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Vinyl Upholstered Ceiling Beams??

Posted: Thu Dec 29, 2011 1:23 pm
by khepstar
I have a 1975 Tamarack model single-wide. Apparently the aesthetic back in the day, was to outfit this type of mobile home with giant, fake, GOLD, vinyl-upholstered, beams. There are beams running the "hamburger" way down my living room, each about as large as gymnastics balancing beams. This is coupled with thin gold plastic molding around the parameter of the ceiling, and some deep looking gold vinyl upholstery where the ceiling meets in places, as if it were put in before the horrific, fake, vinyl, "wood", paneling.

Does anyone else have this, or experience removing it??

A handyman who caught sight of it one day said that he imagined it was only "aesthetic," (being kind) and would not damage the house to take down.

But I am concerned about what the house will look like if I try to, and I don't have money to spend right away on fixing it. I imagine I'd have to cut into the vinyl to try to rip away at what's inside? There are no visible screws or other hints at how it stays up there. What will taking the horrible beams down reveal?

Another idea I've had is to buy some Rust-Oleum vinyl fabric painting spray, and to spray paint the gold vinyl another color so as to detract from it's gold hideousness. I'm concerned though, because all of the Rust-Oleum info says (even in the case of cars) that you are to disengage the item you mean to spray and take it outside before working on it. (Like, take the seat out of the automobile, for example.) If I could take these horrendous things down so easily I would.

AND-- it gets better-- this horrible gold vinyl upholstery even runs as a bumper around my kitchen counter, and down the entirety of it's backside. FANTASTIC. At least, in a worst-case scenario, if we rip the sink and cabinetry out we won't have to deal with it anymore. One down!

Any experience with vinyl-upholstered, fake, ceiling beams? Any words of wisdom? I'm nesting, and I'd like them gone! Thanks in advance.

Mandy

Re: Vinyl Upholstered Ceiling Beams??

Posted: Thu Dec 29, 2011 5:40 pm
by Greg
And they said that Disco is dead... I can't even wrap my head around that, Can you post a picture?

I would guess that it is stapled either on the top or at the top of the beam. If you have a room or section that is fairly hidden you can try taking it apart, but there is no guarantee that what's under it will look any better. My guess is that once you get down to the wood it is just screwed into place.

You may be able to replace it with just some stained pine 1x with out having to do much work.

Greg

Re: Vinyl Upholstered Ceiling Beams??

Posted: Thu Dec 29, 2011 8:33 pm
by Rich_S
I feel pictures are needed before quality advice can be given.

Perhaps you can install a bowling alley.

Re: Vinyl Upholstered Ceiling Beams??

Posted: Fri Dec 30, 2011 12:11 am
by DCDiva
I think you might have to remove the whole ceiling to get rid of it==without a photo it is hard to say but they did some odd things in the 70's lol--- the cost is not as high as you think--if you do it one room at a time---we used masonite 4 x8 sheets light weight and cost @$ 6 a sheet,you prime and paint in place and we used 1x4--you can use 1x3 to trim out and it looks great--put we can take the trim and ceiling down if we need to do a repair--album below
Melissa
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Re: Vinyl Upholstered Ceiling Beams??

Posted: Fri Dec 30, 2011 4:45 pm
by Steve S.
I'd like to see a photo of that myself...sounds pretty tacky. I have three "fake" beams in my living room running perpendicular to the length of the home constructed of dark wood paneling. They are not totally "aesthetic" as they do house overhead light receptacles at the ends near the walls. Seems as if this (my) 1985 MH was designed with modern CFL or LED lights in mind for these fixtures inside of the faux beams get very, very hot with the old incandescent bulbs. Needless to say, I don't keep them on for very long periods of time.
I would venture to guess that your faux gold-vinyled beams are just that and pose no risk to the ceiling structure if you have the normal length ceiling tiles that run the width of the MH. I sort of like my faux beams (no hideous gold vinyl) and they provide a hiding place for such things as electrical cords for ceiling fans :wink:

Re: Vinyl Upholstered Ceiling Beams??

Posted: Sat Dec 31, 2011 1:35 pm
by TappanTrailer
Mandy, I'm sorry you are stuck with these. I figure you have two options here that are viable. You can either redecorate your house around these, and embrace your inner "Hollywood Regency" style......or.....

