How to Install Barn Wood on a Porch Ceiling

We added old barn wood to our front porch ceiling. Click HERE to see how we previously installed barn wood on our lakeside porch ceiling.

Below is a BEFORE picture of our front porch (before we installed barn wood on our ceiling).

Below is our front porch decorated for fall AFTER we installed the barn wood on the ceiling.

Step 1: Removed existing trim and crown moulding.

We used a flat bar and hammer to remove the moulding around the edge of the ceiling and the batten in the middle of the ceiling.

Step 2: Painted the ceiling black

We used imperfect wood (actual reclaimed barn wood from a demolished barn) which creates gaps between each wood plank. Hence, we painted the ceiling flat black so the gaps would be less obvious.

Step 3: Ripped and Squared Each Board

Because we used imperfect wood that was different widths and had rough edges, we used our DeWalt table saw to rip the edges of each board. If you are using multiple pieces of wood in the same row (as we did on our other porch ceiling), then you will need to rip all the boards to be the same width on each row.

We also used a square and our DeWalt circular saw to square the end of each board.

Daisy decided she wanted to be our supervisor. Oh, how we love Daisy!

Step 4: Nailed each board in place

It is essential to nail each board to the rafters. Rafters are typically 16 inches apart (covered by the Hardie board now painted black in the picture bel0w). We used a heavy-duty nail gun to nail each board in place.

We ripped the two final boards (on each side) to be the proper width to complete the ceiling.

The picture below shows the barn wood installed but is before we installed the crown moulding.

Step 5: Added crown moulding

Adding crown moulding was simple because our porch ceiling is a perfect rectangle. In other words, there are no major angles – – just four inside corners. Click HERE to learn how to install crown moulding.

Below is another AFTER picture of our front porch decorated for 4th of July.

Click HERE to see how we previously installed barn wood on our lakeside porch ceiling.

Let us know what you think or if you have any questions by posting below.