How to Frame a Groin Vault Ceiling with Longacre Construction
Early this morning I packed up the delivery truck with 2 large groin vault kits and headed out to Chico, Texas to meet Longacre Construction to help them build the groin ceilings for their current project. I have known Carol and Dan with Longacre Construction for quite sometime now, so when I received a phone call a week prior from Dan, saying he has an opportunity to use the Archways & Ceilings Groin vault kit, I was ecstatic.
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Of course I was ecstatic to make a sale, but I was more excited to have the opportunity to work side by side with a high quality company, not to mention Carol Longacre is going to be the next President of the HBA of Greater Dallas.
I pulled up to the jobsite and was instantly greeted by Daryl Shields with Longacre construction. He immediately jumped in and helped me unload the groin vault kits. We then laid each groin vault kit next to the rooms we planned to install them in and prepared for installation. We grabbed 2 ladders, a nail gun, measuring tape, and finish nailer. We were ready! Wait… I keep saying we… It should be more like Daryl was ready and I was ready to merely read off the directions for him.
First I had Daryl use the Groin Vault layout CAD supplied by Archways & Ceilings to help layout where each of the groin vault struts will be placed. Each groin ceiling has a long side and a short side if the ceiling is rectangular in shape (and for our project it was). This is important because a groin ceiling has 4 sides, 2 of the sides are long sides, and the other 2 sides are the short sides. We marked all 4 sides and now the hard part was done. Laying out the groin is the most important step when installing because this step will allow you to fly through the rest of the installation process and take most of the thinking out of it as well.
With our measurements and marks in place, we began installing the groin vault struts. Each strut has an L or S with a corresponding number. These crucial markings indicate Long side versus short side and indicate which order to be placed. For example a S4 means Short side / 4 th strut. Once Daryl completed installing the groin vault struts for all 4 sides, we were able to move on to the next step. Tip: Don’t worry about the groin vault corners lining up. If you follow the Layout CAD, they will naturally come together.
Daryl hopped down from the ladder and grabbed his Finish Nailer so we could go back and fasten all the groin vault corners together. Daryl simply pulled the corners together like a picture frame and began nailing. This is an exciting step, because your groin ceiling is almost complete.
After Daryl finished nailing the corners together, he went back through and added extra bracing to help support the groin vault. He even added a few cripple studs to support the groin to the ceiling joists above. With a smile from Daryl and a nod of approval we were done! Daryl has officially completed his first groin vault. Daryl immediately said, “Time for lunch!”
The dining room groin ceiling for Longacre construction was officially completed (in 60 minutes). High five’s all around and a beautiful ceiling left for the homeowner. All in all, a job well done!
For more information about the outstanding craftsmanship provided by Longacre Construction please visit www.longacreconstruction.com
“From Concept to Completion!”
