# Tongue and groove paneling on ceiling in wood stove room



## Waltdogz (Nov 18, 2014)

Any one have experience with installing tongue and groove slats in the room a wood stove is? Id like to do my ceiling but im wondering about warping or expansion. Anyone with any info please fill me in I don't care if its a wall either just looking for info thanks!


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## ironpony (Nov 18, 2014)

IMO, I would not do it this time of year. You need to let the wood acclimate and it would be drier than normal this time of year. Then when the humidity goes up, the wood will buckle. You need to start at a happy medium so you have room for expansion/contraction.


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## Hogwildz (Nov 18, 2014)

I have my entire cathedral ceiling in 8" T&G pine in the main part of my house.
You will be fine with the stove and the T&G.
Do put an air seal layer between the T&G & the bottom trusseschords/ceiling joists. Not plastic. Drywall, foam board, something that can truly be an air seal.
I am going through that right now. The PO I bought the house from just stapled the F/G batts between the bottom truss chords(instead of the bottom of the truss chords)leaving a gap between the insulation and the T&G. Bad deal, air flow like crazy and major heat loss. I am in the process of taking the T&G down, installing 2" foil faced polyiso board and, strapping under the iso then reinstall the T&G.
As long as you bring the wood in and let it acclimate with the house/room temp, you can install it. The wood with shrink & swell as the temps & humidity raise and lower, regardless of time of year.
Do make sure to leave at about a 1/4" gap around the perimeter of the wood for expansion when it does expand. I have installed all T&G in my addition, ceilings, walls and will reinstall the main house ceiling again in T&G, and have never had any issues with warpage. I highly suggest you finish the board in whatever finish you decide prior to installing. It really sucks doing it after, I've done that, and it sucks.


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## Waltdogz (Nov 19, 2014)

Hogwildz said:


> I have my entire cathedral ceiling in 8" T&G pine in the main part of my house.
> You will be fine with the stove and the T&G.
> Do put an air seal layer between the T&G & the bottom trusseschords/ceiling joists. Not plastic. Drywall, foam board, something that can truly be an air seal.
> I am going through that right now. The PO I bought the house from just stapled the F/G batts between the bottom truss chords(instead of the bottom of the truss chords)leaving a gap between the insulation and the T&G. Bad deal, air flow like crazy and major heat loss. I am in the process of taking the T&G down, installing 2" foil faced polyiso board and, strapping under the iso then reinstall the T&G.
> ...




Ok thanks for the info! You mentioned an air seal. I want to go rite over the existing, what has to be the original ceiling. Its pretty interesting t&g pattern 2.5" slats attached to what looks like 1/2" x 6" board spaced apart slightly and old insulation batts filled in above that,  judging by the hole I had to cut out to get to a shower drain... (It was impossible to tear it out under the drain with out ruining some of them or id keep it the way it was.) Should that be ok then to just butt up to the old moulding minus the space allowed for expansion then?


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## Hogwildz (Nov 19, 2014)

Is the a ceiling between floors of living space? If between floors, you're good to go under what is there with the T&G.
If we are talking about the ceiling under the roof, then you need an air seal layer to keep air from migrating from the living space, to the attic area.
When you say moulding, is there moulding along the ceiling line? If so, I would pull that down, run the T&G leaving your gap for expansion, then reinstall install the moulding or install new moulding to cover the gap between the T&T and the walls.


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## Waltdogz (Nov 19, 2014)

Hogwildz said:


> Is the a ceiling between floors of living space? If between floors, you're good to go under what is there with the T&G.
> If we are talking about the ceiling under the roof, then you need an air seal layer to keep air from migrating from the living space, to the attic area.
> When you say moulding, is there moulding along the ceiling line? If so, I would pull that down, run the T&G leaving your gap for expansion, then reinstall install the moulding or install new moulding to cover the gap between the T&T and the walls.




Yes its between floors so im all set thanks! But unfortunately pulling the moulding is a no go, the guy before me did a horrible job with the drywall to the point where theres 1/4" gap under the moulding witch im going to cover with chair rail. The moulding is very old c cove type and about 4" from ceailing to down the wall, so pulling it and adding more drywall is way to much work I was thinking of adding the same chair rail to the new t&g to also cover the gap from ceiling to moulding. Not to sure on the looks but my old lady has done a really nice foe paint job to the whole room so that hinders my options as well...


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## semipro (Nov 19, 2014)

I"m with ironpony on this.  If you install the boards while they're super dry they may later expand across the grain and cup some when the humidity rises. Since each board is nailed no amount of space around the perimeter would prevent possible cupping.
To be safe I'd install the T&G boards while they're still a bit wetter if possible. I would not dry them in the room with the stove first.
The small amount of cross grain shrinkage that might occur after installation will be "hidden" by the tongue and groove geometry.

Edit: just to be clear, my preference for installing the boards when they are wetter rather than dry really has nothing to do with their suitability for use above a wood stove. Also, most T&G boards installed on a ceiling, as opposed to floors, are beveled which tends to "hide" any gaps that might form between boards as they dry. Cupping due to boards expansion across their width isn't as easy to hide.


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## Hogwildz (Nov 19, 2014)

The boards I installed were kiln dried direct from a local lumber yard that made them, and have no cupping issues.The boards are only nailed along the tongue edge, and some at the ends, so plenty of room for expansion. The boards are as tight as the day I installed them, no spreading or gaps at the joints. Same as installing T&G flooring, if you ever tried that wet, you would be screwed.
Not a buckle or cup in the addition which is T&G on all walls & ceilings. If anything, if you install wet, they will shrink when they dry, and have a better chance of cupping & splitting.
Sorry bro, but I disagree.

I did suggest letting the wood sit in the area to be installed to acclimate to the temp & humidity, that I do suggest.


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## arbutus (Nov 22, 2014)

Waltdogz said:


> Any one have experience with installing tongue and groove slats in the room a wood stove is? Id like to do my ceiling but im wondering about warping or expansion. Anyone with any info please fill me in I don't care if its a wall either just looking for info thanks!



We had a house full of it - literally entirely t&g pine.  If you are purchasing milled lumber that has been kiln dried from your local lumber yard or the BORG of choice, put it up and don't worry about it.  (Except for clearances around the chimney of course).  You will have far more expansion and warping from humidity changes, and even that won't be much.


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## Bob Wheelock (Nov 25, 2014)

Agree with Arbutus. We have a full log home. Every interior wall and the cathedral ceiling is T&G installed in 1989 with a wood stove in the mail living area blazing all winter, every winter. No cupping, shrinking, cracking. Nothing bad at all.
Enjoy


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