Wood ceiling restoration: Restoring a tongue a groove ceiling

I recently purchased a home which has a tongue and groove wood ceiling in a screen porch that had not been maintained over the past seven years.  So it was restoration time.

The ceiling was untouched for years all though protected by the elements directly it still withstood moisture and no sun whatsoever.

Te process I choose for this restoration of the ceiling was:

1. A cleaning, due to it being on a screen porch I decided to utilize a pressure washer on lw pressure with  a biodegradable cleaner with light bleach. The rinse rinse with water
2. Wait and let it dry and for me it took three days and I tested the moisture content with a moisture meter to verify its dryness. 
3. light sanded the ceiling and let me tell you holding a sander in that position was a challenge for the arms.  I used a Festool no dust sander with a vacuum extractor to keep the dust at bay.  The ceiling which measures 8 feet by 2 took 4.5 hours just to sand.
4. I then vacuumed off the entire ceiling and them wiped down with a tack cloth to remove any particles of dust missed.
5. I then hung plastic on all the walls with tape and 3m painters plastic to catch any dips of the product I was puin go the ceiling
6. i then applied two coats of an Oil based Spar varnish by Helmsman.  After the first coat i lightly sanded with 220 grit sand paper and wiped off with a tack cloth as well as vacuumed down

As you can see by the pictures it is now protected for years to come and endure the weather all though no directly hot by rain or snow it does have to have a protective coat.

Tips for this project;

• wear a dust mask
• wear protective gloves from the varnish
• protect the floor and walls
• give yourself enough time from power washing to dry time and the completed look with be worth waiting for