Pecky cypress ceiling installation in Boca Raton
Pecky cypress ceilings for homes in Boca Raton, Parkland, Fort Lauderdale and Deerfield Beach, installed by Apperals Custom Woodwork. Tongue-and-groove planks, coffered grids, box beams and covered porch ceilings, finished clear, stained or whitewashed.
- Wood
- Pecky cypress, sometimes paired with clear cypress
- Forms
- Tongue-and-groove planks, coffered grids, box beams, tray ceilings, porch and lanai ceilings
- Finish
- Clear sealer, light stain, whitewash or left natural
- Indoors and out
- Interior rooms and covered outdoor ceilings
- Where
- Jupiter to Miami, from our base in Deerfield Beach
Pecky cypress is bald cypress with pockets, channels and pits running through the grain. No two boards match, and that is the point. Overhead it gives a room the worn warmth of an old Florida house, even in new construction.
Search for a pecky cypress ceiling in Boca Raton and you mostly find lumber yards. The wood is easy to buy. Getting it onto a ceiling so the pattern looks deliberate and the joints stay tight through a humid summer takes a carpenter who has done it before.
Where the pockets come from
A fungus attacks some standing cypress trees and hollows out pockets in the heartwood. Once the lumber is milled and dried, the fungus is dead. The pockets do not spread, and the solid wood around them is sound.
Figure varies from board to board and bundle to bundle. Some boards are heavily pocketed, some nearly clear. We manage that variation in layout.
Four ways we install pecky cypress
Tongue-and-groove plank ceilings. We sort every board first, mixing heavy and light figure so no corner ends up all holes or all clear. More on our tongue-and-groove ceiling page.
Coffered grids. Pecky cypress beam boxes with plank or flat panels between them. Layout and framing are on the coffered ceiling page.
Box beams. Three-sided pecky cypress boxes fastened to blocking, across a white ceiling or over planking, as in the photo at the top of this page. The beamed ceiling page covers box beams in other woods.
Porch, loggia and lanai ceilings. Cypress suits a covered outdoor ceiling in South Florida better than most woods.
Pecky cypress outdoors
A porch ceiling sees humidity, salt air and wind-driven rain even under a roof. For those ceilings we:
- acclimate the boards outside, under cover
- seal all faces, including backs and cut ends, before installation
- fasten with stainless steel or coated nails that will not streak the wood
- leave a vent path at the eaves so moisture behind the boards can escape
Finishing pecky cypress
The pockets take finish differently from the flat grain. A clear sealer or penetrating oil keeps the natural honey and gray tones. Whitewash settles into the pits and lifts the texture, as on the distressed tray ceiling in our photos. Dark stains collect in the pockets and can look muddy, so we test on offcuts from the same bundle first.
What a pecky cypress ceiling costs to install
A per-foot number would be too wide to help. What moves the price:
- Form. Flat planking costs the least, beams more per foot, a coffered grid the most.
- Lumber grade and figure. Heavier pecky character and longer lengths cost more.
- Ceiling height and shape. Vaulted, tray and curved ceilings take more cutting and scaffold time.
- Framing. Joists that do not line up with the layout need blocking first.
- Finish. Sealing all six sides for an outdoor ceiling adds labor.
Tell us the form and finish you have in mind, and we will price it once we have seen the space.
Quote for pecky cypress ceilings
Leave your number and we'll call you back to talk through the project and set a time to measure. Builders and designers can text plans to the same number.
That phone number didn't look right. Enter a 10-digit number and send it again.
We couldn't send your request. Please call (754) 264-2296 and we'll take it by phone.
Thank you. We'll call you back from (754) 264-2296. Finish your text in Messages if you'd like to send photos of the space.
Recent work
Pecky cypress ceilings from our jobs
Questions we hear
Who installs pecky cypress ceilings in Boca Raton?
Apperals Custom Woodwork does. We are a finish carpentry company based in Deerfield Beach, and we build pecky cypress plank ceilings, beams and coffers. Most pecky cypress search results are lumber suppliers. We are the installer.
Can pecky cypress be used on a porch ceiling?
Yes. Cypress heartwood resists decay and handles humidity, which is why Florida porches have used it for generations. Under a roof it still needs a finish, stainless or coated fasteners, and ventilation behind the boards.
Is pecky cypress available in tongue and groove?
Yes, it is commonly milled as tongue-and-groove ceiling paneling. The pockets run through some boards, so we sort the stock before installing to keep the pattern even.
Can you build a coffered ceiling out of pecky cypress?
Yes. We build the beam boxes from pecky cypress and fill the panels with pecky planks or a smoother wood for contrast. The texture reads strongest on the beam faces, where light rakes across it.
Do the holes in pecky cypress mean the wood is still rotting?
No. The pockets come from a fungus that attacks some living cypress trees. Once the tree is cut and the lumber dried, the fungus is dead and the pockets stop growing.
How much does a pecky cypress ceiling cost?
It depends on the form, the square footage, the ceiling height and the lumber grade. A plank ceiling costs less than a coffered grid of the same size. We can price yours once we have seen the room.
Pecky cypress by city
Often paired with