I am finishing a wraparound porch. I’ve decided to use beadboard plywood panels instead of vinyl, aluminum, or wood tongue and groove planks on the ceiling. I understand why planks would need to run perpendicular to the ceiling joists, but with the boards and my measurements I think it would be simpler for the boards to be installed lengthwise with the joists. Doing that would make the lines in the ceiling run opposite of the deck. Is this just a personal preference? Or some other reason I am not thinking of?
Porch – Do Beadboard Ceiling Panels Always Run the Same Direction as Porch Decking Below It and Why
porch
Best Answer
To answer your specific question, ceilings usually follow decking because that's the way we've always done it.
I kid: decking usually runs wide (fewer cuts, tradition), and ceiling boards usually run wide because the underlying framing is usually perpendicular to the house. I think we've come to expect this symmetry.
In your case, the strength of the sheet goods (long axis versus short axis) isn't relevant, as it's just holding itself up. So do whatever you want. It might look really cool and it might look odd to anyone that notices. (I sincerely doubt that many people would actually notice...)
This is just my opinion, but the one tiny detail I'd do is to mirror whatever the treatment is in the corners. If your decking is mitered, then miter the ceiling, etc.