Plywood Ceilings

frederic · Post by **frederic** » Sun Oct 05, 2003 4:05 am

Just so everyone knows....

Hanging plywood on the ceiling, by yourself, even with DIY 2x4 jigs, is not fun.

Frederic <---- bruised, covered in coffee

knightfly · Post by **knightfly** » Sun Oct 05, 2003 8:15 am

Hey, at my age if you've got pain, it means you're still alive - stop whimpering, and pass the Ibuprofen...

Coffee? Wouldn't Liquid Nails have worked better?

Actually, Frederic, I DO feel your pain - I normally end up doing EVERYTHING solo, you get ten times the experience for the same amount of accomplishment

Not that that's a GOOD thing... Steve

frederic · Post by **frederic** » Sun Oct 05, 2003 9:05 am

Hey, at my age if you've got pain, it means you're still alive - stop whimpering, and pass the Ibuprofen...

I'm in poor shape too and enjoyed some aspirin myself actually.

Coffee? Wouldn't Liquid Nails have worked better?

Well, I had a SKG rack cabinet in the room, which I was standing on because its more stable than a piano stool, and not as unweildy as an aluminum latter (it kept getting in the way). Anyway, when I was putting one particular piece of plywood up, it fell on my head, and the other end landed on teh SKG rack, squashing my 20oz styrofoam cup of coffee. SPLAT!

Wasn't intentional

Actually, Frederic, I DO feel your pain - I normally end up doing EVERYTHING solo, you get ten times the experience for the same amount of accomplishment Not that that's a GOOD thing... Steve

Whats killing me is how far off on measuring I always am. On the slanted ceiling, i have two pieces of plywood cut down a tad so they meet on a joist, where I can attach both of them. Like you would with sheet rock. I have to trim the plywood a bit because the last joist in the room is 11" away from the prior joist, rather than 16", because next to my studio is a bathroom and some idiot put an unsupported wall between the two, which I didn't tear out and replace. I simpy gave up 6" and built a new 2x6 wall right against the back of it. This way I could put in insulation, wiring, et al. Anyway, when I trimmed the two pieces of plywood, I was 1/8" too long on one piece, so trying to fit it on the slanted ceiling by myself, and it doesn't fit.

Oh well, I have 4' of slanted ceiling done, and part of the new and improved 6" thick wall.

Keep in mind I'm chaulking all the studs and joists as I go, which is another real pain in the ass in itself, especially when you're trying to slide the plywood "a hair" left or right to shimmy it into its appropriate space, and the silicone is getting tackly pretty quick.

heh-heh. Feels good to make progress go. Though like a friggen idiot I forgot to cut one outlet hole, so I have a double-ganged box buried in the wall somewhere and I've already closed up the other side. I realized it about 4 hours after the silicone dried

I might have to cut the power to it and drill a few test holes, then saw it out with a short-blade sabre saw and replace the box.

Sad considering I used to be an electrician many moons ago.

Post by **John Sayers** » Sun Oct 05, 2003 10:38 pm

So where's the wife?? why isn't she on the other end of the plywood??

cheers
john

frederic · Post by **frederic** » Mon Oct 06, 2003 4:47 am

John Sayers wrote:So where's the wife?? why isn't she on the other end of the plywood??

She's in the bedroom next door working on a database consulting project thats due tomorrow, so I'm on my own this weekend. It wouldn't be so bad if I didn't hear cackling after I scream in pain.

LOL

Post by **John Sayers** » Mon Oct 06, 2003 10:06 am

frederic · Post by **frederic** » Mon Oct 06, 2003 10:53 am

Insulation and plywood going up!

frederic · Post by **frederic** » Mon Oct 06, 2003 10:54 am

MOre plywood and insulation!

And yes, I'm chaulking everything!

frederic · Post by **frederic** » Mon Oct 06, 2003 11:03 am

The gaps between the stringers in the last picture or two have been stuffed with all the little scraps of insulation that were left over, so I didn't waste very much.

Working with encapsulated insulation is the best... and it works as a vapor barrier also.

The white doors to the right of the first picture under the slant are now shimmed better so they actually touch, and there is very thin felt glued to the door edges all the way around to make a reasonable seal. Behind the doors is an insulated space I finished today, covered in plywood, chaulked and glued, which essentially will be storage. I insulated this little closet cubby doesn't leak air or noise into the main room. Solved the problem of making the doors seal perfectly, which I couldn't figure out how to do, so far.

you might notice on the slanted ceiling picture one of the insulation batts is inside out. Ooooops.

This is the first layer of commercial grade plywood, I intend to screw down a second layer on all surfaces.

You might also notice there is no plywood at the top where the lights are. Thats because after injuring myself and whining about it, I had to take it down along with several batts of insulation, to find the fire extinguisher I had sitting on one of the stringers while I was working down below over the past few months.

Like the dipschite that I am, I left it up there when I sealed up the ceiling. Had my wife not asked where it was, it would have been up there until it exploded or leaked.

DOH !

Post by **John Sayers** » Mon Oct 06, 2003 12:54 pm

Looking good mate - heafty work

That looks like white Dacron - not fibreglass - am I right??

cheers
john

Michael Jones · Post by **Michael Jones** » Mon Oct 06, 2003 10:00 pm

You know, you can rent a drywall hoist for like 20 bucks a day.

Michael Jones · Post by **Michael Jones** » Mon Oct 06, 2003 10:02 pm

I think the JM insulation is fiberglass - its just covered in plastic on both sides.

frederic · Post by **frederic** » Tue Oct 07, 2003 12:22 am

John Sayers wrote:Looking good mate - heafty work
That looks like white Dacron - not fibreglass - am I right??

Thank you, my back agrees with you

Its fiberglass alright... but this particular product sheds much less than any fiberglass batting I've used. Even, when I cut it and the plastic sheathing comes off, it doesn't throw up much dust/fiber at all. Comes in many different thicknesses and ratings, depending on your needs. I especially liked how it includes a vapor barrier, so its just staple and go. And its not very expensive either. The stuff on the ceiling "fluffs" up to about 8 inches thick, perfect for the 2x12 ceiling joists, and cost a whopping 31 cents per foot, and the stuff that fluffs up to 4" cost 22 cents per foot. Overall its not expensive at all, and easy to put up all things being equal.

frederic · Post by **frederic** » Tue Oct 07, 2003 12:30 am

Michael Jones wrote:You know, you can rent a drywall hoist for like 20 bucks a day.

Thanks. Didn't even occur to me. Next remodel

Whats particularly back breaking is that each piece of plywood goes up and down about 4-5 times, because as nice as this room is, there are no 30, 45, 60 or 90 degree angles. Everything is off a hair, and one side of the room is .85" higher than the other, across the width. All the joists are on "approximate" 16" centers, and a few of them aren't so straight. Of course they are nailed down and not moving so I'm just dealing with it. But I marking studs/joists on everything with my sharpie

I don't know if y'all recall the door to my studio was a miniscule 18" wide, and not even a true rectangle. Yet another eyeballed creation. Anyway, when I built the new wall (where the electrical is) in front of the old wall, I sawzalled out several studs on either side of the door frame so now I can fit a 26" wide door plus the doorframe. Not too bad

My wife will be happy because my Ampeg 4x12 cabinet had to stay in her office bedroom because it didn't fit through my door