Hanging Drywall

[JHZR2]

Hello,

I am putting a drywall ceiling over my living room plaster ceiling. Way back when, folks wallpapered the original plaster, then ceiling tiles were installed, and we have removed them... we are at the original plaster, and it is beyond repair due to the requirement to remove the wallpaper, fix all the cracks, at that point, we might as well re-do the whole thing.

My only problem is this: do I hang the 4x8 drywall with or across the joists? they are 16" on center, more or less (old house, things are crooked and never exact), so at different points across the ceiling, drywall may lay with nearly 16" not supported, exept that I can screw it into the lathe for what its worth...

So, what is th correct way to hang drywall, with or against the joist direction? How do you support the overhang areas? I guess that is what taping is for???

Thanks!

JMH

 

[salesrep]

Across. You have to cut the boards to the joists for support.
The hanging thang in the middle of joist won't cut it.
You really want to consider ripping and gripping all the plaster and lathes down.

 

[JHZR2]

Thanks!

Now next problem... my living room is 14x24, so if I hang 12' sections (tough for a DIYer)across the joists (in the 24' direction), Ill end up having a butt joint right in the middle of the ceiling in my LR.

I could use 8' sections, which are easier to work with, and then have twice as many butt joints, but none of them in the center of the ceiling... thus hopefully hiding them better... plus it lets me stagger the pieces better.

What would be the better way?

Also, given the size of the room and that we live in the house, ripping down all the plaster would be VERY tough.. We are having a terrible time doing it on our porch, which is much smaller... Can I get away with 3/8" drywall, since fireproofing isnt an issue (given that there is another ceiling up there), and its much lighter?

I did the ceilings in my parents house (with my grandfather and another semi-pro to help us as well), 13+ years ago, and they still look like new... they were over plaster... What is the issue wth putting drywall over plaster???

Thanks!!!

JMH

 

[Oldmoparguy1]

Hi JMH. Been there, done that. This is an old house, right? Ceilings should be 9' or so. plenty of room to either drop the ceiling, or fir it out with 1"x 3" wood strips. Dropping the ceiling is more expensive and labor intensive, but gives you a nice true ceiling. Did that on house with 12' ceilings. If you fir it out, you can correct unevenness by shimming the strips. Run the firing strips across the ceiling joists. Use square drive deck screws, or a nail gun. Those old ceiling joists are going to be hard with age. Use 1/2" or 5/8" drywall, the 3/8" can work ok on walls, but will drive you crazy on the ceiling. You should be able to rent a wallboard jack. Much better then doing it by hand. You might want to consider hiring pro drywall installers. Worth checking on anyway. That's going to be quite a project, good luck and be careful, you can really mess up your neck and shoulders doing ceilings. Ask me how I know.

 

[Pablo]

For sure use 3/8". If the plaster is at least stable, no problem.

I would use 8' because of the neck. On second thought I couldn't do ceiling joints anymore. For sure stagger it and live with more short joints (rather than one long crack!)

 

[salesrep]

agrred 5/8 or 1/2 I was thinking of the weight thing when going over plaster nad the possibility of sagging. If nailed or screwed properly i am sure it will be fine.

 

[74DartSport]

My house is 86 years old and the walls and ceilings are drywall, a layer of some concrete-like substance, then a thin layer of plaster. Redid one room with ¼" drywall (walls and ceiling, screwed and glued) and it looks great. Total thickness is a shade under 1¼".
You gotta go to a real building supply house to find ¼" rock though.

 

[alreadygone]

Total amateur,, but did do an addition to our home few years ago. One of those jacks from a rental outlet is the only way to go($24.50/day then IIRC).

Another thought, most larger cities have an area where guys without green cards gather looking for day at a time work, usually rock hangers pretty easy to get.

Bob

 

[ARB1977]

When i was 15 i worked with my uncle for his construction company, all i can say is i hated climbing on scapling to hang that stuff.

 

[JHZR2]

Quote:

---

Total amateur,, but did do an addition to our home few years ago. One of those jacks from a rental outlet is the only way to go($24.50/day then IIRC).

Another thought, most larger cities have an area where guys without green cards gather looking for day at a time work, usually rock hangers pretty easy to get.

Bob

---

wel, that answers one question... how ripped off Id be for one of those Jacks... but it sounds t me like I wouldnt pay more than $50/dy, which may be worth it (lst time we did it, we held it up by hand and head, which worked fine and we had a great result, but the jack could make it much easier...

However, no way would I ever hire an illegal to do anything in my house or anywhere else. Thanks but no thanks.

JMH

 

[mrsilv04]

If you're worried about the look of the joints, then just have the new ceiling texture coated. (No, I 'm not referring to that awful "popcorn" coating...)

Around here, they do two texturing methods... one is called "knockdown" and the other is "stomp".

Knockdown:

Sponging (also known as 'stomp')

On both of these, it can be done as light or heavy as is desired.

 

[9296D21B14]

DIY remodeling of a bathroom in my 100+ year old house including sheet rock over heart pine plank walls and ceilings revealed my no longer dormant bilateral rotator cuff disease. Right shoulder was completely frozen. Ouch!! An orthopedic consult, three cortisone shots, eight weeks of PT, and six years later they still hurt every day. Probably should have got the surgery. The bathroom turned out nice, though! Jacuzzi's can be very entertaining... Wished I'd known about those jacks back then.

 

[Matt_S]

When you do those joints, buy yourself the widest drywall knife they sell. The wider you spread the compound, the less noticeable the joint will be. If you try to use a 6" or 8" knife, you'll see the lump. 12" or higher, you won't.

 

[CivicFan]

I remove 1/8 deep strip (a little wider than the joint tape) at the butt joints so that once it's taped and mud put in place, there is no lump. Excellent results every time.

One thing is sure - drywalling a ceiling is a bi tch. I highly recommend renting the above mentioned jack. With it, the job will be done much faster and with less pain.