Tongue and Groove Ceiling Installation — Pine or Cedar Plank Ceiling
A wood plank ceiling is the cabin look, and it belongs in a great room, a four-season porch or over a kitchen as much as at the lake. The job is furring, layout and a joint that stays tight through a Minnesota winter.
JMB Builders does tongue and groove ceiling installation across the Twin Cities metro and north to St. Cloud: knotty pine, cedar or fir planks, V-groove or flat-joint, blind-nailed to furring strips or straight to the joists, on flat ceilings, vaulted ceilings and covered porches. Boards are acclimated, the layout is set so the last row is a full board, and the edges are trimmed. Priced per room, quoted from your photos within one business day.
- Priced per room or per porch ceiling
- Pine, cedar or fir, V-groove or flat joint
- Vaulted, flat and porch ceilings
- Quote from photos in 1 business day
- Licensed MN contractor BC809005
Tongue and groove planks are solid wood boards, usually pine, cedar or fir, with a tongue on one edge and a groove on the other, blind-nailed through the tongue so no fasteners show. On a ceiling they give the wood-cabin look that people want in a vaulted great room, a four-season porch, a sunroom or a covered porch outside. JMB Builders installs them across the Twin Cities metro and up toward St. Cloud, over existing drywall, on open joists and on vaulted rafters.
The two things that separate a good plank ceiling from a bad one are acclimation and layout. Wood that goes up straight from the lumberyard shrinks the first winter and opens every joint; we bring the boards into the house ahead of time and let them settle to the room. The layout is snapped so the boards run the long way of the room or with the ridge on a vault, the first row is straight regardless of the wall, and the last row is a full board rather than a sliver. Ends are staggered and land on furring or a joist.
This page is for solid wood planks with a V-groove or a flat joint. If you want the painted, beaded look, see the beadboard ceiling page. Pine and cedar are usually finished clear or stained; finishing is quoted as a separate line, and boards are best finished before they go up so the tongues do not show bare when the wood shrinks.
What you supply
- A photo of the ceiling from a corner and one straight up, the room size, and the ceiling height at the wall and at the peak if vaulted
- The wood and the look: knotty pine, clear pine, cedar or fir; V-groove, nickel gap or flat joint; width of the board
- Which lights, fans, vents and beams stay, so we can box around them and add blocking
- Your stain or clear finish if you want us to finish it; finishing is quoted as a separate line, or finish it yourself
What JMB supplies
- Kiln-dried tongue and groove planks in knotty pine, cedar or fir, brought in ahead of time to acclimate
- Furring strips screwed into the joists or rafters over an existing ceiling, shimmed flat, on a spacing that gives every board end a nailer
- Boards blind-nailed through the tongue with a finish nailer, face-nailed only at the first and last rows where the trim covers it
- Ends staggered on a layout, joints cut square, and a gap left at the walls for seasonal movement
- Openings cut for lights, fans and vents, with blocking added for a ceiling fan and box extenders where the ceiling drops
- Crown, cove, a flat band or a ridge board at the edges and the peak to cover the gap and the cut ends
- Prefinishing of the boards before install, or finishing after, quoted as a separate line
- Photos of the finished ceiling in your job folder
How it is priced: per room
Quoted in writing from your photos within one business day. What moves the number:
- Ceiling area and height; a vaulted great room needs staging and a flat porch ceiling does not
- Knotty pine vs. clear pine, cedar or fir, and the board width
- Furring over an existing drywall ceiling vs. fastening straight to open joists or rafters
- Vaulted ceiling with a ridge, valleys or beams to cut around vs. a plain flat rectangle
- Lights, fans, vents, skylights and beams to box around
- Edge and peak trim: a cove, crown, band or ridge board, and how many corners
- Prefinished boards vs. finishing in place, quoted as a separate line
- A covered porch that needs an exterior-rated finish and a vented edge
Send a photo of the ceiling from a corner, the room size and the peak height if vaulted. Say pine, cedar or fir and V-groove or flat, and we quote it firm.
How long it takes
A sunroom or a porch ceiling: a day. A vaulted great room: three to four days including staging. Prefinishing the boards adds a day or two before install.
