While Eli and my dad were manning the installation of our wool ceiling insulation, my mom and I were prepping the boards that would cover the insulation and finish our ceiling. We used the same boards for the ceiling that we used for the walls, but for the ceiling we went natural finish sans white wash. We did, of course, still have the layer of paint on the back of the boards, and the three layers of polycrylic on the board faces.
Since none of the boards were the full 24-foot length of the house, we had to decide where to “break” the boards over that length. Instead of staggering the location of the break, we decided to make the break at the same length on all rows of boards. This way we could cover the seam with trim. A big part of this decision was that the seam, even when trimmed, will be under the area where we’ll have a shelving unit to “wall-in” the bedroom loft, so it will be even less noticeable. We thought this strategy would make working with the boards easier because we wouldn’t have super long boards to wrestle with. Our miter saw also seemed uninterested in making a straight and clean 45 degree angle cut (despite Eli’s multiple attempts at adjusting it and adjusting it and bouts of internet research on what the problem might be. It seems something is off with how it was manufactured – argh – and we’re not buying another miter saw). So, the trim would hide that.
Just like she did last year on the windows, my mom offered to do the “painting” of the layers of sealant on the boards. So, I would find nice boards and cut them to length, then pass them to my mom for sealing the back side. Then, they’d come back to me for the sanding, then back to my mom for the initial coats of the polycrylic on the fronts. Mom was such a trooper! I know from experience how tedious doing the polycrylic application can be – we are forever in her debt for all the coats she applied! As the final stage of the board prep, I had the honor of doing the final finish coat of polycyrlic on the boards.
We did get some assistance from my dad and Eli with the cutting and sanding of the boards after they finished up the insulation install.
We focused on the long 14-foot boards first that would span our living room area. Once we had a few of these finished and dried, Eli, my dad, and I jumped right into to get them installed (while my mom kept working away sealing more and more!). It was soooo great to have my dad’s help for the 14-foot boards. That’s a long span when working over your head with gravity working against you for only two people to try to hold up on each end. It was way easier to have my dad in the middle helping get the board aligned and holding it in place. Wish we could have had his help for installing all the boards!! But, we were happy for the time he was there to assist!! Unfortunately, as we were all working away, I didn’t get any photos of us in the midst of installing the boards. So, just some pics of the boards in place.
In the midst of ceiling installation, I decided to get some new PPE (personal protective equipment). I wanted a nicer pair of safety ear muffs and safety glasses, so went back to my internet searching! What I really wanted were safety glasses with arms that were thin enough to fit smoothly under my ear muffs. I was tired of the muffs uncomfortably pressing on my safety glasses and the glasses arms preventing my muffs from getting a good seal. I was ecstatic when I came across the Pro For Sho Safety Glasses. These bad boys are bomber! They’re amazingly comfortable, even under ear muffs. I just walk around with my glasses and muffs on all the time. As I mentioned in my last post, I liked wearing safety glasses when working overhead around the wool insulation just to keep any wool fibers out of my eyes. Since my new Pro For Sho glasses were so comfortable, I just left them on constantly.
The rest of the ceiling — to be continued!
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