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Faux Pine Beams in Basement Media Room

burrhead212 | Posted in Construction Techniques on October 31, 2011 01:25am

I am planning on putting some fake wood beams (coffered ceiling) in my family (media) room.  I am thinking of using 1×10 and 1×8 pine planks for building the boxes (7″x9″) and rabbiting the joints for a clean squared off look.  I’m interested in getting some input because I’m a little concerned about the wood expanding and contracting.  Would I be better off using a verneer plywood and taping the edges (I think the joint would be more noticable). Or is there another way to go about this?  I should mention that I live in the mountians and don’t get a lot of seasonal humidity changes.  Yes… I will be running speaker wires and power wires for lights.

Thanks.

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  1. KDESIGN | Oct 31, 2011 02:40pm | #1

    I assume you will leave the wood looking natural.  In any case, you should not have any trouble with seasonal expansion and contraction if you use vertical grain boards.   That would also be called quarter-sawn lumber.  Generally you get this grain configuration with clear lumber. 

    With vertical grain, you get little or no expansion and contraction across the width of the board.  Instead, it occurs across the thickness.  And because that is such a short dimention, the movement is negligible.  I doubt you could even measure it.

    Perhaps, more importantly, the expansion and contraction with vertical grain lumber does not induce any cupping or the stress that causes cupping and can also cause splitting. 

    It pays to look at the wood before you buy it.  Ideally, the clear pine with vertical grain would have as fine of a grain as possible, coming from larger trees. 

    Another wood that you might consider is vertical grain clear douglas fir.  In boards wider than 4", that material can be very fine grain, and straight grain.  It has a richer, redder look than pine. 

    1. burrhead212 | Nov 01, 2011 10:19pm | #5

      Faux Pine beams in basement media room

      Thanks for the feedback!  I was a little concerned about the cupping as well.  I'm thinking if I add some internal structure (and lots of glue) it will help reduce the chances of any cupping.  Fir would look good too...

  2. DanH | Oct 31, 2011 10:48pm | #2

    Basically, if the "beams"

    Basically, if the "beams" have no internal framing or whatever that would prevent the wood from moving where it wants, your standard U-shaped dummy beam can expand and contract quite a bit without compromising the joints -- it's flexible enough that it won't matter that the opening of the "U" is locked in place..  Your only real worry is cupping, and you can reduce that risk by putting the same finish on both sides of the wood.

    1. burrhead212 | Nov 01, 2011 10:30pm | #6

      Beam structure

      Great point on finishing the beam on both sides to help prevent cupping.  I was thinking of leaving small gaps hidden in the beam intersections on the vertical sides of the boxes to allow for some expansion/contraction.  As well I may add some "ribs" to fill the insides of the boxes to help maintain the shape and attach it to the ceiling.

  3. AZFauxBeams | Nov 01, 2011 03:57pm | #3

    Faux Pine Beams

    You might consider the faux molded foam alternative. The material is made in one piece with no seams and has minial movement. There are different textures availible to fit the "feel" you are trying to acheive. Take a look at the Old TImber and Sandblasted styles and see if that is a viable option for you. They are "U" shaped so you can run wiring, etc through them.

    Regards.

    1. burrhead212 | Nov 01, 2011 10:11pm | #4

      Foam Beams

      Thanks for the suggestion but my gut tells me to stick to real wood!

      1. slykarma | Nov 02, 2011 09:27am | #7

        If you like the look of wood, then use wood. Many of my clients have been given that line.

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