How your project works
- 1
Send photos, get a written quote
Send three photos of the space and a sentence about what you want. You get a clear, itemized quote within one business day. We only come out to measure first when the job needs a tape measure — no pressure, no games.
- 2
Pick materials, or bring your own
We help you choose profiles and materials that fit the house and the budget, or match your existing millwork exactly — or you buy the door or trim yourself and we install it. Everything is confirmed before the crew is scheduled.
- 3
Clean, precise installation
The crew shows up on time, protects floors and furniture, and installs with tight joints and consistent reveals. Photos of the finished work go in your job folder.
- 4
Walkthrough and invoice
We walk the finished work with you. If anything is not right, we fix it before we call the job done. Then one invoice, paid by check or direct deposit — no card fees, no payment links.
Situations and options
Knotty pine V-groove
The classic cabin ceiling: wide pine boards with a V at every joint, finished clear or with a light stain. Knots and grain are the point. Goes up fast and takes a clear coat well.
Cedar plank ceiling
Tighter grain and a warmer color than pine, and better on a porch or a sunroom where humidity swings. Usually finished with a clear or a penetrating oil so the color stays.
Vaulted or cathedral ceiling
Boards run parallel to the ridge on both slopes, with a ridge board or a beam at the peak to cover the joint and trim at the walls. Staging is set up once and the whole ceiling is done from it.
Covered porch ceiling
Planks fastened to the porch joists or furring, finished on all sides before they go up, with a vented or sealed edge at the beam. Cedar or fir holds up better than pine outside.
Tongue and Groove Ceiling Installation — Pine or Cedar Plank Ceiling: questions, answered
Can you install a tongue and groove ceiling over drywall?
Yes, and it is the most common way to do one in a finished house. Furring strips are screwed through the drywall into the joists, shimmed flat where the old ceiling sags, and the planks are blind-nailed to the furring. The drywall stays, the ceiling drops by the thickness of the furring and the board, and lights and fans are remounted flush to the new surface with box extenders. No demolition and no dust from tearing out the old ceiling.
Pine, cedar or fir for a plank ceiling?
Knotty pine is the cabin look and the most affordable; it wants a clear coat or a light stain and it will yellow a little over the years. Cedar has a warmer color, a tighter grain and handles humidity swings better, so it is the pick for a porch, a sunroom or a bathroom ceiling. Fir is straight-grained and clean, the choice when you want a plank ceiling that does not read as rustic. All three are blind-nailed the same way.
Should the boards be finished before or after they go up?
Before, if the ceiling is being stained or clear-coated. Solid wood shrinks a little every winter, and when it does the tongue shows at each joint; a board finished before install has a finished tongue, so the joint stays one color. Finishing in place leaves a bare line at every joint the first dry January. We prefinish on sawhorses in the garage or the room and quote it as a separate line, or you can finish the boards yourself before we start.
Do you acclimate the wood before installing a tongue and groove ceiling?
Yes. The boards are brought into the house, opened up and stacked with air around them for several days before install so they settle to the room's humidity. Wood that goes straight from the lumberyard to the ceiling in a heated Minnesota house in winter will shrink and open the joints; wood that has settled moves much less. A gap is still left at the walls under the trim so the ceiling can move without buckling.
Can you do a tongue and groove ceiling on a vaulted ceiling?
Yes. On a vault the boards run parallel to the ridge on each slope, the peak gets a ridge board or a beam to cover the joint where the two slopes meet, and the walls get a cove or a band. Staging is set up once in the room and the whole ceiling is done from it, which is most of the difference in cost between a vaulted ceiling and a flat one. Existing beams and collar ties are wrapped or trimmed around.
Does a wood ceiling work on a covered porch in Minnesota?
Yes, with the right wood and finish. Cedar or fir holds up better than pine outside, and every board is finished on all sides before it goes up so moisture cannot get into the back. The edge at the beam is trimmed and either vented or sealed so water off the roof does not sit on the end grain, and the boards are fastened to the porch joists or to furring, never to the soffit alone. Send a photo of the porch and we tell you which wood fits it.
Get a written quote for this job
Three photos and a sentence is enough. You hear back within one business day. Or text the photos to 763-204-2099.
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Read morePage reviewed September 24, 2026 · JMB Builders LLC, MN license BC809005 · All finish carpentry pages
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