Quick detour
So our plan was to finish sanding and then prime the beadboard and paint it white. Once Nick had finished cleaning it up he thought it wouldn't be that difficult to clean it up enough so we could varnish it instead of painting. Boy was that a great idea. He managed to finish all the scraping and sanding and then got the wood conditioner put on and one coat of varnish today. Here's a picture of some of the boards.
This is the original beadboard and they are nice, thick pieces of fir. Our neighbors porch also has a beadboard ceiling, but it is painted white so we think it will look cool to have the varnish. Maybe by the end of next weekend we'll be able to have it installed. (Or should I say Nick might have it installed with Atticus and me cheering him on!) This is another benefit to DYI- if you change your mind it only impacts you, you don't have to deal with all the schedules of the workers and wait to see how long it would take to make the change. Overall, a productive weekend!