Funky Junk Interiors

Unless you’re new here, you’ll already be aware of my most recent master bathroom makeover.

One of the main features in the master bathroom was the planked ceiling.

Planked ceilings are gorgeous! I mean, I’d welcome this crisp, clean, timeless look for every ceiling in my own home! But I desired to start with one to check things out. So here’s how to plank a bathroom ceiling… my way.

Planked ceilings actually aren’t new to this old house. This beauty resides downstairs in my photo studio. When I moved in, there WAS no ceiling, just a jumble of wires. The planks finished it off beautifully! But at the time with no skills (and no guts), I had the install done for me.

If you look really close, you’ll note some separations. I did not paint the boards before they went up and I did not crack fill anything after they went up. So using that as a guide to do better, here’s what I did this round.

How to plank a bathroom ceiling

 

You’ll need:

wood planks

1 x 4 for the crown moulding

primer and paint

paint brush and roller

miter saw

rubber mallet

chunk of wood

sander

wood filler and caulking

nail gun and nails (I used 1 ¾”)

measuring tape

pencil

ladder

hammer and one big nail

exacto knife

lots and lots of room for painting

someone to make dinner for you

and well behaved kitties! (paint was dry at this point)

1. Prime and paint your planks with a brush. 

> Planks

I picked up some thin, pine tongue and groove planks in a bundle from Home Depot.

> Paint

Prime and paint the planks and tongue and groove edges with a quality brush (for those that don’t like orange peel texture)

* Julie via Follow Your Heart Woodworking has suggested to shellac wood knots in case they bleed through. Good idea! I’ve never had this issue, but it’s worth mentioning.

> Paint tip / add white to white

I used a tip from Makely School for Girls, called Lindsay White. 🙂 Lindsay describes it best, but she says if you add a little colour to your paint, even the same colour, your coverage will be less opaque and cover better.  She was right! 

2. Ungunk the tongues and grooves.

You’ll end up with a little bit of paint buildup where the wood needs to fit together. Run an exacto knife  along each painted edge to remove the gunk.

3. Find the ceiling joists.

You’ll need to locate the ceiling joists (and they way they run) so you have something to nail the boards to. I totally lucked out in that the joists ran the opposite way my planks were to go down. If they ran the same direction, I would have either had to add wood strips to the ceiling first, or change my plank direction. 

> How to check for ceiling joists

Pound a big nail into the ceiling with a hammer until you find one. Then measure 12 – 16″ away from it to find the next one.

4. Cut boards to right length, then nail into ceiling.

Placing the narrow side of the board towards the wall and the slot towards you, nail in your first plank.

See how I drew a couple of lines to guide my way while I nailed in boards?

Also note, I chose to only use planks that ran the entire width of the room to avoid joins. You’ll waste more wood this way, but I plan to use the cut offs for future projects anyway so it’s all good here. If you join your wood with joins, just make sure you stagger them.

> Where to nail

Place two nails on each joist and one or two nails on each end. There are joists of some kind there too.

> How to join the tongue and groove

Once your first piece is in place, dry fit your next piece to check for fit. If it won’t willingly slip into place (which 99.9% of them won’t), place a small chunk of wood against the board, then tap with a hammer or rubber mallet until the board is in place.

Some will fit. Some won’t fit. Rather than fight the ones that didn’t, I just nailed them in place anyway and continued, resonating that filler would take care of the gaps. I was right.

> Measure periodically for staying square.

> Working around obstacles

Wall jogs, ceiling fans or light fixtures may be in your future. Measure areas against the walls, then pencil onto your cut to size boards. To trim, I clamped the wood into a workmate, then cut with a jigsaw.

See all those nail holes? Those are times I thought I was missing a joist, but my gun just ran out of nails!  

It’s all good. A little humour will help get you through this… crack fill will become your best friend is  all.

5. Fill in holes and cracks with filler and caulk.

You’re going to be left with some gaps in between wood slats as well as nail holes, so filling them in will improve the finish. Dramatically.

Fill nail head holes with filler (I like the feather weight spackling), then sand. Caulk in between boards where ever there’s a gap.


> Caulk tip / Cut the opening on an angle, and make sure it’s small.

I learned this little tip from a pro moulding guy, so heed this advice because it’s golden. This gives you totally control over how it goes on. Do NOT cut that hole too big or you’ll have a real mess to contend with.

Lay it on, release the nail gun pressure, then wet your finger, and run it along the fresh caulk. Follow up with a wet rag. Keep your fingers, caulk tip and caulked areas spotless, and you’ll have perfect lines and very little clean up afterwards.

After you’re done, stab a nail or screw into the opening so it doesn’t dry out.

A separate post on this topic alone may be a good idea… the right way makes a world of difference.

Above – nail holes are filled, but caulking between slats is not done yet.

Ignore all the black rubber marks. Rookie move from the nail gun. 🙂


Above – nail holes filled AND caulking done. Ready for touch up paint!

6. Spot prime, then repaint where needed.

I spot primed over the nail holes with a brush, then rolled the entire ceiling with finishing paint, following with brush strokes to remove the orange peel texture.

Crown moulding shown are 1 x 4s. Simple!

I am so thrilled with the outcome of this gorgeous ceiling! It’s pretty much flawless due to the prepainting and finishing done. Well worth the extra work!  I suggest to start with a smaller room to build some experience before tackling a bigger area. Especially if you’re doing it solo.

Other highlights to this series…

How to create a towel board and batten attic wall HERE

Salvaged Farmhouse Bathroom Makeover HERE


How to make a farmhouse window tutorial HERE

Visit all parts to Master Bathroom 2014 HERE