Renovation of a regular stick frame. It will look somewhat like a timber frame when complete.

Last week,  this house looked like any other stick framed house with an eight foot ceiling.

 I have stripped down all of the drywall, lath, plaster and insulation from the ceiling,  and torn out the ceiling joists in preparation for the remodel.
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 It's going to be a very open concept with a soaring cathedral ceiling. The wood that is now exposed,  will be cleaned up and given a finish.

 A new roof is being built above this space,  so that the wood that we see, only needs to carry its own weight.

 I have suggested that they build a couple of timber frame bents,  complete with a cross beam and king post. Currently, the largest dimension wood is the planed 2x6 rafters.  I don't usually like a faux finish but we will use the timbers to hide wiring and there will be some chandeliers and such attached.

 Wood finishing material is yet to be determined. I hope to convince them to do it with boiled linseed oil. We are not going to do anything about the cracks between the boards. The shingle material above,  gives a very black contrast to the reddish wood.
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 My cordless blower has been invaluable on this project. It moves 480 cubic feet of air per minute. The blower has been used to get rid of all of the residual fiberglass insulation, along with a million spider webs, bug cocoons and other things that build up within an attic space.

 All of the wood is being scrubbed with a short bristled very stiff brush. This removes most dried on dirt and lots of little beads of amber like,  dried tree sap.

Here's a few more pictures.

I love your idea...and this type of "retrofit" is the only type of "faux" work I have ever agreed to do in the past.

It actually does more work than one expects and does it really well. Your concept is really sound.

There are ways also that it may actually serve them as part of the structural matrix itself and save money in the overall remodel you described which sounds like it will be a vast improvement on the current layout format, and design of the living space.

Thanks for sharing the project, as this is another great DIY for more advanced and/or ambitions home owners...

Look great- I am curious as to how a new roof will be added that doesn't add weight to the existing one.
I have a bare rafter ceiling in my kitchen ( flood in the bathroom above) .
I hate dong drywall, so it has languished. Would a linseed finish resist the oily dust that comes from an active kitchen?

I assume there will be hood fans,  since it's going to be a very modern kitchen. I guess it will depend on how much frying they do.

 Eighty percent of the brushing is done. I'm off on another job right now.

The wood has been cleaned and given a protective coating. Not sure what they used. I'm back to remove more drywall and insulation. The plans changed.

Most contractors pay to throw insulation away. An ad on Used Victoria, provided several people who need the stuff. Two loads were sent off. This put $60 in my pocket and saved $200 in labor, trucking and dump fees. An average attic of a three bedroom house, can be upgraded by an additional R20 of fiberglass for $100 or less, using insulation from my jobs.

This place contained R12, R20 and R28 batts. The guy is insulating 2 houses and a shop. Since he was on time and properly equipped, he will get called on the next few jobs, until all of the work is done.

Poorly installed sky lights may have caused some of the water problems. High winds at this hillside location, may have allowed water to be pushed up against gravity. Regular asphalt can't handle the conditions. Ice and water shield helps. The new roof will be metal, with a standing seam.

This house has an elevator. Very handy.

One thing does concern me. Removing the existing ceiling joists could possibly cause problems. In conventionally framed roof systems, the ceiling joists act to keep the thrust of the rafters from pushing the walls out. There are smaller collar ties up higher visible in the photos, but these might not be sufficient to check the forces that will come into play now that the joists have been removed. The original configuration was a triangle, with the joists being the base and attaching to the sides of each rafter right where they bear upon the walls. There are several solutions to this, one being to install a continuous beam at the ridge supported at intervals by posts.
The movement might not occur immediately, but sooner or later, gravity always wins.

I presume the "faux" timber framed bents planned for insertion will actually take a good part of that load, both in being tied at the ends into the eave plates and in having a king post that goes up to the ridge. So it will not really be faux finishing at all, but necessary structural reinforcing.

Where is the vapor barrier in that roof structure? improper placement of that in cathedral ceilings is often a cause of moisture and rot. Might want to confirm that before re-insulating.
Great pics and nice place! What's the outside look like?