Part 7: Ceiling
Now that we’ve completed everything behind the scenes, it’s time to talk about pieces of the rig that are actually visible to everyone. Let’s start from the top down.
What I did, what I used, how long it took, and how much it cost?
For the ceiling I decided to use 4” wide cedar tongue and grove (T&G) boards that run completely from the front of the van to the back without interruption. Once the boards were installed, I finished them with some outdoor transparent waterproofing wood finish.
The ceiling took 24 hours to install. About two days to put the boards in, and another day to stain it.
All-in the ceiling cost me roughly $130.
Why I did it (including counterpoints)
Tongue and Groove Boards: These long T&G boards seem to me to be like the gold standard for van ceilings and for good reason. They look great, they’re easy to work with, they’re super sturdy once put into place, and overall they don’t cost that much in comparison to say a paneling alternative. One of the biggest reasons I went with T&G was because you can source them as 12 foot boards which meant that I could run them all the way down the ceiling of the van without any interruption. I love the way this looks, and probably even more so, I loved how easy this was for someone who’s not familiar with finishing things like seams and creases. As I went along in the finishing process, I learned that the simpler the better when starting out because the more nooks, crannies, creases, and changes in the wall or ceiling just leads to more finishing that has to occur to make everything look nice. I know this isn’t a huge deal once you become familiar with moulding, etc. but when just starting out on my first build it made things way easier. I didn’t look much past T&G in terms of alternatives but the only option I can really think of is some type of panelling. I’ve seen it in other vans and it surely works, but what you gain in a lower cost you certainly sacrifice when it comes to durability. I’ll talk more about this in the next section when I talk about my decision to use panelling for my siding over something like T&G.
Outdoor Transparent Waterproof Wood Finish: After the boards were installed, we went with a finish that would give it a natural look and also be able to stand up to pretty much anything. I’ll talk more below about how getting some outdoor waterproof finish was probably a bit overkill but hey, this was my first foray into finishing! In terms of finishing, you basically have the option to paint, stain, lacquer, or a combination. A lot of it depends on the aesthetic you are going for, as each one will drastically change the final look, because nowadays nearly all three of them come as a sort of protector from the elements. I decided not to go with a lacquer on the ceiling, but as I’ll discuss in the section on the kitchen, I really love lacquer and would highly recommend it for lots of wood applications. At the end of the day it’s not really needed for the ceiling as nothing is really ever going to touch those boards so I think not using it on the ceiling makes a lot of sense and saves you a few bucks.
What went well
Using Tongue and Groove: As I mentioned above the T&G was an absolute dream to work with on the ceiling. The aesthetic that it brings while still being super easy to use and install gives a really professional look to it without really needing any kind of professional skill set. Additionally, the durability and sturdiness that it provides once it has been installed feels great once you start living in the van. Again, I’ll talk about panelling some more in the next post, but at the end of the day, just go with the hardwood. You won’t regret it.
Finishing the Wood: Do you need to finish the ceiling? In all honesty probably not if you’re not worried about longevity and you like a natural look. However, I couldn’t be happier with how finishing turned out here on the ceiling and the rest of the van. It just brings a final touch to the design that you wouldn’t be able to get otherwise, and it’s great to know that you’ve protected the wood and made it better able to stand up against wear and tear.
What didn't go well/What I might’ve done differently
Final Stain Color: Being the finishing noob that I was at the time we did the ceiling, I did not bother to test the stain color on the wood I was staining. It said transparent and I wanted a nice natural finish, so I said, let’s rock! Once the stain was on, it became abundantly clear that our “transparent” finish was darkening things up quite a bit (no shit!). Now, the finish didn’t change the boards to the point where it was unbearable and I actually quite look the almost golden hue that they have now, but it was definitely not intended. Next time I would definitely test out the finish on a sample piece of wood so I know exactly what it’s going to look like, and I might even venture to try out multiple samples first so I can try different things with the aesthetic. To be honest I was pretty much winging that piece by piece the whole time, and got a little lucky that it turned out so nice!
Cutting out the Hole for the Fan: Once the boards were all in place, I had to cut out the hole for the fan in the ceiling. I could have cut out the hole ahead of time, as you’ll see below is what I did for the lights, but for the fan I wanted to try to install all the boards and then cut the hole out with a router once installed. Initially, I tried to free hand route the cut upside down. First thing I learned was that I’m not very good at using a router, and that when routing upside down you’re gonna get saw dust in literally every open orifice of your body. That’s not to say it can’t be done but boy did I struggle. Then, I went with a jig saw and just set the blade depth so it wouldn’t go too far past the wood and hit the roof of the van. This eventually worked for me, but boy did it not look pretty! Thankfully the fan comes with a moulded cover that hides your shitty cuts. If I were to do it again I do think the router is the way to go, but it would have been better if I was able to set up some sort of frame so that I didn’t have to free hand the route. Also, it would probably be better to not have my first cuts with a brad new router be upside down and free hand. Sometimes I think I get a little too overconfident when it comes to DIY, and while I do think you can do anything, some of it takes practice first. That or you just live with bad results. Lastly, I had a little battery operated hand router, so if I did it again I would probably splurge for the corded two hand router. More power and precision makes for better cuts.
Build tips
Setting Tongue and Groove Boards: For as easy as installing T&G is, there are definitely some tips and tricks to make things easier. Once the first board is set, sometimes boards will slot in next to it nice and easy, but other times, they may have some warp to them and not fit as easily (especially the longer you source them). Thankfully they’re made of wood, and if my time at Habitat for Humanity taught me anything about carpentry, it’s that wood is flexible as hell. When boards wouldn’t fit we used clamps to bring boards closer to each other to sit perfectly and then we affixed them to the ribs. Additionally there were some times that we used a rubber mallet to get the boards to groove into each other if they wouldn’t initially. Moral of the story is wood will bend, so use that as leverage to get nice and clean lines on your install.
Pre Cut Holes for Lights: As we installed the boards we knew exactly where the holes were needed for all the cabin lights and consequently we cut those in before we installed the boards. I know you can cut the holes out later and that way you have complete control over where to put them and you don’t risk making an error and needed to scrap an entire board because of it, but I just thought it was so much easier to take care of the cutting down on the ground.
Save Finishing Tricky Spots for Later: Along the way early on it was common to come to some corner, or tricky location, where I couldn’t exactly get everything to line up just right. Initially this made me want to try to get everything lined up perfectly, but as I went on, I realized that it’s a much better use of time to let it sit, and finish it up later on. When I say finish here I don’t mean finish in terms of completing the task at hand, but instead making it look pretty. For example, when I initially put up the ceiling there were some spots in the corners where you could see behind the ceiling to the white sheet metal. Eventually, some of these got covered by parts of the siding, or they were more easily finished after waiting for everything to near completion. At the end of the day, try not to stress if everything doesn’t look picture perfect at first. Over time, you’ll find a way to fix it, or in some cases, you’ll just realize it doesn’t look as bad as you think and you’ll keep it that way!
