Faux beams can help you get a rustic look while keeping your home's modern insulation efficiency.
Covering a roof's lower beams with acoustic paneling may help to thermally insulate the room, but it does little for the room's style or character. Faux ceiling beams (also known as coffered ceiling beams) may be just the ticket if you want to add a little old-world charm to a space but don't want to rip out the ceiling and insulation. Building and mounting the beams requires a few specialty tools and an above-average level of skill, but it is fairly simple once you have the process down.
Instructions
1. Purchase the straightest and most flaw-free pieces of 1/2-inch-thick lumber that you can find. Get lumber that is 1/2-inch wider than the beams you desire. Use your table saw to shave 1/4 inch off either side of your lumber to ensure that the sides are perfectly straight. Run a belt sander or planer over one side of your lumber to remove any bending or waviness.
2. Use either an angle-cutting attachment on your table saw or a router with a side guide and beveling bit to cut a 45-degree bevel along both sides of the entire length of your lumber. Run a piece of 300-grit sandpaper along the sharp edge of your bevels to remove any imperfections in the edge.
3. Lay one of your beveled lengths on a table with the beveled edges facing up; this will form the bottom of your beam. Apply a very thin bead of construction adhesive to one of the bottom's bevels, and fit another beveled piece to form one side. Clamp the two together with a number of 90-degree angle clamps and allow the glue to set up. Repeat this procedure on the other side to create a hollow, U-shaped beam.
4. Run a piece of 80-grit sandpaper over the corners of to smooth and blend it. You could also use a belt sander or hand-held orbital sander to remove more of the corner to create an exterior bevel. Do not remove more than 1/8 inch of material from the corner, or you'll compromise the beam's structural integrity.
5. Use a finger to press a small amount of stainable wood filler into the seams between your bottom and sides. Allow the filler to dry and sand the seams smooth with 180-grit sandpaper. Next, sand the entire beam with 300-grit sandpaper. You may wish to use a planer or a belt sander to remove any waviness from the bottom or sides.
6. Make a number of reference marks along two opposite edges of your ceiling, and another set of marks along the middle. Connect them with a chalk snap string to mark the ceiling. The resulting lines represent your beam center lines, and determine the spacing between the beams. Beam spacing is equal to the distance between your center lines minus the outside width of the beam. Measure the length of your reference lines from wall to wall.
7. Cut the beam to the measured reference line length with a table saw or circular saw. Sand the cut edge with 300-grit sandpaper, and stain the beam to the desired shade. Coat it with polyurethane and allow it to dry.
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