I HATE INSULATING CEILINGS!!!

One other note Scotty. You do not have to have end matched T&G. The standard stuff just butts together and you should stagger the seams anyways. so any that don't meet at a rafter, will be held in place by the next groove which should span well past either end of that joint. Granted in the summer and winter those joints expand a little bit, nothing major, nothing noticeable. No issues here.

Im in central pa and my house gets down to about 20-25% humidity in winter. Dryer than a desert. I did all blown in insulation. Cant stand fiberglass. Seems to shrink after a few years as well.( the old stuff anyway)

That looks fantastic, Jags! Love the beams and kingposts, dis you install any recessed lighting? That was my other concern, as I have direct insulation-contact recessed lights, any other thoughts on how to block vapor loss at those lights? Did you seal your ceiling light box with hi-temp rtv where the holes are?

Seasoned Oak, do you have any moisture problems in that ceiling? My house is as dry as a popcorn fart in the winter, too. Right about where yours is (20 to 25% range). Being that wood is my primary heat source (haven't used the furnace in years), its hard to get your humidity up.

Not at all.I actually have to run a HUMIDIFIER in winter. Summer is another story humidity is high but im using the whole house fan a lot so no dead air anywhere.

Thanks Randy! I think I am going to do a similar thing in that ceiling. I was thinking of running a couple pieces of 4" or 6" PVC with perforations in it down each bank of the ceiling, and piping that into a small fan that would inject air into those tighter spaces, maybe put it on a humidistat or a thermal switch to come on when conditions warrant in the summer. Overkill, you say? You did see my name, didn't you? Just some random thoughts......

Not a DIY, but a friend of mine had a guy come in and blow foam on his cathedral ceiling. I think he had foam ventilation troughs. I watched when he did a small section. He was on a way-tall scaffold on wheels. I also think it was the type of foam that needed a vapor barrier.

I looked into the spray foam route, but I didn't like it for several reasons. One of my biggest concerns is that my roof is made up of planks, not sheathing. I was worried about the foam becoming seperated from the planking, not to mention I was worried about it even sticking to the planking due to dust and dirt. I think I have the insulation thing handled, I'm more concerned now about water vapor and a vapor barrier.

It seems unvented cathedral roofs and T&G ceilings are a recipe for disaster.

With the venting you put in, and a continuous air barrier under the planks you should be aok. Poly sounds good, carefully tape the seams with an appropriate tape (like red housewrap tape) and detail the edges. I'm not a fan of recessed lights myself, but sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do. I would def get insulation contact air-tight ICAT fixtures, and detail the air barrier carefully with caulk or tape.

WG, I got the airtite cans, so that's good to go. I will definately seal up all seams, and I'm gonna go a little extra and tape over the staples where I attach the VB to the ceiling joists. Thanks for the tip on looking up scientific building, I found a couple good sites that I looked at. Seems that so far, I'm up to par with my project. I'll keep posting pics as I progress, hoping to have the one ceiling done by Thursday or Friday evening, may even start installing the T&G this Sunday if all goes well.

Looks great so far, Scotty. Way to go.

Thanks Vinny. I'm just hoping I can 'stay the course' and get this project done soon....lol....

Scotty, I doubt "staying the course" is much of a problem.
Most of us on here are self sufficient, self reliant, diy-er's that git 'er dun.
We have faith you'll stay the course.
We need updated pics, so you have to.

thanks Dave. And you are correct, we are the type that likes to 'git-R-done'! I'll update some pics this weekend, I should be ready to put the vapor barrier up by Sunday evening. Hope to be putting up the tongue and groove all next week.

Beware the "airtight" cans. Despite the name, the ones I've seen have plenty of locations where air can leak through. I sealed mine with high temp silicone.

That ceiling's gonna look great! and nice careful work on the insulation too.
If you are worried about all the nail holes in the vapor barrier from the T&G is it too late/spendy to slap some OSB over the poly? Gives you relatively few screws through the poly versus all the nails, and you can squirt some caulk in the holes first if you're real picky. Also would mean you can nail the T&G wherever you want (for butt joints, straightening warped boards...). I did that on a small sunroom because wife wanted the T&G pine to be vertical. Took no time at all since the joints didn't need to be tight.

I would do all of the finishing first on the ground. Some people think that the finish buildup will prevent the boards from going together. I can tell you from experience that it is NOT a problem. Also, some people will put a biscuit in the end joints to keep them aligned with each other.

"Also, some people will put a biscuit in the end joints to keep them aligned with each other."
Excellent idea if you don't mind the work.

PD, I don't think we're going to get that involved. We're looking for more of an authentic 'rustic' feel to that ceiling. I'm not going to go too crazy on sanding, we're going to put a very light stain on the boards, and put two coats of satin clear on them. I'll hit them with a scotch-bite pad between coats and that will be about it..

Scott, sounds like a plan.
I just hadn't thought of doing that. However, the idea of cutting all the ends for biscuits in a decent sized room is .....daunting.

Been hanging with Mad Dog too much, watch out the pads may bite back

Call me Crazy Horse

How are the shoulders holding up on you Scotty? I'm sure you've been feeling the burn quite a bit when working overhead. I put up a bunch of can lights in my basement ceiling last winter and my shoulders were toast when I was done.