Faux wood is more affordable and easier to install than real timber.
Few building materials add more warmth and depth to an interior or exterior space than wood. However, using real wood for a home remodeling project can be expensive and impractical. An increasingly popular alternative is the use of faux wood wall paneling and ceiling beams. Molded directly from real timber in durable polyurethane, they capture all the characteristic imperfections of hand-hewn, sandblasted or rough-sawed timber. Depending on your remodeling needs, you can use faux wood in a variety of ways to achieve the look of real wood without the expense or inconvenience.
Instructions
1. Plan your home remodeling project. Where would you like to install faux wood, and how? Faux wood products are available as beams, panels, corbels, mantles, headers and more, and you can use them both outside and inside. Plan how you would like your project to look and start considering products with that plan in mind. You can find lots of ideas and installation tips on the Faux Wood Beams and Faux Panels websites.
2. Select the faux wood products that are right for your remodeling project. Manufacturers offer a variety of faux wood items. Choose products made from high-quality polyurethane as similarly priced soft EPS Styrofoam products simply aren't as good.
3. Choose whether to purchase your faux wood products finished or unfinished. Finished products are intricately detailed and colored to perfectly resemble real wood. You can stain and paint unfinished products to match existing wood, or to create a uniform wood color throughout your redesign project.
4. Install faux ceiling beams inside your home by measuring the length of ceiling you wish to cover. You can cut faux wooden beams to size with a regular wood saw; they are light enough to install on the ceiling with standard trim head screws. Because they are hollow, artificial wood beams are superior to real wood because you can seamlessly run electric wiring inside them, and easily add recessed lighting and other details.
5. Add faux wood beams, outlookers or rafter tails to the exterior of your home in a similar fashion. They give the appearance of structural wooden beams holding up the roof or floors, even though none exist within the structure of the building. You can add faux wood planking for a mock-Tudor design. Faux ceiling beams and products are 100 percent weatherproof and resistant to termites and rot, arguably making them superior to real wood. They are also much easier to install.
6. Use faux wood wall paneling on interior walls and ceilings. Faux wood panels attach easily to walls with PVA (polyvinyl acetate) construction adhesive and trim head screws, and are interlocking for a seamless appearance. Because faux wall paneling features an identical design, molded from real wood or timber, consider offsetting rows of panels by half a sheet for a more random and natural look.
7. Install faux wood paneling on exterior walls and siding in much the same way as you would do it inside. Faux wood panels are completely waterproof, weatherproof and resistant to termites, rot and other problems that affect real wood. For exterior applications, however, you should use color-matched caulking at the seam of each connecting panel for a completely waterproof seal.
8. Consider using faux wood products for other applications. You can purchase a fire-rated faux wood mantle as an easy-to-install alternative to a real wooden fireplace mantle. Also, you can easily cut faux wood beams to size with a standard wood saw to produce wooden trusses and other items.
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