If you love the look of exposed beam ceilings but cannot afford to purchase pre-made beams, you can make your own out of wood boards. This will produce thinner strips of wood that can be nailed up to your existing ceiling to give it that exposed beam look. This is an economical take on an expensive project and just about anyone can do it. The total time for this project is around two to five hours, depending on how large your ceiling is and how many boards you will need.
Instructions
1. Measure the width and length of the ceiling. Once you have this figure, decide how far apart you want your beams to be. This will help you determine how many beams to cut from the boards. For example, if the ceiling is 96 inches wide, and you want your beams spaced 6 inches apart, you would need 16 total beams.
2. Trace out the size for each beam from the board of wood. Measure out the width of the desired beam and make a mark at the top of the board with a pencil. Use a straight edge, and trace the line to the bottom of the board. Leave at least a half inch of space between your cut marks to account for user error.
3. Trim the beams out of the wood board with a circular saw. Line up your cut mark with the saw blade. Put the blade guard down and turn the saw on. Feed the board through the saw. Once you're finished with the first piece, continue until all of the beams have been cut from the boards.
4. Sand the wood beams with a fine-grit sanding block. The surface should be smooth to the touch.
5. Stain the wood beams the desired color. Brush on the wood stain, going with the grain of the wood. Let this dry for four hours. Sand the surface lightly.
6. Coat the beams with a clear coat of polyurethane. For a regular finish, apply one coat. For a glossy appearance, sand in between coats and apply at least two coats of polyurethane. Wait for four hours for each coat to dry before adding a new coat. Let the last coat dry for six to eight hours before hanging the beams on the ceiling.
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