Replies

1. 
   Huck | Feb 21, 2006 08:11pm | #1

   Some of them were built out of 1-by material, hollow boxes nailed to a cleat on the ceiling.  Are they real wood?  Why are you worried about the ceiling texture - aren't you going to have to retexture under the beams, once you remove them?  Charge them to scrape the texture off the whole ceiling, and refinish the ceiling after the beams are out - that's the only way you can guarantee that you won't see a repair in the texture.

   "he...never charged nothing for his preaching, and it was worth it, too" - Mark Twain

1. 
   billding | Feb 21, 2006 08:47pm | #2

   These beams are made of some type of foam product with distress marks on them. It looks like they were attached after the cottage cheese texture was applied. If I do the job, I don't intend on scrapping the ceiling. Hopefully just a little touch-up & repaint. At the ridge the ceiling height is 16', so the less I have to do up that high, the better. bill

1. 
   calvin | Feb 21, 2006 10:55pm | #3

   They could have been spot glued with some nails to hold them in position till the glue dried.  We've had good luck yanking them down and patching in the texture with a good finisher manning the spray with as close to original sized aggregate as possible.  This would be shear luck, but is possible to make look like the original.A great place for Information, Comraderie, and a sucker punch.

   Remodeling Contractor just outside the Glass City.

   Quittin' Time

    

2. 
   CapnMac | Feb 22, 2006 12:54am | #4

   Don't want to damage the cottage cheese ceiling texture

   Having suffered the perdition of existing cottage cheese ceilings just often enough to give me a twitch, you may take the following with a salt lick-sized grain of salt.

   Don't Bother Trying To Save The Ceiling Texture.

   There, I feel much better now, [bows & thanks & gratia maxima].

   If you are really lucky, you will be able to pass a long flexible blade between the wood on the faux beams & c.c.c. so it's not stuck to the finsi hof the beam.  If you are really lucky, getting that close will reveal how they are fastened.  If you can pick 5 of 6 lottery numbers, the faux beam is not 1/8" ply skinned over some conglomeration of framing material.

   Ok, so you get the ugly (probably dark colored) beams out of the way, you now have even rows of no-ceiling.  Like as not, you are going to have to float some substrate up to even with the ceiling board.  After that, you get to decide whether you can close those joints up un-taped (like you probably really ought to).  After that you have to find the right texture & compound mix to shoot into the gaps (and cottage cheese does not like to feather for love nor money in narrow, even strips).

   Ok, so I'm bitter, and have ripped into too many 70s ceilings <g>.  Is it any wonder I'd be after just redoing the ceiling for the time you will have (and the money in labor hours the customer will have) in this.

   But, I'm jaded & cynical--others differ.

   Occupational hazard of my occupation not being around (sorry Bubba)
1. 
   Notchman | Feb 22, 2006 03:10am | #6

   So do you have a large collection of lava lamps....passed on to you by appreciative customers in lieu of full payment for your efforts?  :-)

1. 
   CapnMac | Feb 22, 2006 11:22pm | #7

   So do you have a large collection of lava lamps

   LoL!

   Actually, I did at one point.  Had a whole shelf-full of the working ones in my leased storage space on a timer so that any passing ne'er-do-wells could see shifting colors around the mini blinds and assume they were too high to steal <g> . . .

   I had way too many that didn't work, though.  Stupidly (and as usual), I dumped the lot just before the became hot items on eBay . . . <sigh>Occupational hazard of my occupation not being around (sorry Bubba)

3. 
   DougU | Feb 22, 2006 01:58am | #5

   they could be attached in a number of ways. Some of them may leave a distinct edge that you have to deal with after removing those lovely beams

   If you have to, scrape the ceiling and charge them for it, thats what your in buisness for isnt it?

   With any luck your beams will be just tacked on with a brad nailer and all you'll have to do is repaint.

   Doug