How to Install a Plank Ceiling in an Unheated Sun Porch

Run the measuring tape along the porch ceiling at a 90-degree angle to the ceiling joists. Take a measurement across the length of the ceiling from the inside of one wall to the inside of the opposite wall.

Cut a plank to the length that you measured in Step 1. If the length is longer than any of your boards, you will need to cut a board so that it ends at the center of a ceiling joist. This will allow you to nail the ends of both boards at a joint to a joist.

Hold a plank up against the bottom of the ceiling joists and abutted to the wall of the house. Having an assistant makes this job much easier. Secure it in place by driving two nails through the plank and into each ceiling joist that it crosses.

Place another board against the first and press them together. Nail the second board on in the same way you did the first. If you have to use multiple boards in a row, vary the joints between them at random to avoid creating distracting rows of joints in the ceiling.