Beam cover

Al killian

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1,940
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Floydada, Tx
Well I just landed two side jobs. One will be easy just a simple closet shelf system and the other is a beam cover. There house is a prefabed thing.:rolleyes: Anyhow the center beam that connects the two halfs is coverd with drywall which they don't like. They want me to make a cover for it. So my plane is to remove the drywall on the one side so the wood will sit flush to the rest of the drywall. OK, that is the easy part.The part I m not sure about is the makeing a cover that is 17' long x 7.75" on three sides. My plans where to either use biskits or a locking miter joint to connect the three peices together. For the length I can only get 12', which is going to be a cahallnge inits self. I plan on makeing a miter joint on th faces and glue it. How would you do this? The transport is easy as it is just 1/2 mile down the road.
 
You want to cover ME???? Why?! :rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl:


If it were me, I wouldn't plan on building it then installing it. I'd plan on building it "in place" so to speak. Some kind of bevel would be my joint of choice, unless you can implement a lap joint into the look of it (like a reveal or overhang, or some kinda lip). I wouldn't rely on that joint to suspend the bottom piece alone, though. I would nail and maybe even glue the three boards onto the beam.

The reason I suggest doing it 'in place' instead is that you're surely going to have to scribe the two edges that meet with existing stuff. New or not, nothing's straight and you'll likely have to shape things to fit nicely. Also, this lets you account for any weird issues like a bow or sag or crook or some such crazy stuff in the beam itself.

As for the "boards are too short" issue, a "Scarf" joint is the way to go here. Find some really really closely matching stock and put the lowest angle you possibly can on their faces. I have trouble with this usually because my miter saw only goes to about 60 degrees and I'd like something tighter most of the time. But 60'd do in a pinch. The trick is to have good straight, square, and SMOOTH bevels on those ends that overlap. This way the seam is "spread" and made shallower.

Maybe stain and finish the boards first and then cut to fit on site?
 
My daughter's house has the same ceiling and I had often thought of doing the same thing... Here is what I thought about doing (If I ever get caught up on the other things that need doing)

Remove the other "Stuff" and attach a piece of 2X material like 2X6 or something, screwed tight to the center ridge and all the rafters. From it hang the "beam". It is so hard to hide the joining of the sides and bottom, it often looks better leave a reveal and a shadow line. attach the sides to the bottom with biscuits and leave no nail holes. On each end, devise a corbel or a bracket to accent and compliment the beam.
 

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Google " ceiling beams " . . .

One of my future plans is to put in fakes in my " library ". I had the artical on the shop computer but that one is no longer on line. I did find a site / article of building them that explain the math / method and building. It was pretty good. At least, I could understand it !:eek:
 
One of my future plans is to put in fakes in my " library ". I had the artical on the shop computer but that one is no longer on line. I did find a site / article of building them that explain the math / method and building. It was pretty good. At least, I could understand it !:eek:


Could youenlighten us with the site address? :dunno:
 
I have to do a similar thing with one of my sheds as the client wants the beams in a natural finish rather than paint :(

I was planning on using a mitre joint and pocket screws to hold the bottom to the sides. I considered a lock mitre joint but the accuracy required is beyond my capabilities. Oh and btw the beams I have to do are 14' long plus or minus a inch.
 
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