1x6 wood ceiling

[HoosierMark]

I have a 16x 20 room in my basement that I want to put a ceiling in. I want to have access to the floor joist for various reasons. I would like to create a T approximately every five feet about four inches below the joist. The bottom of the T would be a 1x4 or 1x6 and would act as a track similar to a suspended ceiling track. Then loose lay 1x6 x5’ t &g boards in the channels. Will this work? How long can a 1x6 span without sagging with no weight on it.
I am just looking for something different. I have also considered using corrugated metal or polycarbonate panels but like the idea of a stained ceiling. I realize the boards may shrink but if I stain the tongues first it should work out ok.
Anybody do something like this?

 

[LopezBart]

How long can a 1x6 span without sagging with no weight on it.

It will always sag, because it's not infinitely stiff. The question is how much will it sag and how much do you care. What species of wood will you use? Once you know that, you can lookup density and E (Young's Modulus) and plug it into a beam calculator. Or you could buy a sample and try it out - one test is sometimes worth 1000 expert opinions. My gut says it will work just fine w/ pine or fir.

 

[thool]

Why not a drop ceiling? I used tegular panels, which have recesses where they lay against the grid, so it has some "texture" to it. I can access the utilities by sliding a panel to the side.

 

[wssix99]

Anybody do something like this?

You haven't seen houses like this because:
- Putting flammable materials on the ceiling (where heat raises to) is generally a really dangerous thing. (Especially in a living space. Drywall and plaster are reasonably fire-resistant.)
- Hard surfaces on multiple surfaces would turn the space into an echo chamber. (Wood isn't the worst thing to have on the ceiling and walls for this, but it isn't the best, either.)

If you want the look of wood, you can get special wooden acoustic panels that use veneers and a slat arrangement to deal with these concerns.



Suspended ceilings are also not what they used to be. There are a lot of decorative options out there. I've also always wanted to try a Sky Ceiling for an application like this:

 

[The Cobbler]

loose lay 1x6 x5’ t &g boards

it will be difficult to get the T&G together . I would probably do a ship lap where one board basically lays on top of the other, but flush ( if that makes sense)
be prepared for frustration, as the boards will all warp & twist differently and might not look too great

 

[Beemer]

I did my sunroom ceiling using 1x4 T &G red cedar boards, all blind nailed except where trimmed at the edges.
No stain or poly, just natural and looks great after 20 plus years. Oh, and no shrinkage or movement but I attached to all ceiling joists.

 

[billconner]

I just installed a 1x6 t&g ceiling. The manufacturer - Johnson Pine - recommended not exceeding 16" on center. I think I might have been ok up to 24", but not much more.

 

[Old Moparz]

I would use screws in the t&g boards & be done with it. If you need to remove the boards just remove the screws.

 

[HoosierMark]

Thanks for the advice. I think I probably will go with a suspended ceiling and better quality tiles. I just like access to under floor plumbing and running wires. As usual my simple idea sounded great but was not so good.

 

[The Cobbler]

I would use screws in the t&g boards & be done with it. If you need to remove the boards just remove the screws.

and cut the tongue off and on & on.

 

[Old Moparz]

and cut the tongue off and on & on.

Why would you cut it?

I installed a t&g ceiling on my front porch using small, stainless screws angled in at the tongue. I doubt I would need to remove the ceiling for anything but I could very easily if I had to & not damage anything.

 

[strutaeng]

For appearance only, right? No weight on top? 1x should be able to span 4' with minimal sag, especially for multiple span conditions, like a 12' board supported at the edges and 2 intermediate supports. You get additional stiffness from the redundancy of the multiple span condition. And basically just self weight.

I did a roof overbuild to part of my house. Supports are 48" on center and I used 23/32" plywood. For roof loading, I feels stiffer walking up there than the standard 7/16" spanning 24".

 

[The Cobbler]

Why would you cut it?

I installed a t&g ceiling on my front porch using small, stainless screws angled in at the tongue. I doubt I would need to remove the ceiling for anything but I could very easily if I had to & not damage anything.

you said " if you need to remove the boards, just remove the screws.
I was replying to that, and as you k now,you cannot take a T&G board out of the middle by removing the fasteners alone. and that was a prerequisite of the OP

 

[Old Moparz]

you said " if you need to remove the boards, just remove the screws.
I was replying to that, and as you k now,you cannot take a T&G board out of the middle by removing the fasteners alone. and that was a prerequisite of the OP

Okay, I see what you mean. My solution for that would be to do it in sections like every 5 or 6 boards with a piece of wood as a divider. He already mentioned that he was content with a piece of wood holding up the ends so this wouldn't be much different.