Hand Hewn Antique Beams on Ceiling - Yes or No?
TXBluebonnet11
10 years ago
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TXBluebonnet11
10 years agoRelated Discussions
I need an opinion about exposed beams vs. not exposed beams
Comments (9)You wrote: "the ones going across the old ceiling (vs. yanking them out), " What you wrote stood my hair on end! It is very likely you can not remove the horizontal timbers without your house's structure being compromised. Those beams are most likely doing a whole lot more than just supporting the ceiling and the attic floor. They are connecting the sides of your house. Before you even think of this, please hire an architect or structural engineer to assess it. Given the age of your house (1840) and location it seems highly likely your house is a timberframe structure. Those horizontal beams are ESSENTIAL in timberframe houses! The lower ceilings in older houses are one the characteristics of the style. You can expose the beams, but not remove them. After they are exposed you could cover them, but it would be a lot of work. In buildings the age of yours they might be hand hewn, and attractive, but rough. Many people find the old timber look very appealing as they shown the hand-made nature of the structure. The other issue is that once you have a room with such a tall ceiling (going up to the roof rafters) you will kake it very hard to keep warm at "ground level" as all your heated air will go up, far above your head. Even with good roof insulation (can be done, but does present some other technical issues) keeping warm downstairs will be a challenge, unless you have something like radiant heat in the floor. When the house was built, and every bit of heat was from logs cut, hauled, split, stacked and loaded, by the occupants they knew that lower ceilings were warmer than soaring spaces. MOlly...See Morerefinishing unpainted beam ceilings
Comments (6)Hi No..They are in good condition, but they have 142 years worth of dust on them :) I think I definitely need to sand them to remove a lot of the grit, then dry vac them. The room they are in isn't the brightest room in the house, so the dark wood really sucks the light. From the floor to the lowest point of the beam is only 95" also. I gain 10 more inches leaving them exposed. I'd really hate to have to cover them, but I can't think of what I need to do to get them nice looking again....See MoreGreat source for antique beams and flooring
Comments (2)bella - wait until you see my antique oak beam! I've been sneaking out to the garage to look at it before and after work. This company was also the most reasonably priced for antique beams. My oak beam was half as much as I was quoted for a fir beam by another local supplier....See MoreDark ceiling beams
Comments (18)Sanding the dark beams and rafters is not worth the monumental effort (in my opinion) and may not even give you the clean end-product raw wood that you want. Are you sure it is paint and not dark penetrating stain? And are you sure the beam and rafters are redwood and not Douglas fir? A supporting beam of that size is usually Douglas fir. Additionally, in the process of sanding, you are likely to mess up the ceiling -- big time. I think you should leave that ceiling as is and match the new beam and posts to the existing beam. And the ceiling beyond should match the color of the neighboring existing ceiling. Don't worry about the dark beams/rafters not matching the hearth. What is the style of your house? If you are dead set about wanting the lighter color for the rafters, beams, and posts, then I think it would be a lot easier to just sheathe the existing beam and rafters with a thin (like 1/4 inch) "veneer" of wood that you can then stain whatever color you want. I've seen this done on "This Old House" and a skilled finish carpenter should be able to do that so that it looks perfect. This may be what you are referring to as "fake beams." It will probably have to be done using Douglas Fir because long redwood boards to accomplish the sheathing are almost impossible to get, and are very expensive if you can even get them. Your new beam will likely have to be Douglas fir (or possibly even steel which you can then sheathe with wood). A lighter stain like you want would be doable on good quality Douglas fir. A structural engineer will specify the type and size of the beams and posts to carry the load....See Morempwdmom
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