Replies

1. 
   Bruce | Mar 24, 2003 05:01am | #1

   Absolutely pre-finish your material; you'll be way ahead on the whole job.  You'll end up missing areas in the joints if you don't.  We used to do a bunch of ceilings, and chamfered the butt ends same as the long edges; made for a good look.  Wrap a rag around a stick to make a swab for finishing the ends as you go.

   Hint:  If your framing is on 16's, and you offset every succeeding course two bays from the last, you'll end up with a look that looks random, but uniformly random.

   A two-person team is good for this job ... one up with the nail gun, one on the floor over the saw (you can use the sliding compound saw for your end chamfers; no router needed).  The up guy should have a two colors of putty in those cute little plastic jars, one for the darker boards, one for the light, for those stubborn boards you just have to face nail.  Putty as you go, and you're done.

   If you're nailing to bare joists, and don't have a vapor barrier to worry about, beg, borrow, or buy a BoWrench with the T&G accessory.  It's a great tool for cranking in crooked boards.

   Find a common face width for your material; usually 5-1/8" for 1x6 material.  Measure your ceiling to establish a layout so you won't end with a goofy little rip.  Snap lines about every 4' parallel to the edge you're going to finish at, so you can adjust for parallel as you go.

   Good luck!

   Formerly BEMW at The High Desert Group LLC

2. 
   Bruce | Mar 24, 2003 05:05am | #2

   Oh yeah, the cost.  Depends on your market.  Five years ago, we could put them up (prefinishing not included; that was the painter's deal) for $2.50 a sq. ft.  That was just installation labor covering the two of us.

   Formerly BEMW at The High Desert Group LLC

1. 
   Piffin | Mar 24, 2003 07:10am | #3

   I was thinking closer to 3.10 L&M, unfinished but they should be finished first..

   Excellence is its own reward!

1. 
   Bruce | Mar 24, 2003 03:30pm | #4

   Yeah, who knows how things vary place to place.  We did a whole flock of these as trim subs.  Finished material supplied.  We cut 'em, finished the butts, and hung 'em.  At $2.50/sq. ($1.25 for each of us), we just paid our hourly rate, and I think we were pretty efficient at it.  And again, that's a rate I wouldn't quote if I was still doing it 5-6 years later.Formerly BEMW at The High Desert Group LLC