# coffered ceiling



## FX4 (Nov 19, 2009)

I have been reading/looking at hundreds of pictures and it really grew on me... to the point where I would like to add it throughout my house... now I guess my real question is any tips on how to do this on low ceilings? I think the standard for true coffered ceiling is a min. of 9 foot ceilings as they are generally 4-6 inches. Does anyone maybe have any pictures of say a 2-3 inch coffered ceiling? Or is this just something that I should not even get into... Thanks!

Rafal


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## RickyBobby (Nov 19, 2009)

You can use 1 x 3 or 4 and lay them flat on the ceiling. By laying them flat you are only lowering the ceiling by 3/4", not much even on the lowest of ceilings. Once the 1x's are installed you can purchase decorative mouldings, almost like a shoe molding, and install along the sides.

My father-in-law swears by this look and has done it in many rooms in his house. He prefers poplar which is easy to work with and paints nicely.

Depending on what your ceilings look like you may need to add a layer of 1/4" plywood first. Use glue and layout the panels so anywhere you nail will be covered by the grid you install.

This can be a very nice look.


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## FX4 (Nov 19, 2009)

Ok, So I though about this a little more and here's my idea in my head:
-keep the "blocks" short but wide" that way it would still look nice, but without sacrificing much ceiling height.
-use 2x4 to build off of instead of the traditional U shapes. Here's a couple pictures I drew up.. nothing too concrete before I photoshop some of this stuff into my living room picture
-here's some trim I found might work nicely: http://www.homedepot.com/Building-M...splay?langId=-1&storeId=10051&catalogId=10053
-place a nice square "sunk into the wood" on every 2x4 joint (like the ones that come in the door trim kits)
-paint the entire thing white to match my ceiling

Picture 1 (ceiling pattern):









Picture 2 (dimensions):


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## FX4 (Nov 19, 2009)

RickyBobby said:


> You can use 1 x 3 or 4 and lay them flat on the ceiling. By laying them flat you are only lowering the ceiling by 3/4", not much even on the lowest of ceilings. Once the 1x's are installed you can purchase decorative mouldings, almost like a shoe molding, and install along the sides.
> 
> My father-in-law swears by this look and has done it in many rooms in his house. He prefers poplar which is easy to work with and paints nicely.
> 
> ...


the 1x3 might be a better option here then a 2x4..

Rafal


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## RickyBobby (Nov 19, 2009)

With the 1x idea you could still definitely use the decorative blocks which would break up seeing any seams at the intersections. 

It really all depends how much height you have to work with. I can say this, the 1x approach goes very quickly when it comes time to install. 



GOod luck


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## FX4 (Nov 19, 2009)

^^^^ oh I'm sure. I'm thinking I don't really want to go past 3" at the most here....

Rafal


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## FX4 (Nov 19, 2009)

so now here is my question.. please look at the pictures below, and should I do the coffered ceiling through out the living room/kitchen/hallway or just stop in the living room. Thanks!


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## Jay123 (May 7, 2008)

I did something similar years ago for a client, can't find any finished pics, sorry, but it did turn out looking very nice.


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## SNC (Dec 5, 2008)

Coffered ceilings are awsome. I finally did my dinning room. Ceiling height was about 8'3" I dropped the beams down 3.5", and around the perimiter an additional 3.5" of crown.
Go for it, :thumbsup:


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## Jay123 (May 7, 2008)

I would not continue into the hall or kitchen, just my opinion.

If you decide to actually do "real" coffers (as opposed to a 1x flat on ceiling), here's a pretty detailed photo album from start to finish on one we did early this year:










Photo album:
http://picasaweb.google.com/jjfwoodworks/CofferedCeiling?feat=directlink

Design drawings:
https://docs.google.com/fileview?id...TgtYTYzOS00YjlmLTg0MjEtZDJhMjZkZmVkNmIy&hl=en


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## FX4 (Nov 19, 2009)

Jay123 said:


> I would not continue into the hall or kitchen, just my opinion.
> 
> If you decide to actually do "real" coffers (as opposed to a 1x flat on ceiling), here's a pretty detailed photo album from start to finish on one we did early this year:
> 
> ...



thanks for the pictures! I would love to do it this way... but my ceiling is way too low for a standard one, I might actually be helping my fiancee's sister do this in her foyer of the townhouse she just bought as it's a 2 story open foyer


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