If you really hate them that much, I'd uncover a chunk of your beam, remove the vinyl, and associated trim to see what is underneath. Ideal if one happens to run through a closet or something where you can't see it once you uncover it. If it is just a simple box beam, the easiest, and best looking way to take care of that is either painting it, or getting some laminate or hardwood flooring and covering it up. You can then just get wood corner moldings to cover the seams. I did this in a prior house to cover up a glue lam beam, and it turned out just gorgeous. I found some real cherry hardwood flooring and used that. You can often find small lots of left over flooring on Craigslist fairly cheap- not enough for even a room, but certainly enough to cover a beam, or you could buy it new.

Tami

Re: Vinyl Upholstered Ceiling Beams??

Posted: Sun Jan 01, 2012 1:21 am
by bobfather99
I have had a similar situation on a mobile I was working on awhile ago. Previous owners damaged the "beam" vinyl covering. I found some leftover laminate flooring on craigslist and used it to cover the beam across the kitchen/living room. I made some trim for the seams from 1X3s and stained it to match the beam(fancy-ed up the edges with a router). Looked great, and ended up easy on the wallet too!!

Re: Vinyl Upholstered Ceiling Beams??

Posted: Sun Jan 01, 2012 4:17 pm
by khepstar
Happy New Years everyone! Thank you for your replies!

I certainly understand the need for pictures, and have taken some (for science!) Please know that anarchist clowns have not invaded my house, I have a million paint samples up (over the hideous wood paneling), and just can't make up my mind (but I'm not going with the purple, so don't worry). Also note: due to other renovation needs, no one lives here currently, so please excuse spider webs, and as for that hanging camping light... well... I live in jabooty and the house thinks it's a lodge.

Now, on to the freak show!:

This photo is looking at the ceiling from the area in front of my kitchen. The ceiling "steps down" in two spots-- one right above where I am taking the picture, and again at the end of the living room.

Image

This picture gives you a closer view of that step-down I mentioned:

Image

...and this one illustrates how they lined part of the upper wall with the upholstered vinyl, as if to punish whomever decided to buy it.

Image

Once you're done trying to scratch out your eyes, let me know what you think ;) (But don't you diss my paint samples, I'm fragile.)

Thanks again!
Mandy

Re: Vinyl Upholstered Ceiling Beams??

Posted: Sun Jan 01, 2012 4:23 pm
by khepstar
...and in the pictures it may seem as if the vinyl is a nutty brown color, but oh no-- I assure you it's gold.

Re: Vinyl Upholstered Ceiling Beams??

Posted: Sun Jan 01, 2012 4:58 pm
by Greg
Well I CAN say that I have seen worse, at least it is "color coordinated" I have seen some with purple ceilings. After seeing the pictures I almost wonder if it is a factory job, if not they did a good upholstery job. I don't see any problems removing them, I doubt they are at all structural. I would cut the vinyl and see how it is attached I would be as careful as possible, the ceilings look to be in great shape. If it is factory there may be screws or a half million nails holding it up.

Greg

Re: Vinyl Upholstered Ceiling Beams??

Posted: Mon Jan 02, 2012 12:39 pm
by Mobile68
I seriously doubt those are from the manufacturer, but either way, they're not structural.

Those are there to cover the seams of the ceiling panels. If you remove the vinyl, you should be able to see the screws that hold the beams up.

Re: Vinyl Upholstered Ceiling Beams??

Posted: Mon Jan 02, 2012 2:18 pm
by stevieb
I think I would take eveything down, Underneath I am sure you will find the plastic filler strips damaged. I would run very thin wood strips to cover them, using thin paneling nails once you locate the ceiling studs on either side of the plastic strip. Use some cheap paintable corner molding where the walls meet the ceiling.
Since you are painting anyway and the ceiling panels look to be in good shape. Lucky that they are! Just paint the areas where the cieling drops down too.

Re: Vinyl Upholstered Ceiling Beams??

Posted: Mon Jan 02, 2012 2:51 pm
by Mobile68
stevieb wrote:I think I would take eveything down, Underneath I am sure you will find the plastic filler strips damaged. I would run very thin wood strips to cover them, using thin paneling nails once you locate the ceiling studs on either side of the plastic strip. Use some cheap paintable corner molding where the walls meet the ceiling.
Since you are painting anyway and the ceiling panels look to be in good shape. Lucky that they are! Just paint the areas where the cieling drops down too.
Exactly.

The only issue might be discoloration of the walls and ceiling panels compared to what's under the beams and ceiling trim.