Is this a crazy idea to hide ugly trusses?

2 years ago

last modified: 2 years ago

When we gutted our house, we gained height in the living room ceiling. We thought we would leave the ceiling and trusses exposed but they are truly hideous. The trusses look like they were thrown together with scrap wood. The ceiling boards are also in rough shape and have areas of splitting and small patches missing.

I think we should drywall the ceiling and the trusses. We could wrap everything in drywall and trim the bottom of the trusses with wood to look like a beam. I have searched for photos of such a thing but haven't found any. Usually, the trusses look beautiful and are the focal point of the ceiling.

We put on a new roof and had it insulated from the outside so we don't need insulation inside. I really want to keep the height and slope of the ceiling, while hiding the ugly bits. Do y'all have any other ideas or opinions for keeping the height while hiding the ugly?

Comments (6)

khrisz
2 years ago
Could you take a photo that should the ceiling and beams but also the room(s)?
spicewoodfunhouse thanked khrisz
PRO
Sabrina Alfin Interiors
2 years ago
Drywall over or paint the ceiling planks. But leave the crossbeams alone. Those you should wrap with a more decorative wood or painted finish. Like this:

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Painting it a bright white keeps the room from going too rustic.
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PRO
Main Line Kitchen Design
2 years ago
I might wrap the Trusses in a nice hardwood and sand them very smooth so that they would stain a light color and appear like a solid beams. I would spray paint the bottom of the roof tan or brown so that the imperfections were less noticeable. I think this will look better and cost way less than the drywalling. Drywalling the roof will be a nightmare.

Whatever you do don't remove the trusses. They are keeping the walls of your home from pancaking. Even removing the ceiling was slightly destabilizing. Homeowners sometimes remove ceilings without consulting an engineer and the result can be catastrophic with a large snow load or high winds.
PRO
Joseph Corlett, LLC
2 years ago
I'd be very interested in any documentation as to the removal of a ceiling causing any structural damage.

Those are some sort of hillbilly homemade "trusses" pictured. No engineer stamped those.
User
2 years ago
last modified: 2 years ago
An of this doable in your case

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chiflipper
2 years ago
No paint!!! You want to cover up that roof structure ASAP. Any future buyer's home inspector would flee in horror.