What Nails to Use for Tongue & Groove Ceilings

Protecting Planks

• Before installing tongue and groove ceiling planks with nails, you should make any changes to the planks that you would like to make. If you would like to change the color or provide protection to the surface of tongue and groove ceiling planks to prevent stains and other damage, do it to the individual planks while you still have them at floor level. Stain the planks any color that you want first, then cover the planks with polyurethane coating for protection.

Construction Adhesive

• Before laying the first plank of a tongue and groove ceiling you must lay a bed of construction panel adhesive. This adhesive helps secure the planks in place. For the best results, smooth construction panel adhesive down to an even layer on the ceiling once you apply it to ensure that the ceiling planks sit level on the surface.

Nail the Planks

• After laying a tongue and groove plank into a bed of construction panel adhesive on the ceiling, you can finally nail the planks into place. You can do this in one of two ways: Nail the planks through the tongues, according to the manufacturer’s directions, if you want to keep the nails hidden, or nail the planks through the main part of the boards if you don’t mind the nails showing. Dulley recommends 4d nails, equivalent to roughly 1½ inches in length, which should provide enough length to pass through the plank and into the ceiling.

Making Nails Look Nice

• To keep a uniform appearance across a tongue and groove ceiling, use a consistent nailing pattern. Place one nail at each corner of each plank, for instance, or space nails evenly along the plank edges. If you would like to hide the nails on the surface of ceiling planks but don't want to hammer through the tongues of the planks, hammer the nails with a nail set so that they sit slightly below the surface of the planks, then fill the holes in with wood filler. Stain the filler to match the rest of the wood to further hide the filled spots.