Boxing up LVL beams with nice timber - ideas and advice please

Hi folks,

I’m building a cathedral ceiling that has three 6m LVL beams. I’d like to dress these in timber but I’m not sure about the best way of going about it.

Attachment 449354

The ridge beam appears smaller, so I’ll have to frame out the ridge so that all 3 beams will appear to be of the same size when finished (something like this for the ridge beam):

Attachment 449353

Given there’s not much for the battens to grab onto on the ridge beam (maybe 50mm), I’m guessing the battens will need to be decently screwed into the beam.

The aim would then be to clad the frame in thin hardwood all around.

My questions are:
- Would this be a suitable framing method for boxing up the LVLs?
- What timber would be suitable for the battens and bottom plate? It’ll need to support hardwood boards.
- What’s the thinnest hardwood boards that one can readily obtain from sawmills and such?

Thanks in advance,
Richard

I'd just run a horizontal batten along each side of the beam. The boxing can then be made up as a U shape and fixed through the sides to the battens. If the boxing material is going to be less than 16mm thick a batten in the bottom of the U will be required. This could be fabricated at ground level using glue rather than metal fixings and the whole thing would resemble one piece of wood when slipped up into position.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by rustynail

I'd just run a horizontal batten along each side of the beam. The boxing can then be made up as a U shape and fixed through the sides to the battens. If the boxing material is going to be less than 16mm thick a batten in the bottom of the U will be required. This could be fabricated at ground level using glue rather than metal fixings and the whole thing would resemble one piece of wood when slipped up into position.

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Got it, but that only works for the two intermediate beams - the ridge beam still needs to be extended downwards. Or are you suggesting the dimensions of the boxing U should be the same for all three beams?

That's right, just make up the boxing to the required dimension and it hangs directly off the battens on each side of the beam. No need to frame it, its not carrying anything other than itself. If the boxing is going to be super thin material then a packing piece will be required in the bottom of the U for fixing the sides of the boxing to the base, whether glued,nailed or screwed. The thinner the material the boxing is made from will reduce both cost and weight. Weight is an important consideration if you intend to fabricate and then lift into position. Easiest way is to knock up a couple of tee tombs reaching from your scaffold to the underside of the boxing, lift the boxing into position and slide a tomb under each end. Now your free to fasten the box to the beam at your leisure.