Options for porch ceiling

[HDClown]

I need to put up a ceiling on my porch, approximately 600 sq ft worth of area to cover.  Here's a shot from when it was under construction. 

The ceiling will be painted.  I showed my wife some 1x6 beaded T&G and she really liked it.  I was originally planning to do 1x6 Beaded Pine T&G as its low cost.  One of my local lumber yards has it available raw as Grade C and Better for $1.10/lf and pre-primed (2 coats) FJ clear for $1.21/lf. 

The pre-primed made sense to me, save me some time.  Then I started reading about issues with FJ pine in exterior applications and FJ glue letting go and the joints telegraphing through, which would not be good.  I don't know if those people were using it in an application with direct water contact or not.

I'm in Orlando, FL and thus this is a high humidity environment. There won't be direct water contact, but the high humidity means surface moisture builds up.  Is pine a suitable material for this application? 

If you don't recommend pine, what would you recommend that would give me a similar look?  Keep in mind this will be painted.  I did price out Azek, and at $2.79/lf it's a good bit more then I was hoping to spend.

 

[Billedis]

I live in Riverview, Florida and have been in my home for 16 years.  The lanai/porch ceiling is exterior grade sheetrock that has an "Italian lace" texture.  It has held up very well, and I have only painted it once and it still looks beautiful.  Bill

 

[Brice Burrell]

PFJ (primed finger joint) varies in quality.  Some of it is decent stuff that would work fine in your application, some not as well.  I'd skip the PFJ, that way you can use a high quality primer and paint that should hold up well for many years.

 

[Brent Taylor]

I know you are thinking about painted surface, but you might take a look at vinyl  beaded soffit with invisible ventilation,  I have used it for years on historical restoration projects  (one of the only products of this type to be allowed by many  historical societies ), just a thought.

 

[HDClown]

I know you are thinking about painted surface, but you might take a look at vinyl  beaded soffit with invisible ventilation,  I have used it for years on historical restoration projects  (one of the only products of this type to be allowed by many  historical societies ), just a thought.

[member=37891]Brent Taylor[/member]
Vinyl soffit eh?  Cost would be right, cheaper than 1x6 T&G and cheaper than exterior grade drywall or densglass since I'd need to pay someone to do all the mud work on that.  I looked at some pictures and it looks pretty nice overall, for the small porches shown at least.

Vinyl soffit is pretty darn thin.  How do you deal with the butt joints? I found one picture of butt joints without channels and it's aweful.  I have an almost 32' span one way and 16'/18' ft the other way.  Longest vinyl soffit sections I've ever seen are 12' so butt joints are needed.  I assume I'd have to put two F/J channels back-to-back, unless someone has a single "dual channel" piece.

It sounds like an interesting option, just not sure how those joints will look be smack in the middle of the ceiling span. Can't really find any pictures of a porch ceiling that had spans this long and used vinyl soffit.  You done any porches this big and have pictures you could post?

 

[jmarkflesher]

Just pick up a new profile offered  by Boral, fly ash cement product. It look like beaded board used on bottom half of walls in bathrooms. Paints well. Need two people to install, it is like a noodle. Don't know lengths available. Hardly no expansion contraction with temp change. MARK

 

[HDClown]

Just pick up a new profile offered  by Boral, fly ash cement product. It look like beaded board used on bottom half of walls in bathrooms. Paints well. Need two people to install, it is like a noodle. Don't know lengths available. Hardly no expansion contraction with temp change. MARK

[member=8931]jmarkflesher[/member]

That's an interesting looking product.  Is the Boral TruExterior something you've used for a while?  It looks like it's relatively new in general (released 2012?), so longevity is my concern.

Based on prices I can find online, it would be about $600 cheaper than Azek beadboard, but $1200 more than raw pine.  Not sure how it would pan out when I ask about it with local lumber yards.    I'd recoup about $150 on the Boral product vs. raw pine as I wouldn't need to do all the priming on the Boral, so approximately $1000 more in total than pine. 

Boral doesn't list anyone local who offers it, so could be a moot point.  I'll have to make some calls.

 

[HDClown]

Have you considered something like this?  I have it below my deck.  Check out the gallery.
www.dry-b-lo.com

I don't need an application that's designed to accommodate water getting onto it from above and draining it off to the perimeter.  The roof is a solid covered roof. 

When it comes down to it, I'd rather have a wood or drywall type like vs. metal, but I'm open to options.  I just don't think that one would make sense.

 

[Brent Taylor]

The soffit material I was thinking of  is 3/8" thick and I always used aluminum track to install it. I had on longer spans and in corner lap weave nailed one end at the outer edge of the nail opening to control the expansion direction.  To be honest with the spans your talking about I would try to talk you into doing a coffered  ceiling  and use the soffit  material as the infill. I don't  have a source where I live now,  but CertainTeed had several different types throughout their group of companies.

 

[jmarkflesher]

I only used Boral one year ago where the gutter would plug and it rotted out the pine painted trim.When painted you can tell no difference. The salesman said it will not absorb water so I took a six inch cutoff and stuck it in a coffee can after marking the water line and snapped the lid on. Monday and no water loss. Not scientific but close enough. New Jersey Boral is not primed. If you are looking for a fine finish you need to sand. The back always comes with a smoother finish? Screws and nails good. MARK

 

[deepcreek]

See if HardieSoffit Beaded Porch Panel is available in your area.  It's not a big box product.  You'll probably need to order it from a distributor through your local lumber yard.

I used it in a similar application (carport) in Houston and it worked great.  You will need to caulk the seams or cover them with trim.  I laid out the ceiling in a grid pattern.

 

[HDClown]

[member=6237]deepcreek[/member]

Do you have any other pictures that show the detail of how you handled the joints a little better?

 

[deepcreek]

No more photos but it is laid out in a nine lite pattern.  I think the middle panels are full width and the others were ripped.  They were all cross cut to the same length to get the lights to center correctly.  The trim is 1x4 Hardi.

 

[bigjonh]

[member=34636]HDClown[/member] 84 lumber can get Boral products, there's a few around Orlando I believe.