Sorry for bad quality. They look a lot lighter in color in person. They run a few more feet to the right than what is seen here.

Beams are on the right

I forgot DH snapped a photo this morning. The Parallams are in the background. I just realized that the one in the far background could be exposed to nearly its full height. But the beam closer to the foreground will likely only reveal about 6-8" of itself once the ceiling is drywalled. So now thinking maybe wrap that one but let the one in the background go naked (with polyurethane coats).

I don't think that they are a finish material. And I don't think they'll look good painted or with clear poly; the surface is just too unpredictable. It's going to look like something left on your punch list.

I think it would look good to have a finish that matches the fir beam, though.

Wrap 'em with drywall.

For sure, you don't want three different beams in the same space. A Douglas fir beam, a wrapped beam and an exposed Parallam beam (all those splinters will catch dust and make great cobweb anchors for the spiders.) Three different looking beams in the same space would look disjointed and no bueno.

Thanks--this consensus sounds good, y'all.

We'd decided a few moments ago to leave the Para beam over the slider exposed and wrap the other. But now that I've read the phrase "cobweb anchors"....Iand knowing how much my DH HATES cobwebs...we will reconsider. There are some restaurants near us that have Parallam counters and tables and they're not super finished but look kind of cool. That's why we started pondering...

Wrap them in drywall. I can understand how you might find that they look interesting; however, if you are ever planning to sell the house, most potential buyers would not be thrilled with the look of them exposed.

FWIW, next house or anyone in the building phase, an engineered beam product that looks great when left exposed are Glulams.

Try finishing them. If you don't like it, it isn't a big deal to drywall over them later. The reverse is not true.

Wrap them if the terminations of the beam/wrapping can be detailed gracefully. I do not care for any beam that stops and looks like it is floating with nothing or only drywall supporting it.

It's a wrap!

Wrap with drywall and leave the nice beam exposed .

Went to a restaurant in Toronto last weekend that used parallam-like material for wood trim, wainscoat and sort of a chair rail, even in the rest rooms. Looks like they put lots of poly on. I thought it looked good combined with the other "modern" finishes like iron , galvanized metal, slab wood, etc.

Most often, when visual aesthetics are important, it means hand selecting all the exposed materials and/or a ton of work to make them appear presentable.

@ci_lantro, I wanted to do Glulam but the engineer spec'd Parallams for this particular stretch.

@seabornman, we are seeing it pop up in eateries in our area and yes, nearly all of it is heavily glossed (too much for me).

@Patricia Colwell Consulting, by "nice beam" did you mean the Doug fir center beam or the Parallam over the glass slider? We are definitely leaving Doug fir beam exposed. I wanted a totally exposed ceiling initially, but our code required the ceiling to be insulated.

@Joseph Corlett, LLC, I like the way you think.

@Mark Bischak, Architect, a childhood friend who is an architect said just what you said! Agreed.

Or there's the wrap one side and seal the other side option.

(just kidding)

@Mark Bischak, Architect, LOL, actually I'm going to take ALL the tile samples I've accumulated over the past many months and turn the beams into a real conversation piece. A horizontal totem pole of sorts in tribute to the endless hours of indecision!

Not related to your beam dilemma, but since you asked in another thread for advice on avoiding disasters, I notice a very sloppy job site in your first photo. I would ask your GC to clean up that debris before someone gets hurt. It’s an accident waiting to happen, especially if you live in an area prone to summer storms.

" . . . I'm going to take ALL the tile samples I've accumulated over the past many months and turn the beams into a real conversation piece. A horizontal totem pole of sorts in tribute to the endless hours of indecision!"

I like it. Keep the wine cellar well stocked.

I think that is the burn pile outside in the background. The builder will take care of it as soon as he verifies Mittens' fire insurance.

I'm not a big fan of having all sorts of bump outs that are wrapped in sheetrock. For me, sheetrock is supposed to be a flat and smooth uninterrupted surface.

I also like the looks of more functional/industrial materials mixed in with other finished surfaces.


So, yes, I'd finish the beam nicely (i.e. sand and apply poly) and then leave the original material exposed instead of hiding behind sheetrock.


But that's almost certainly the more expensive option and therefore sheetrock is often more popular.


Alternatively, you might be able to wrap with Douglas fir. But that's tricky to do so that it looks seamless

LOL! @Mark Bischak, Architect Yep, time for a bonfire of the (old) vanities. Bring on the s'mores!

@scottie mom, that pile was further away than it looks in the photo; it's mostly been cleared. I appreciate the concern!

We ended up drywalling both the Parallams. As much as I hated to say goodbye to those interesting textures (OK, shredded wood), I realized having that exposed beam above our big slider would interrupt the sight line out to our patio courtyard and backyard (where, presumably, we'll someday have something other than dirt out there!). Starting to appreciate the fine art of focal points (and tossing stuff out for the benefit of the big picture). I just hope we can do something focal-worthy out there!