I have to admit, I'm pretty proud of the way this turned out! The beam adds a ton of warmth and character to our kitchen space and I was able to do it for just under $100. We are changing to white counters and backsplash soon so I knew I wanted to add more rich colors to compliment our dark green island.
First, I measured the opening and realized pretty quickly that an 18 ft common board would not fit in my car. I had to create two separate beams in order for it to reach from one side to the other. This would cause a seam in the wood so I ordered these rubber straps from Home Depot to cover it. The 41 inches was enough to create two faux metal straps. I went to Home Depot and purchased enough 1x6 inch wood to cover the area. I knew I needed 8 boards to create the two boxes. I sanded all the boards first then stained them dark walnut. I let them dry overnight. *Pro tip* make sure your boards are drying flat so they don't warp or bow!
After I stained the boards I started by nailing the baseboard into the ceiling first. To make sure the board had the support it needed, I bought 3" extra coarse screws and screwed them in at different angles about 4-6" apart. I was screwing directly into a stud so I felt pretty confident of the beam's ability to carry the weight but if you're not screwing into a stud, I would create a small L bracket inside the hollow beam using some scrap wood.
I lined up my wood on the counter to make sure everything was even then used my nail gun to nail in each side one by one, ending with the bottom board last.
After I had the first box nailed up into the ceiling, I did the same exact thing again on the other side. The two beams almost touched creating about a millimeter seam between the two (hence the faux metal straps).
Here is the space before adding the beam.
I'm super happy with the way this DIY project turned out. The beam was pretty easy to do and can add so much character to an otherwise ordinary space!
always, abby
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