Idea for Shop Ceiling

[Rob Bodenschatz]

Want to run an idea by you guys for my shop ceiling. This probably isn't an original idea . I may have even read about it someplace. Don't remember. Anyway, it goes like this...

I need to finish my 24'x'36'x10' shop ceiling. I'm thinking drywall because of cost and paintability. I really don't look forward to mudding & taping though. How does this sound: Hang the drywall as usual and instead of mud & tape, take 1/2"x3" strips of poplar or mdf and cover the seams with that. I was thinking I could use finish nails to hang these strips but I wasn't sure if that would be strong enough. I was also thinking I might cut the drywall down to 4'x4' so I don't have to rent a lift. A benefit of this would be that I could remove the seam-covers and unscrew the drywall if I need to get up there for any reason.

One issue I see is with painting. Painting a bunch of 4'x4' squares is more difficult than just running a roller over the whole thing. I may do the painting before installation.

Does anyone see any other issues with this approach? Am I missing something here?

[Steve Marcq]

I used 4' x 8' OSB, just rolled primer and (white) paint on the ground, and installed it with a drywall lift - piece of cake, and the sheets were only $4.50 or so each. Removable too, if I ever need to. Lighter and less fragile than drywall, was cheaper too. Being all white the seams blend in; they've never bothered me. I did the same for my workshop walls too - makes mounting things a breeze.

[mark page]

Bob,

If going with this idea: I would hang the sheet rock, then paint the entire ceiling, then put up your "furring strips". If you have access to a spray system, then this would be a super fast process. Then you don't have the smaller panels to paint individually.

[Jim Kountz]

I used the black "Celotex" sheets but turned the foil side down towards the room. You wouldnt believe the great light reflection it gives. It was like adding another set of lights in the shop. The best part was the hanging of it. Its so light you can do it yourself if you have too although two people does make it better. And it gives you even more R value in the ceiling. Another plus is that it costs about the same as drywall and it easier to work with. I used "button caps" (same nails you install roofing felt with) you just stick one in by hand then drive with a hammer. Im telling you this is great for so many reasons.
Give it a look see.

Jim

[Jim O'Dell]

Ditto what Steve said. OSB is much cheaper. Was about 40% of the price of drywall when I did mine. When finished, I caulked the seams with paintable caulk, then painted. It looks fine.
If you have help, 2 people and 2 deadmen contraptions will work well. If by yourself, I think I'd still rent a drywall lift. Jim.

[David G Baker]

Rob,
Sounds like an okay idea if you don't have blown-in insulation in the attic.
Spray painting or painting the ceiling prior to installing the strips was a good suggestion.
I have 4'x8' 7/16" OSB on my ceiling and some of the seams do not line up due to the installers sloppy installation. In a few areas he should have used sisters to support the seams but didn't.
Some folks use white metal siding for ceilings and it looks pretty neat. The siding is easily removed if screws are used for holding it. I don't know how a cost comparison would turn out.

[David G Baker]

I used the black "Celotex" sheets but turned the foil side down towards the room. You wouldnt believe the great light reflection it gives. It was like adding another set of lights in the shop. The best part was the hanging of it. Its so light you can do it yourself if you have too although two people does make it better. And it gives you even more R value in the ceiling. Another plus is that it costs about the same as drywall and it easier to work with. I used "button caps" (same nails you install roofing felt with) you just stick one in by hand then drive with a hammer. Im telling you this is great for so many reasons.
Give it a look see.

Jim
Jim,
Do you know if is there a code thing with using the Celotex and not covering it with a standard wall surface? Not that I follow code in all areas, I am just curious because I have thought of doing something similar in one of my buildings.

[Jim Kountz]

Inspector never said a thing when he saw mine. He was just here last week, not for that but for some stairs I added. We even talked about the ceiling briefly and the improvement in overall lighting. I think hes going to do his garage with it. I know alot of people ignore certain things you read here but I cant stress enough the difference this made in my shop lighting. Add in the R value and its a no brainer. Oh and a helluva lot lighter than OSB!!

