Adding faux wood beams to the interior of your home is a great way to bring elegance to any room or space. These beams replicate the look of real wood beams, but are lighter, more durable, and cost-effective. Your faux wood beams can look even more authentic when complemented with faux ceiling beam accessories, such as beam straps, plates, and hinges.

At Volterra Architectural Products, we are proud to manufacture the largest and most distinctive line of flexible beam accessories that replicate forged iron. These non-functional beam straps, hangers, and plates add depth and detail to beams and trusses and are an excellent way to hide seams and gaps — flaws that are somewhat difficult to fill-in, yet these ceiling beam accessories offer a quick, easy, and attractive solution to that problem. 

How to Install Beam Straps & Other Faux Beam Accessories

While they look like authentic forged iron, our collection of VolterraFlex®️ beam accessories are manufactured with a rubber-like material. The good news is that this makes installation pretty simple, as long as you do it properly. In this blog, our experts share how to properly apply VolterraFlex beam straps, plates, and other beam accessories to our faux wood beams and trusses. Check out our step-by-step video for these instructions!

Step #1: Determine Where The Accessories Will Be Placed

A good place to start is by first determining where these faux beam accessories will be placed. Most people use them to wrap around beams for the purpose of covering gaps or for accentuating the beams. Once you find where these accessories are going to be placed, it’s a good idea to outline the placement with a light pencil marking to ensure accuracy.  Plates may be applied in a flat manner to the surface of the beam, but straps should be scored where they meet the corners as specified in techncal data / application instructions shown on the Volterra Products website.

Step #2: Apply Construction Adhesive

Once you have determined where the strap, plate, or hanger will be placed, you are ready to prepare it for placement. Start by applying a polyurethane construction adhesive to the back of the rubber-like surface. For plates and straps, about four to five beads of the adhesive are recommended. Then, using a putty knife, gently spread the adhesive. This may take some time as the material is slick and does not have a lot of absorption. 

Volterra Tip: Avoid spreading the adhesive to the edge of the accessories to prevent any mess when you apply it to your decorative beam or truss. 

Step #3: Apply More Construction Adhesive

To ensure a tight bond, apply a few more beads of construction adhesive on top of which you have already spread out. This time around, spreading the adhesive is not required, but make sure you are not going too close to the edge.

Step #4: Place the Beam Accessory on the Faux Wood Beam

Now that your beam strap, plate, or hanger is properly prepared, you can place it on the beam or truss. First, find your pencil marking and then gently place it on the surface of the beam or truss. Put some pressure on all areas of the beam accessory — you can also slowly slide it back and forth to spread the adhesive properly. Once you have it in the right place, take a pin nailer or a brad nailer to secure the strap to the beam or truss. It’s a good idea to nail close to the bolts so that the nail cannot be noticed. 

Step #5: Let the Adhesive Dry

Now it is time to let the adhesive work it’s magic. Make sure you give it enough time to dry. Before letting it sit, it’s a good idea to see if any glue has seeped out underneath the product where it has been applied. If so, simply wipe it away with a damp cloth. If you can see where the nails went into the strap, use a black magic marker to color in the nail head so it is not noticeable. 

Once everything has dried, you’re ready to hang your faux wood beam! For tips on how to install faux ceiling beams, watch this video. Once they are installed, you’ll love the look and feel they bring to your space.
If you are interested in purchasing faux wood beams plus the faux iron straps and other beam accessories that compliment them so well, visit Volterra Architectural Products today.