Quote: Originally posted by Bernie47 on 20/10/2013
I agree that it is sacrilege to paint oak beams, and once they have been painted it is impossible to return them to their former state.
And that could devalue the property. If i viewed a property with painted oak beams i'd walk away.
Surely there is another way to brighten up the room?
Quote: Originally posted by rjtcamplet on 12/12/2017
Quote: Originally posted by Bernie47 on 20/10/2013
I agree that it is sacrilege to paint oak beams, and once they have been painted it is impossible to return them to their former state.
And that could devalue the property. If i viewed a property with painted oak beams i'd walk away.
Surely there is another way to brighten up the room?
It sounds like that they are false beams put in to try and match the original ones in the rest of the building,can't see a problem painting them.
saxo1
If the beams are only 30 years old, are they structural? Mock beams were fashionable then, every Ye Olde Pub had them. If they're not holding anything up and are purely cosmetic (ask an expert) take them down. There'll be patching in to do and / or use heavy duty lining paper, but the ceiling will be higher and more easily decorated in later years.
Or if they are structural, put a suspended ceiling up with new plasterboard. It'll be even lower than it is now though.
Kitchen beams will be thick with chip fat & burnt bacon smoke - a lot of sticky washing with fairy liquid before the sugar soap. Sore shoulders. When they're white, the cooking effects will show up much more. Washing / painting will be annual.
Quote: Originally posted by fran1000 on 20/10/2013
Some stains stop paint from adhering to the wood. There are stain blockers you can buy to prevent that, the best one begins with a Z and if my memory improves any time soon I'll let you know what it's called!
product is from Zinser, I recently used some to cover a dado rail which was stained mahogany and repainted white, I used ZinsserBIN,it dries VERY quickly (15 mins) so you need to watch that the brush does not go hard, can be painted over in about 2 hours. Give Zinsser a ring ans ask if it would be suitable. It is available from Screwfix (£20/tin)
http://www.zinsseruk.com/product/
Ha ha . I see that this thread has surfaced. Well I painted them. I do want to remind everyone that the beams are in the original grade 2 listed part of the building. The beams I painted were about 30 years old, very dark on a low kitchen ceiling. I’m really pleased with the result . It’s brightened the room no end .
I'm glad that painting them worked for you! I've seen painted beams in property programmes and - as long as they're not original - the effect is a big improvement.
Oak beams were often lime washed in the old days so the bare beams that old houses have today possibly weren't originally bare but the lime wash has 'washed off' over the years.