The joints will move, if you caulk they will crack. The paint alone will show small cracks and the grooves can look darker but cracked caulk looks worse.

When I painted mine, I caulked as many as I could stand before my arms fell off. Three years later, the areas where I caulked look much better than the areas where I didn't. Caulk should remain flexible and expand and contract with the wood.

Oh wait, excuse me, I read your question wrong. I did not caulk above the crown molding (I think it would be hard to get the caulk smooth there). I did caulk between the boards (just the ones that were actually between two boards, not the "fake" groove between the already connected boards).

Wow sailor girl, that is a lot of caulking. I don't plan on caulking between each board. I think I'm going to caulk the gap where the planks run parallel to the crown because that gap really bothers me. I'll leave the other for now, but if it bugs me, I may end up calking it too. Those dark holes up there draw my eye.

It's funny, I've been scouring the internet and have only found this question addressed on one discussion board, no blogs, and no how to websites.

Been doing renovations for 30 plus years, we always caulk both between the V-grooves and at the end joints. Prime first, sand, and caulk just prior to finish coat. (caulking doesn't sand well)
The picture is one we're working on right now, this is primer and caulk, before finish...

Are you guys using solid wood or mdf or plywood with veneer? I have had a time with mine moving because it is half inch solid wood but maybe it is just the install? It is actually installed as my backsplash, not ceiling and has been in for 3.5 years, looks fine in the summer but every winter the caulked areas crack.

athomeinva, we use both wood and mdf with good results on both. But you're right, mdf can be more stable than some species of wood. Do you know what type of wood was used? Were your boards back primed before installation? If not, this can lead to terrible expansive issues, as one side of the board will react differently than the other side.

Mine is solid wood, pine. After caulking all the crown molding and down the side, I decided I couldn't stand not having the holes at the ends. Dh is the one who didn't want it caulked. But I started caulking it anyway. Much better.

ctycdm, I love how it looks in your first picture. Is that 4"? Mine is 6" but with a v-groove down the center. Not what I wanted at all, but that's what dh bought and had it primed before I got to see it.

Is the crown molding at the top of the doorframe open on top or solid? If solid, how did you do that?

Thanks!

Here is is caulked on the left, uncaulked on right.
{{!gwi}}

Marti-looks much better caulked. Glad you took the extra time and effort to do it right.

This is an interesting thread for me as our carpenter is in the process of installing beadboard (tongue and groove hemlock) on all our ceilings.

So, if it's not caulked, will it look "wrong"? I have an old house and want the beadboard to look like it's always been there.

I think your caulked beadboard looks much better. What a tedious job though!

It's really not hard to caulk it. I just ran the caulk gun along the edge and pressed the trigger when I got to the holes. Then wet my finger and ran along it and pressed the back of my thumbnail in the triangle hole to make it flat and vertical.

Rosylady, it's probably not wrong either way, but the little holes up were noticeable to me. Looked like a good hiding place for spiders and I hate spiders.

However, when we do the living room ceiling, it will be stained wood and I guess we'll have to leave those little holes open.

ctycdm- Thanks for the input, yes they were back primed and I believe they are maple.
Marti8a- your ceilings look very nice!

Marti8a, I just noticed your questions...the first pic is 1x6 (3/4"x5-1/2") MDF that we have milled. It's about the same price as paint grade Poplar, but much more stable and uniform. No open grain, cracking, warping etc. The crown in this pic above the door is open, but we do a similar detail closed, by adding a cap piece which adds another small reveal. If you wanted it closed, without the extra detail, you could rip a triangular shaped wedge to fit in flush...

Thanks ctycdm. I wish we had done mdf instead of this, but dh wouldn't hear of it. There are so many knot holes and rough places to sand and fill in this.

I've seen that crown molding, but it looks like it will have to have something behind it to attach to, right?

wi-sailorgirl, I started caulking between the planks. Dh didn't want me too, so he will not be happy when he sees it, if he even notices. But the gap was such a dark line that I felt I had to, and it looks a lot better that way. Of course I had almost half of it painted with 2 coats before I decided to caulk one and see what it looked like. Ugh.

Finally finished with it. Dh was NOT happy when he saw that I caulked between the planks too. I think it looks much better this way, and if it moves and cracks the caulk, I'll just recaulk.

{{!gwi}}

marti your ceiling looks really nice. Good job !