Ship Lap Ceiling Installed

Another day of inclement weather kept me inside. With more rain, cool temperatures and a bit of a breeze, yard work once again has been delayed. We did get in a couple of good days cleaning up weeds, planting tomatoes and other garden items, and getting perennials in. Today hubby and I  planned  to spray the stubborn weeds, like thistles and wild grasses, but that isn't happening.  Instead I thought I do a quick post to catch you up on ceiling's progress.

I hunkered down in the basement first thing this morning and in between loads of laundry to work on the ceiling of the 3rd level in the Blue Farmhouse. All of the ship lap is installed; now I have the trim and beams to put in.

In the music room/den, I began installation using hot glue.  Here are the advantages and disadvantages of hot glue:

• Advantages: Sets up quickly and permanently and stays in place.
• Disadvantages: Sets up quickly and permanently and stays in place.

As long as you know exactly where a piece of wood is going and that it fits properly, hot glue is the way to go, but mess up in placement and you have only seconds to remove the piece to reposition it. 

On the fourth row, I changed to a white craft glue because the pieces would be a tight fit against the wall and I wanted to be able to slide them in between the wall and the ceiling, which I could't do with hot glue. The white glue was okay. It does not set up immediately, so there is time to make adjustments in placement; whereas with the hot glue, such adjustments are not allowed. Once you have the wood in place, it is there to stay. White glue just takes forever to set up too, and sometimes doesn't give a tight bond.

I could have done a more accurate job of getting the craft sticks cut the same length, but since I am gluing the beams over the joints, I didn't think that it matters so much.

The hallway ceiling is a bit tricky because I want the ceiling beams evenly spaced at the end of the row of lap, but this room is just too narrow for such placement. It will have two beams anyway. I used a tacky glue with these pieces, hoping to get a better bond.  But I didn't. 

The ship lap ceiling is now fully installed. The trim has all been cut and taped in for a final fit. I have decided to do a white wash using craft paint thinned down with water and maybe lightly sand afterwards. I want to keep the ceiling light and airy. The beams are all measured ready to be cut on the scroll saw. I will install them before I paint.

My work doesn't always please me because I don't feel that I am very good at being precise, especially measuring and cutting. I am getting very good at covering up those imperfections, however. And at the same time, if we were to see behind the scenes of how our own homes were built we'd see where the mistakes were cleverly (or not so) hidden. Renovations are very hard to do, especially when the original builder didn't do things right. So I am hoping that once I get the beams in, I will like the results. 

I am wanting to get this old house finished; there is still so much work to do. Next week I will get the granddaughters started on their house. They are 9, 7, and soon to be 4. Now won't that be an adventure? I hope that I am up for it. 

I'd like to welcome Susan from Susan's Mini Homes to my Dollhouse Dreams. I know that I will enjoy visiting her, too.  I am discovering that dollhouse bloggers aren't as fervent bloggers as are my gardening blog friends who blog weekly or even much more often. The dollhouse bloggers have huge followings, too, and I have decided that as I do, they blog when they have a project to share. So I am trying to post more often to generate some more interest and I am trying to get around to visit other dollhouse bloggers, hoping to learn from them and make friends along the way.

The sun is popping out, but would you believe that I have fireplace burning? (gas logs, easy to start). I have been cold all day. 

A special thank you and appreciation to our veterans and to their families who sacrificed so much so that we can have our freedoms in this great land. Bless you all.

Have a wonderful holiday weekend.