carpenters helper

[Frankenkubota]

This could be old news but maybe it will help someone.

I'm putting up ceilings in 3 outside porch areas. Im using tung and groove material, 12 ft long with about a 5 inch reveal. I guess it's about 5/8ths inch thick?

I'm doing it solo so, it's a PITA! I wish i'd gone with ship lap. Getting the tung into the groove across a 12 ft board, 10 ft up, by yourself, is difficult.

I wish i could say this was my idea but.........it wasn't. U tube.

My carport is 20 ft deep so a 12 foot board ain't gonna go end to end so no ledger board. I've been trying to stagger the joints so i use a combination of 12 ft, 4 ft and 8 ft boards.

The big problem is when the 12ft board falls in the middle of the 20ft run. It sags on both ends or sags in the middle, it's a 2 man job.

The guy on u tube suggested using helpers so i tried and it works.

Still a huge PITA and 8 ladder climbs per board but....it works.

You install the helpers loosely, allowing enough room to slide the board onto the helper. Then, after getting everything lined up, screw down the helpers which brings your tung and groove material very close to where it needs to be.

Then beat the piss out of it, being careful to use a whacker board, like when you do flooring.

 

[Diggin It]

First, I didn't need to see your pictures to know you were going for a 1 x 2, 1 x 3 type thing. I've done that many times, even for drywall. And that was something I did figure out on my own, even before the 'Tube.


Second, get scaffolding. $150 bucks or so beats broken bones every time.

 

[Jstpssng]

It will look good when you get it done though, and you will soon forget what a pain it was.

 

[oosik]

I don't remember how I did the sheet rock on the ceiling of my garage. It was a REAL PITA because the local codes called for heavier sheet rock on the ceiling and wall next to the house. Fire protection.

I know it required a whole lot of grunting & a liberal use of all the four letter words I knew. I quickly realized that screwing the sheets down was far easier than attempting to nail them.

That will be a very nice looking ceiling.

 

[Hay Dude]

Get yourself a “baker”. It’s a rolling scaffold. Or get 2 drywallers benches if they are tall enough.
You’ll love em for that task. Ladders will just wear you out.
I also slide a 2x12 walking plank on 2 saw horses or ladders.
Climb up a few steps, then walk 10-12 feet under each piece with little effort

 

[EddieWalker]

It's always good to have a helper. I call them dead man, but that's just a term I use for any sort of blocking that helps hold somethin in place.

I'm also putting tongue and groove wood on my porch, but I made the mistake of going with cedar. I'm also using 8 foot boards, which are super light and easy to install. When I started, they where $14 each. They disappeared during the shutdown and it's been very hard to find them since then. I just spent $750 for some that I found at Home Depot for $28 each. My porch is 16x24 and I'm almost at the half way point.

When I do tongue and groove ceilings, I like to seal the boards before I install them. Doing them in place is a huge mess that I've learned to avoid. On my cedar boards, I'm using Sherwin Williams SuperDeck transparent oil based stain. I cut the board, apply the stain, and install it with my staple gun. It's tedious, but goes fairly quickly.

 

[TractorGuy]

The subject line reminds me of a carpenter helper joke I heard.

A carpenter hired a female helper and told her she would have to learn how to interpret his signals for getting his tools.

He was up in a ceiling and looks down at the helper to signal he needed a hammer. He pointed to his eye, patted his chest, and waved his fist in a hammering motion.

The helper pointed to her eye, grabbed her left breast, then grabbed her crotch.

The carpenter repeated his signals and so did the helper.

Frustrated the carpenter came down the ladder and explained his signals meant he needed a hammer. The helper responded she knew what he meant and was signaling back she had left it in the box.

 

[cqaigy2]

Wow, nice looking Eddie.

 

[Steppenwolfe]

Rent or buy a Baker's scaffold... less than 200 bucks at Sherwin Williams and some big box stores; walk back and forth, no ladders.

 

[Midniteoyl]

Make a Deadman's and no need to climb to brace.