Installing 3/8" T&G Cedar on Ceiling

[John Critchlow]

I have a large screened in porch that has exposed rafters. I saw some nice looking 3/8" thick cedar tongue and groove stock available a Lowe's the other day. It is 3.5" wide and comes in 8' lengths.

The question I have is how to install this. The area I need to cover is about 300 square feet. I was considering the porter cable combo kit that comes with the brad nailer and finish nailer. But if I understand it correctly these nails have very small heads. So given that the cedar is only 3/8" thick, I wonder if I will run into problems with this approach. Will the nails hold it up properly? Will they just punch through?

Doing this by hand on a ceiling is pretty imtimidating too.

Has anyone tried this?

John

[Frank Pellow]

I have a large screened in porch that has exposed rafters. I saw some nice looking 3/8" thick cedar tongue and groove stock available a Lowe's the other day. It is 3.5" wide and comes in 8' lengths.

The question I have is how to install this. The area I need to cover is about 300 square feet. I was considering the porter cable combo kit that comes with the brad nailer and finish nailer. But if I understand it correctly these nails have very small heads. So given that the cedar is only 3/8" thick, I wonder if I will run into problems with this approach. Will the nails hold it up properly? Will they just punch through?

Doing this by hand on a ceiling is pretty imtimidating too.

Has anyone tried this?

John
I have done it for an area about half as big as yours and I did it by nailing 1.25 inch spiral finishing nails at the place where the tongue meets the rest of the board. I drove them in at an angle by hand then I coutersunk them a bit with a nailset (again by hand). It took a while, but I am glad that I did it that way.

[Andy London]

I did my shop ceiling using a 16ga, I think a brad would be a little light for the task, but then again I was using 3/4" t & G pine.....sure goes fast.

Andy

[Rod Torgeson]

John....I installed T & G Cedar(5/8 inch thick and 3.5 inches wide) in my master bedroom and used a finish nailer with 2 inch nails(16 ga). It went very well. I also did my living room/dining and kitchen area using the same method. The difference here was that I used pine. One thing you might think about is to put on the finish before you put up the boards. I put three coats of water based poly on all the boards before I put them up. You might check with a local lumber place to see if you can get the thicker material, it might be cheaper. Hope this helps.

[Jeff Sudmeier]

John,

WELCOME! to Saw Mill Creek! You have joined a great forum! I hope that you enjoy your time here.

I recently did about 600 Sq Feet of cedar on a ceiling. What we did was to nail through the tonge and two places in the face. We just didn't think one nail in each rafter holding the boards was enough. After nail filler and the height of the ceiling, you can barely tell where the nail holes are.

[John Critchlow]

Thanks for all of the feedback. This helps.

I had one person comment to me that I should put up plywood first. Is this required? Also, would it be a good idea to use some construction adhesive?

By the way, Applying the finish before hand is a good suggestion. The porch is Post and Beam on the inside with Fir. I have been using Penofin to seal the wood. I was thinking I may go this way for the ceiling to match the color. It contains rosewood oil for a wood preservative.

Thanks,

John

[Walt Pater]

John, Plywood would help straighten out the little dips, etc. which occur in roof framing, but it is not necessary, and a MASSIVE pain in the neck to schlep up onto a ceiling. I would not use glue. What's the pitch of the roof/ceiling? You could use an 2" 18ga brad nailer, given that cedar is fairly light. Prefinishing the boards is a really, really good idea, as is backpriming. Good luck

[Dennis McDonaugh]

John. I used an 18 guage brad nailer to put up 3/8 T&G on the ceilings in my house. I put it up over sheetrock so I had to use furring strips and its been up four years with no problems. I nailed into the tongue and covered them with the grooves.

[John Critchlow]

Walt,

Perhaps a picture will best show the situation.

John