Step by Step How To Build Beams

Get out of There! I’m building maple beams for our vaulted living room ceiling. Let me show you how they go together. I cut the board square on one end, and a bevel on the other. Splicing two bevels together makes for a cleaner joint. Our cabinet company sprayed the front and both edges of these boards, but I need to stain a strip on the back. I’m going to do this onsite with a rag and then once it dries, I hit it with a coat of lacquer. Next, I cut some small cleats out of a piece of spruce- they will create a stop for the bottom of the beam to rest against. I shoot these on with my staple gun. The ceilings are 14’ high, so we set up scaffolding. I’m nailing the sides of the beams into a 2x8 I had screwed to the ceiling earlier. I’m using a 15-gauge trim gun with 2 ½” nails. Here you can see the cleats I installed earlier-they hold the bottom piece at the exact height for a ¼” reveal. I use clamps for a tight fit, and nail it off with my 18-guage brad nailer. I even threw in some Haus Plans stickers for the next owner. Next up we’re going to build two more beams running the opposite direction. @hausplans #build #howto #carpentry #construction #woodwork #diy #contractor