How to Make a Rustic Ceiling

Use your electronic stud finder to mark out the joists throughout the ceiling, using a pencil and level to draw the lines showing where they are.

Measure the ceiling along the starting side, which must be in a perpendicular direction to the joists. Mark out the measurement on a wood ceiling board. Cut the boards to that size on your miter saw.

Set the board to the ceiling, with the grooved side facing the wall, positioned half an inch away from it to leave room for the natural expansion of the wood. Secure the board to the joists using a trim nailer. Shoot two nails straight up through the board at each point where it crosses a joist.

Cut the next board to size. Link it to the side of the first board, locking the tongue-and-groove edges tightly together. Secure it by shooting a nail through the side of the board (not the face this time) at each point where it crosses a joist.

Repeat the process for each board, working your way across the ceiling. Cut the final board lengthwise to fit along the ending wall while leaving a half-inch space there. Ceiling trim will cover the spaces.