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June 23, 2008

how to treat exposed wood beams?

Unfortunately I forgot to take a photo but here's my question anyhow. In 2 of my bedrooms I have wood beams along the ceiling that had been encased in plaster. Not liking the appearance or the way they divided the rooms I decided to demo the plaster and leave the beam exposed. I'm curious, however, if I need to do anything to treat the beam? Stain, oil, varnish? Anything??

Posted by jjmcv at 9:36 AM | Comments (3)
Categories: Woodwork

Comments

epoxy them. That will strenghten them and keep them sealed for the next 1000 years.

Posted by: guest at June 23, 2008 3:29 PM


Epoxy is messy product to work with, especially overhead. Epoxy will not contribute to the overall strength of the beam. And as it dose not breathe - it will lock in moisture that is acquired from the top side of the beam (gravity tends to pull the water downward).

You may want to clean the "fuzz" off of the rough sawn beams with a fine grit (220 or 320)abrasive with a soft backer. Zinser seal coat is a shellac based product that is easy to apply and dries very quickly and will allow the wood to breathe. If a softer sheen is desirable try OSMO (a friendly oil-wax finish).

Posted by: southslope at June 23, 2008 4:02 PM

I dont know anything about the beams you're referencing but you might want to check about removing the plaster.

Plaster is used for fireproofing in older applications. Traditionally large vertical timbers are actually fireproof by themselves because they are so thick.

I dont know how this works horizontally. they may be less fire resistant or your beams might be so small that they are not fireproof.

Having said all that I'd be careful as I think its odd that they had plaster on the inside of the building.

FWIW I work for a general contractor that use to rehab old factories. Having said that please ask someone who really knows. I have no idea about your situation.

Posted by: guest at June 23, 2008 8:39 PM

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