How to Cover Drywalled Ceiling

If you have an old drywall ceiling with cracks, seams and other problems but it is fairly flat, one way you can cover it up is with wood ceiling planks. A wood ceiling gives an old-fashioned warmth to any room, and can go over the existing surface, as long as that surface is solid. The boards link together in essentially the same way as floorboards, with tongue-and-groove milling on the sides.

Stud finder
Carpentry level
Tape measure
Pre-finished wood ceiling boards
Miter saw
Finish nail gun
Table saw

Instructions

- 1
  Find and mark each joist in the ceiling, using a stud finder. Run pencil lines across the ceiling to show the positions of each joist, using a level to keep the lines straight.
- 2
  Measure the edge of the ceiling where you're going to start, which must be one of the perpendicular edges to the joists. Use a miter saw to cut a piece of ceiling board to that length.
- 3
  Set the board to the ceiling, along the edge, with the grooved side of the board facing the wall. Leave 1/2 inch of space between the board and the wall to allow for wood expansion. Shoot two nails through the face of the board wherever it crosses a joist, using a finish nail gun.
- 4
  Cut the next board to size. Set its grooved edge against the tongue edge of the first board. Fit them tightly together. Shoot a nail through the edge of the board, at an inward angle, at each point where it crosses a joist.
- 5
  Repeat for each new board. Build across the whole ceiling.
- 6
  Use a table saw to cut the last board along its length, so it fits alongside the ending wall with a 1/2 inch of gap. Ceiling molding will cover the spaces.

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