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Cedar 2x6 decking for exposed vaulted ceiling

Cedar 2x6 decking for exposed vaulted ceiling


  #1  
Old 06-25-18, 02:20 PM
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Cedar 2x6 decking for exposed vaulted ceiling

I have a ton of 2x6 cedar lumber. This is really nice stuff with beveled edges and grooves on the underneath to prevent cupping. The lumber is not T&G.

Would it be a acceptable application to use this material to make a cedar exposed vaulted ceiling. The trusses are 24” ok and I would fasten the 2x6’s to the trusses and cover the seams with a faux beam.

I am worried about the wood shrinking and gaps appearing between the boards.

What do you think?
 
  #2  
Old 06-25-18, 02:26 PM
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The ceiling would need to be drywalled and be fire taped first, but what you put on it after that is up to you.
 
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Old 06-25-18, 03:58 PM
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Yes understood mainly wanting to know if dimensional lumber with no interlocking can be used of if it will shrink too much and create unsightly gaps between the boards. It would be on a vaulted ceiling application
 
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Old 06-25-18, 04:13 PM
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It's possible it will shrink if it's wet. The main thing is possible cupping and twisting. Without tongue and groove it may not lay completely flat over time. That's why ceilings are normally tongue and groove in the first place.

One idea would be to saw or router your pieces to create a shiplap edge. Better than nothing.
 
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Old 06-25-18, 04:23 PM
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What you have sounds like it was made for decking not a ceiling.
Yes there will be gaps showing along every long seam and at the butt joint with seasonal changes.
There's also the issue of how to attach it to the rafters.
There's going to be exposed screws or holes showing.
Most often a wooden ceiling like that can be done with with 3/8 or even 1/2 T & G and there are no exposed fasteners, no gaps at the joints.
 
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Old 06-25-18, 04:27 PM
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That’s a good idea I’ll router a shiplap groove and the faux beams every 4’ will hold down and hide the ends and hopefully prevent any twisting and cupping, thanks for the advise
 
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Old 06-25-18, 05:53 PM
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Just a really bad idea for many reasons.
Just to name a few, Faux beams will do nothing to stop to stop twisting or cupping,
Really need a shaper, not a router.
Just because you have the wood for free does not make it a good idea.
 
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Old 06-26-18, 03:11 AM
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If you don't route/fit the boards to eliminate any future gap, painting the drywall ceiling a dark color will prevent the white from highlighting those gaps if they occur.
 
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Old 06-26-18, 06:26 AM
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Originally Posted by xsleeper
...what you put on it after that is up to you.
A question from left field: Are trusses designed to support a certain maximum weight along the bottom (ceiling)? Cedar is a light wood but 2" thick will certainly weigh more than drywall--and that's in addition to required drywall. What's the span of each truss?
 
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Old 06-26-18, 07:41 AM
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That's kinda what I was thinking a 1.5" thick wood ceiling will be HEAVY, even in cedar. Probably more than the design load of the truss.

If the cedar is kiln dried it will not shrink or expand much once installed but you might see little gaps open in the winter. If it's air dried it might move quite a bit. One solution is to use a V-groove pair of router/shaper bits to machine the edges. Poor man's way of doing that is to set the bevel angle on your table saw to 10 degrees and rip each board into a parallelogram and overlap them, so when there is a gap between boards you can still only see the cedar because the gap opens at an angle to the viewer. Painting the ceiling substrate black/brown before you hang the wood will also make the gaps disappear.
 
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Old 06-26-18, 10:14 AM
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I don't recall seeing your climate mentioned. Vaulted ceilings in a cold climate can be a challenge to insulate.

Bud
 
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Old 06-27-18, 09:22 AM
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I seriously doubt that your structure could hold all the weight you are talking about installing. Save the 2x material for another job, and get tongue-groove in the thinnest dimension available. Even then I would be hesitant about adding that much extra weight over original framing specs without a TRUE professionals evaluation first. The risk you are talking about here is a possible devastating failure of the structure, which will NOT be covered by insurance since you did it yourself, and violated original design load-carrying specs.
 
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Old 06-27-18, 07:46 PM
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Agreed it’s just not the right material for the job. Will stick with T&G cedar
 
 

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