Since I can't get to a luau locally, I'm sheathing my ceiling in luaun...
I put up my angled, mitre-cut furring strips along the hat channel sides (Foto 1). Overhead clearance would be too tight, otherwise.
Overkill, but I used some hefty self tappers (Foto 2) to attach, after first marking my hole with one tap of the punch, circling in magic marker (cuz the drift punch sometimes'll drift off target), wale the hell out of the punch with my 4 lb maul, and drill just deeply enough to permit boring out the remainder of the hole with the screw.
I used 3 different bits to perforate the furring: a spade to allow a slight countersink, permitting the bit-driver socket to comfortably fit, a wood drill bit to widen the diameter enough to accommodate the punch
barely reaching the back side (to accurately determine where the hole is to go), then augered out to accommodate the self-tapper.
I'm using full sheets of 1/8" luaun down the center. Well, the full 4' width, cut lengthwise to fit spacing. One sheet is good to cover 3 spaces between the ribs.
I had twice as many sheets ripped to my specs lengthwise for the sides, since there was well over 2' of remaining space to panel.
On the side pieces, I glued down Reflectix, after trying to pre-stress them: Wrapped & chinched down with multiple ratchet straps, I sprayed the backside down with water repeatedly, covering with a damp tarp in between sprayings, over a several days' course.
Periodically tightening the straps to increase the curvature, I discovered early on luaun is extremely friable, and will crush, splinter, and/or crack with little instigation! Using some 1 1/4" zinc-plated punched angle I had laying around doing nothing better ATM, placed along the long edges, in between the straps & the panels, distributed the stresses more evenly, mitigating the fracturing problem.
Ultimately, there was limited success at pre-stressing, btw. It'd stay curved, but more shallowly than was of much benefit.
As I've left the longitudinal wiring rails in place, I didn't panel down to the windows. That residual open space allowed me to once again employ my ratchet straps; run over and behind the panel, hooked up together in the panel's open radius.
That angle steel along the panel's top edge is
critical to success..! {I'd've shared a foto of that too, but they were on my awesome DSLR camera (along with a pile of
other build fotos). Which, apparently someone needed more than me, and filched it out of my car a few weeks ago... [emoji22] }
Oh-so-carefully cinching progressively down allowed me to drill in the cabinet screws (Foto 4) thru pre-marked points into the furs. I later determined that pre-tapping those predetermined points worked even better.
Ease off the tension working upwards, to allow the panel to press into the rib until getting to the top edge. (Foto 3)
There are some warpy edge issues along the long axis. For 6/8 of my windows, shotgun side, I put the top rail for my cabinets over the seam. For exposed seams that don't fit flushly, I may have to come back with some trim to camouflage that unsightly condition.
Pre-installation, I stained the sheets (ooo,
that doesn't sound good!), followed by several coats of clear gloss polyurethane. Shiny!
I used a cheapo sponge edger I found at Y'allmart. It worked a helluva lot better than a brush, btw.
Making the curve using full sheets
may work better, if you have an assistant or few. This tune here is being played by a one-man band. Putting up the one full sheet I have thusfar managed to install onto the considerably less severe curvature was quite a chore, what with a bad rotator cuff and a bum back.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by KalamariSafari
- Any issues with warping?
- Did you get it to follow ceiling curves satisfactorily?
- How are you fastening it?
- Why did you not use another paneling material?
- Did you use it in any cabinetry?
- Regrets?
- Anecdotes?
- Is it just thin plywood, or does it have ulterior motives?
The ceilings, and maybe walls of my rig will end up being paneled in luan. I'm thinking 1/8" to 1/4". I've never worked with it, but am considering it for flexibility and weight savings. Not trying to make an ultralight school bus here, but I don't see the need for thicker materials. |
*phew*
Sure hope all that was worth it...
What thickness was that? He said 1/8". 
. Fair point, I just hate the idea of lugging around things I don't need. All that another 1/4 inch of ply would offer me would be unnecessary rigidity, weight, and materials cost. Upside, I would probably gain a point of R value. 
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