T&G on ceiling

[auji]

Hello, I would like to put 1x8 T&G pine on a ceiling with rafters 16" in center.

Where on the board should I place the nail and what size nail should I use? Thinking of using a nail gun and placing the nail on the tung before fitting the next board over it. Is this the way to do it? What size nail should I use? Thinking of using 1 3/4" 18 gage nails.

With 16' boards the seam will stager ever 16', 12', 8' and 4'. Is there a better way to look at stagering the seam?

Thanks for the input.

[Mark]

Well I think most of your instincts are correct, but I think you'll find that 18 gauge nails will not have the holding power that you'll need if you have a board that doesn't want to cooperate........ and believe me, you'll have several if you're using 1x8x16's. I suggest you use at least a 16 gauge nailer (most of the straight nailers are 16) or better yet, a 15 gauge nailer (angled nailer). I would say 2" nails would be what you want to use.... even 2 1/2 believe it or not. You don't want them pulling out later when the wood shifts with humidity and temperature changes. And during installation, a lot of times you'll probably need to use a chisel, or some kind of pry bar to move a warped board into place so that it's tight when you nail it. When you do that, you need a strong nail to hold the board from popping out somewhere else from the tension you are applying, and also hold the place where the tension was.

Also, you should miter together your joints and make sure they break on a rafter like you said. If you don't miter them, you'll probably end up with a gap several months from now on each joint. Unless this is a real rustic setting, you probably don't want that.

So good luck with it.

Mark Ottman
Finish Carpenter 20 years