How to dress up an outdoor wood beam

lzicc · Sep 19, 2013

I have a 2x12 beam about 38' long that supports my decks roof. It's make from outdoor wood. I want to cover the beam and paint it. The beam is projected from the weather since it is under the roof. I as going to cover it with 1 x 12 pine, but was wondering if anyone had a better suggestion. Pine doesn't take paint real well. I don't want to paint the beam like it is just because how outdoor wood is. Any suggestions?

aczlan · Sep 19, 2013

What if you just stained/varnished and urethaned it?
I have seen some nice large beams like that where they have been stained/varnished, then coated with urethane.

Aaron Z

woody · Sep 19, 2013

rap it with aluminum and then you will not have to paint it every few years.

tommu56 · Sep 19, 2013

PVC trim board one shot and done no paint.

Trimboards - Trim - CertainTeed

or pvc sheet trim bent up same link for sheet material

tom

PhysAssist · Sep 19, 2013

Either aluminum or vinyl would be my plan to never ever have to worry about carpenter bees.

dave1949 · Sep 19, 2013

I wonder just how well you would like the look if painted. It would sort of stand out compared to the siding. If you do paint, adding some detail/steps to the enclosing trim boards might be something to consider to get away from the painted slab look. Of course that's my opinion and it's your house. :laughing:

Personally, I would go with aluminum or vinyl/pvc. Both would benefit from some detail too, the pvc would be the easiest to do that with, but probably more expensive than aluminum over pine wood detail. If you have an aluminum trim contractor do the beam and vertical posts using a brake, it's done forever pretty much.

wmonroe · Sep 19, 2013

I would also wrap it in aluminum, no maintenance and will look good.

lzicc · Sep 20, 2013

I thought about the aluminum, but it's expensive and I don't have a brake. I don't know if they make really wide aluminum fascia or not. That was one option I thought about.

lzicc · Sep 20, 2013

Another issue with using aluminum is that I have large carriage bolts going through the beam from one side to the other that stick out a little. I may try to pull them out one at a time and countersink them if I can.