random than trying to do it with a 45 degree router cutter.
Coley

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[MrDavidRoberts]

Hello,

What sort of house do you own?

I would be concerned about the context of the beams in relationship to the architecture. I'd be very surprised that a home that would look good with exposed beams would not have them already. Putting them in a modern home, an Edwardian house, Victorian with high ceilings, anything with nice architraves and paneled doors, actually anything that is not cottagy, they are likely to look bloody awful.

I recently took some out, actually; someone elses inclusion in my quite modest Victorian house. They looked terrible.

Examine the photo you posted, that space is massive enough to carry it off. Unless you have that sort of space, expect the ceiling to look visually lower and repressive. Only you know your home, but my reaction to the idea would be leave well alone. You can introduce detail into a room with plaster cornices, ceiling roses and picture rails. Of course these will look awful in a cottage! A bold architectural statement like exposed beams is something that needs very careful consideration.

Mike.

The house is not exactly a cottage , however is a standard cookie-cutter house built around 1950 however the rest of the style would fit right in to it as it's more or less the same. I have to agree they would look just plain weird in one of those cheap newbuilds everyone got or in a victorian house which already has crazy styling. The cottage look is exactly what I'm going for..
Well everyone can always dream for a bigger kitchen, however at 16m2 it's ok'ish I think,but certainly not as huge as in those pictures.

 

[MrDavidRoberts]

Champfer the edges with a flappy disc in an angle grinder. Choose a course grit, turn it on, angled to 45 degrees and just drag it from one end to the other. Do that 3 or 4 times depending how big you'd like the champfer. It should look uneven and random than trying to do it with a 45 degree router cutter.
Coley

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Thanks that sounds cool, I was going to rough the edges up with a handplane, but that sounds even better.

 

[adidat]

I live in a Barn that was converted by my grandad about 20 years ago. He used concrete beams across the ceiling to support the 1st floor.

I've always considered wrapping these in pine as they look pretty ugly, another idea was to board over them so i could install down lights and ceiling speakers....

one day....

Adidat

 

[ColeyS1]

No harm in trying it. The flappy disc idea, you literally walk at normal speed with the grinder in tow.
Back in the day, the workshop foreman would get me to do it on a spindle moulder with a rebate block set at 45 degrees. Instead of keeping it tight to the fence,you'd just keep pulling it off a bit so it was wobbly- it looked cack!!!
Flappy disc is definitely the most pleasing option I've come across so far [WINKING FACE]
Having a tongue and groove might make gluing/locating the boards easier.

Coley

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[bugbear]

I've been in more than one pub with fake beams applied to the wall, to try and look like you're in a timber framed building.

Without exception, they all looked terrible. You could even see behind some of the "beams", which were of course
just tacked on planks.

BugBear

 

[Terry - Somerset]

You also need to think about installation - a (say) 6" x 6" oak beam weighs in at 40 - 50 lb per cu ft. Total weight of beam for a 13 ft run would be in the order of 150 lb - you would need three or four people to lift it into position even if it was then supported by props for fixing.

Softwood would be somewhat lighter. GRP or replica beams could be much lighter still. I won't comment on the aesthetics save to say it would not be my choice.

 

[pip1954]

Hi David I have fitted some false beams some time ago they are easy to fit but need to be cut exact length and pushed up tight to the wall or ceiling you can get different sizes and people could not tell what they where a lot of people thought they where real timber.
You can stick them up or fix over timber screwed to wall.
I think they are easy to use good luck
Pip

 

[graduate_owner]

I agree that new timber that has been 'hacked away a bit' can look really awful, and can look like just what it is - new timber that has been mangled. If you intend doing this, do not just take a plane or whatever and make random 45 degree passes along the length.
That usually looks the worst of all. On a positive note, if you have a wood yard nearby that actually processes trees ( fencing suppliers etc) then you may be able to get the outer edges that they cut off. Our yard sells these in 8 or 12 ft lengths and they are seriously
waney edged so could be nailed on to the un- distressed surfaces of the beams.

K

 

[graduate_owner]

I agree that new timber that has been 'hacked away a bit' can look really awful, and can look like just what it is - new timber that has been mangled. If you intend doing this, do not just take a plane or whatever and make random 45 degree passes along the length.
That usually looks the worst of all. On a positive note, if you have a wood yard nearby that actually processes trees ( fencing suppliers etc) then you may be able to get the outer edges that they cut off. Our yard sells these in 8 or 12 ft lengths and they are seriously
waney edged so could be nailed on to the un- distressed surfaces of the beams.

K

 

[MrDavidRoberts]

Well I installed 4 beams in 1 room where they will actually hold a structural purpose and were actually needed (well at least 3 of them), these new beams I installed actually were 1.5x thicker and same height as the floor joists of this house, that's matchbox houses for you...

Took way way longer than I expected, 2.5 full days for 2 of us just to properly install/prepare everything and wire up new lights.
+now need to skim everything and stain the beams.
I took a hand plane to edges and made them look a bit more rustic by roughing up the edges in random patterns.
I like the look of them already now even if it's unfinished, however I'm not really sure If I will do them in the kitchen as well just because of the insane amounts of work involved to do them properly and completely redoing all your ceiling...

I can now see why there are fake beams made from foam on market which takes just minutes to install.

 

[ColeyS1]

Looks like a really tidy job, even if it did take a little longer than expected [WINKING FACE]
Coley

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