[David G Baker]

Thanks Jim. I like the idea and am going to give it a try. I already purchased the OSB for the ceiling but have several other projects that I can use it for and I have a case of the button cap nails that are looking for a place to call home.

[Larry Nall]

I'm at the same stage in my shop. I'm planning on using OSB then spray paint with white semi-gloss. I'll be using a dry wall lifter since I'm working alone. I've attached 1x4s perpendicular to the trusses at two feet spacing for better support and so I won't have to worry about screwball spacing on the trusses. I'll let you how it goes.

[Art Mann]

Rob,

I did the same thing you are proposing except I used 3/8" B-C plywood and 1/4" X 1-1/2" strips to cover the joints. I think it turned out fine. I just used a thick knap roller on a long pole to paint it.

[keith ouellette]

I used osb and caulked the seems. It is also a handy ceiling if you want to put screws in it like to hang duct or other light things.

[David Giles]

Since you are trying to avoid heavy, tedious, overhead work (a rational objective), subcontracting a standard drywall ceiling is your best approach. Yes, you could do lots of other things, but why not keep it simple?

[Rob Will]

I have seen several white metal ceilings that turned out to be cost effective and neat-looking.

I can not say the same for metal on the walls. PITA.

My walls are painted plywood and ceiling is white metal. Blown insulation on top.

Rob

[Rob Bodenschatz]

Art, how did you attach the strips? Would a finish nailer be sufficient or should they be screwed? Do you have a pic?

[Cody Colston]

Drywall has tapered edges to leave a place for the tape and mud. I don't think just placing strips over it would look very good as the taper would be visible. Strips over any cut-off butt joints would not be in the same plane as the strips over the tapered edges.

I used 7 1/6 OSB on my 20' x 30' x 10' ceiling. I installed it by myself after renting a drywall lift...piece of cake. After a coat of primer and two coats of paint applied with a 5/8" nap roller, it looks pretty good and reflects light well. I also intended to run 1/4" x 2 1/2" strips over the joints but have never gotten around to it.

[Trent Flemming]

Thought I would add my 2 cents.

Have you thought about Luann for the ceiling. The stuff is lightweight, has a nice appearance without any finish and cost about $10.00 per sheet. The downfall is the reflective factor is much lower than a white ceiling.

A couple of thoughts come to mind about the Celotex. If you are like me you scrape the ceiling with boards at least once every Saturday and this foiled back material might become rather unsightley after a few weekend gouges. The other thought is the fire resistance of this material. It may be excellent, I don't know, but defiantely something to considered.

Trent

[Lee Schierer]

For my shop ceiling I had insulation stapled between the ceiling joists. It sagged a bit and some of the vapor barrier was starting to tear. I wanted to add some R-value so I purchased 1/2" thick sheets of aluminum faced foam insul board and attached it to the underside of the ceiling joists with nails that had integral plastic washers ( I forget what they were called). Then I made up my own T-rails from pine (2 X 4) and made a suspended ceiling grid from framing lumber. The cross ties were anchored in place with pocket hole screws. Standard acoustical tile drop in the spaces and it looks great for a woodshop!http://sawmillcreek.org/attachment.php?attachmentid=47692&d=1159496380

[Bruce Stangeby]

I like the idea of the foil covered foam. How did you handle lights? Are they attached directly under the foil?

[David G Baker]

My lights are fastened to the joists in my pole barn and will be fastened to the joists in my other building no matter what I use to cover the ceiling.
I have used Luann for several projects but I don't really care for it. I will use it under carpet to level out uneven areas in my floors.

[Jim Kountz]

I like the idea of the foil covered foam. How did you handle lights? Are they attached directly under the foil?

Mine mount with small chains and eye screws that go right up through the foil into the ceiling joists.

