ceiling material

[roadrat]

I'm looking to build a cheap ceiling in my basement to help keep dust off my (in progress )layout, I've looked at some thin MDF, and some 1/2" foam with silver foil on it.
I like the foam because its light and would be easy to put up, but I'm not sure if it would be safe ( fire hazard ) anybody got any idea's.

Bill

[Anonymous]

I would think sheetrock at $4.25-4.75 a sheet, that would be fairly inexpensive, just difficult to hang. But with the help of a few friends, and sheetrock screws it would be easily managed. I'm in the process of doing my own basement with the help of a few friends. We've put up 11 sheets over a period of a couple of weeks and it looks great. All you really need is box/utility knife, a drill or screw gun, sheetrock screws (forget the nails unless you're a masochist), a step ladder, chalk line, and a couple of 2x4's cut to length with a t-bar across the top to hold the sheetrock up while you run some screws in to hold them up.

[roadrat]

I ruled out dry wall because the bottom of the rafters in my 118 year old house are very uneven.[:(]

[Bob Hayes]

How about a suspended ceiling using 2x4 foot panels. Check with you home improvement center for details.
Bob Hayes

[Anonymous]

I've worked in hardware stores in the past and The suspended ceiling mentioned above is a great idea, easy to install, and light weight . You don't have to mud, tape and sand joints like drywall. And no painting.(and your buddies won't cringe at the notion like they might with drywall!)

Just my opinion

Tony

[Leon Silverman]

I am in the process of converting a free standing garage into a model train room. Since I am using using a propane heater, the township inspector required "firecheck" sheetrock. This is 5/8" thick sheetrock that is readily distinguishable in a bujilding supply store by the fact that the end paper has red stripes on it rather tan green or blue stripes. This sheetrock cost $8.15 a sheet. It also weighs 84 pound per 4x8 sheet, so you will probably need some friends just to unload it.

[orsonroy]

QUOTE: Originally posted by roadrat

I ruled out dry wall because the bottom of the rafters in my 118 year old house are very uneven.[:(]

That's what shims are for. I found a few places in my 105 year old basement where I had to shim and sand to get a relatively smooth drywalled ceiling surface, but it was worth it. Drywall ceilings are inexpensive and will last a LONG time. Spend some time remodeling your basement the right way, and you'll also add to the resale value of your house.

[CBQ_Guy]

Well, a couple things after reading other suggestions.

You mentioned the word "cheap". In my prior house, I came up with what I would say is probably the cheapest ceiling I could get -- plastic sheathing (aka Visqueen) stapled to the underside of the joists. Worked great, however after the layout was built and the backdrop painted, I kinda wished I had a nicer looking ceiling. But it did the job.

l was considering doing this in the new house, as I have a really large amount of heavy, black sheething left over from a deck project of several years ago, but decided to go with something a little more conventional and aesthetic looking, so I'm planning to use drywall as it's about the least costly material I could find that won't tend to sag between the joists. I won't be messing with drywall compound except on the drywall backdrop I'll be using hung horizontally. For the ceiling, I will just cover the joints with lath or possibly just use some latex caulk trowelled relative smooth. Inside corners will also get a bead of caulk smoothed with a finger, and outside corners will be covered with a piece of wood trim for the purpose. It's all going to be painted black, anyway, and the lighting and focus of attention will be the trains. I don't think a less than perfect ceiling will really be noticed.

I, too, have a 100-plus year old house. I checked many joist eveness, and only came up with one so far that I've had to use another piece of wood underneath to make closer for the others. The rest are close enough.

As far as foam...NO WAY. I had that idea a few years back and someone painted me a mental picture of what could happen if there was a fire -- people rushing to get out of the basement while melting, flaming threads of foam drip down on them. And of course foam gives off toxic gas while burning, as well.

The suspended ceiling thing is nice, but you asked for cheap. I've heard a suspended ceiling costs about three times more than drywall, so cheap it ain't! Also, considering the fact that you have a very old house, as I, that nothing is very square and ducts, pipes, and various other thingies probably have been added over the decades. I decided it would be a major PITA to compensate for, and work around, all these obstacles. My goal is to build a reasonalbe looking area to build a layout in, the operable word being layout. I'm not looking at trying to create any time of living space.

Finally, there is a Layout Construction group on Yahoo which may be of interest to you. They're located at:

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/LayoutConstruction/

Hope some of this is helpful.

[roadrat]

Thanks for all the ideas and pointers I have not made up my mind yet but I've ruled out the foam and may go with the MDF cut into 4' x 4' squares so that I can remove them easily to get to heating pipes and elec. wiring.
I wish I could afford a suspended ceiling But its just out of my budget range.

thanx all
bill

[mgruber]

Just remember, if you drywall the ceiling, you're cutting off access to any utilities that may be there, ie: electic wiring, gas pipes, water pipes, etc. And if you plan to add anything to these utilities, you'll have to open up the ceiling.

[orsonroy]

QUOTE: Originally posted by mgruber

Just remember, if you drywall the ceiling, you're cutting off access to any utilities that may be there, ie: electic wiring, gas pipes, water pipes, etc. And if you plan to add anything to these utilities, you'll have to open up the ceiling.

Not if you plan ahead, rationalize the piping and wiring (a good idea in ANY old house) and add access panels where there are junctions. Normal runs of uninterrupted pipes rarely leak or cause problems; it's the joints and junctions you need to watch out for, and those are where you should add access panels. Home Depot sells premade plastic access panels that are really handy.

[Bergie]

QUOTE: Originally posted by roadrat

I ruled out dry wall because the bottom of the rafters in my 118 year old house are very uneven.[:(]

As someone who's in the process of taping/mudding/sanding dry wall right now in my home (and NOT my layout room, either [:(] ), I can confidently say that you're not missing anything. It looks great when it's finished, but the process is downright aweful.

Plus, in my previous home I had dry walled the ceiling in the rec room and found one big disadvantage: a lack of access to your home's mechanicals. A drop ceiling with removable panels would certainly solve that problem.

Good luck,
Erik

[Bob Hayes]

Roadrat,
Those 4'x4' squares of MDF are going to make a heavy ceiling hanging over your head. I'd find something lighter. How about using insulation board instead?
Bob Hayes

[roadrat]

The MDF I'm going to use is less than 1/4" thick so its not to heavy, but it is kinda flimsie.


bill

[Anonymous]

Ive seen ceiling tile that comes in a 4' x 4' sheet, but is grooved to look like 16 individual 1' tiles. (4 rows of 4 ) Something to consider looking for rather than sheets of MDF.

Tony

[CBQ_Guy]

QUOTE: Originally posted by roadrat

The MDF I'm going to use is less than 1/4" thick so its not to heavy, but it is kinda flimsie.


bill

With something that thin I would be concerned with the aesthetics of it possibly sagging between ceiling joists, giving a ripple effect. This may not be a concern to everyone.

I also recall reading somewhere once that ALL electrical junction boxes must be accesible. I'm just going to add access panels to a couple key locations.

[Leon Silverman]

Regarding the statement that all electrical juntion boxes have to be accessible, electrical connection boxes have to be EXPOSED on a drywall ceiling. This was required by the local construction safety inspector in New Jersey. I would think this would not be a problem on a supended cieling since individual panels can be removed to access an electical box.