[Ronald Cockerham]

White metal here. My trusses are on 3' centers. No worries about sagging ceiling. Almost 5,000 sq. ft. Took 4 people about 20 hrs.

[Don Bullock]

I used the black "Celotex" sheets but turned the foil side down towards the room. You wouldnt believe the great light reflection it gives. ...
Jim

Jim, do you have any pictures that you can post. Thanks.

[Steve Sawyer]

A benefit of this would be that I could remove the seam-covers and unscrew the drywall if I need to get up there for any reason.

You've gotten some good suggestions RE materials, Rob, but want you to keep your point above in mind.

My house has a finished ceiling in the basement - blueboard (like drywall) covered with acoustic tile.

WHAT A PAIN IN THE A@@!!!

The previous owners hadn't upgraded a thing in the 30+ years they were in this house. The LOML and I haven't stopped renovating and upgrading since buying it , and every new circuit, gas line, plumbing change or repair, ground wire, telephone cable, internet cable has meant another group of holes in the ceiling and 1/8" fiberboard patches screwed over the holes. The ceiling looks like a piece of swiss cheese with band-aids all over it.

Do yourself a favor and make sure you can easily and neatly remove and replace any sections of this ceiling before you proceed. There's entirely too much infrastructure running through those joists - you don't want to make them inaccessible.

[Louis Rucci]

Jim,

Which specific product did you use? I'm at the web site and it's confusing trying to figure it out.

Do you have the produce code, and wher did you purchase yours?

Thanks

[Richard M. Wolfe]

A coffered shop ceiling? If I were to put up something like that I sure wouldn't want the strips covering the seams to extend down very far - I think the shadows from lighting would be distracting. Or maybe not once you got used to them. I know, I know.....the trick is to not look up but to pay attention to your work so you won't chop a finger off. :D :D

Forgot to add so here's an edit. When I put up drywall I just taped the seams....no need to tape and bed, texture, paint, etc. After all, it's not your living room. But got to thinking - if you use drywall how about not taping but just caulking the joints. Don't know how it would work; just an idea.

[Darrin Vanden Bosch]

the thing with drywall and the mud and tape is actually all about the fire rating of the ceiling and /or wall

Darrin

[Karl Brogger]

White steel on the ceiling, OSB painted white on the walls.

Sheet-rock isn't really that fire proof, its just to buy you time so you can get out in the case of a house. I don't know if there really is any fire codes for non-dwelling unattached buildings. Every state is different. In Minnesota 3/4 wood is considered a fire barrrier. Such as tounge and groove on walls and ceilings. That stuff I would think would burn like crazy.

I've been trying to figure out how to pay for a new 60x125 building for the shop. Wall and ceiling coverings have been on the mind. I think I'd still go with steel and OSB just for cost effectiveness and durability. Off topic but it turns out it is cheaper to roof the building with steel, vs. asphalt shingles. You save it in the trusses by being able to go 4' OC instead of 2' OC.

[Wayne Cannon]

Are fire or sound isolation issues? If so, sheet rock with taped joints is probably a requirement. Most fluorescent light ballasts get too hot to mount directly against any flammable surface, such as wood or Celotex, though you can mount them on stand-offs to provide an air gap. Otherwise ...

[Joe Chritz]

White steel on the ceiling, OSB painted white on the walls.

Off topic but it turns out it is cheaper to roof the building with steel, vs. asphalt shingles. You save it in the trusses by being able to go 4' OC instead of 2' OC.

I had one of those and it also limits you to less ceiling options unless you run purlins or something similar for ceiling joists. 4' spacing for roof is also 4' spacing for ceiling.

On the topic of ceiling materials drywall is still probably the most cost effective material available. If I didn't use drywall it would have been white steel.

I have never wished for something besides drywall on the ceilings but have often wished for osb or plywood walls.

Joe

[Josh Bowman]

I used OSB, nailed to the trusses. I then borrowed a power sprayer and painted white. I have found that the OSB will move some. I've now insulated it and it seems to have less movement.