Drop Ceiling vs. Drywall - New Shop

[Douglas Snyder]

Hello,

I am in the process of building a new shop and trying to decide on using a drop ceiling vs. dry walling it. I am running all the electical I need and more just in case. The shop is in my basement. My goals for the ceiling is rather simply: reduce noise, reduce dust and minimize shop maintenance.

Can anyone give me input to which is (1) least expensive (2) best at reducing noise transfer up stairs (3) best at damping noise in the shop and (4) which one is the easiest to maintain.

I realize have a drop ceiling gives me flexibility later - if I need to get access up stairs or if I need to change anything in the shop I forgot. However, I am pretty sure I have caught everything. Beside drywall can be patched and repaired.

Thank you all in advance to your comments and advice.

Doug

[Ken Fitzgerald]

Doug,

There's very little advantage in my opinion of a drywall ceiling over a drop ceiling...IN you basement.

I'd use a drop ceiling so that I could gain access to the plumbing etc. for the upstairs.

In my detached shop I used plywood on the walls and drywall on the ceiling. I wished I'd have used plywood on the ceilings. I'm just finishing the shop and already have dings on the drywall ceiling from bumping it with wood.

In the case of the basement shop I'd use a drop ceiling. I'm sure you can add insulation to a drop ceiling or maybe use some industrial/commercial stuff that would have insulation for noise reduction.

Good luck with your decisions!

[Victor Stearns]

Greetings. In my detached workshop I used osb. At the time plywood was out of my budget. I did not like the idea of drywall as I know that wood will at some point hit a wall or ceiling. I have been very satisifed with the osb, painted white.
If I had a basement shop, I would suggest to insulate between the joists. This will reduce the noise transfer. Second would be to use a wood product that is put up with screws. If there are plumbing or hvac, or electrical you need to access this would allow you to remove a panel if needed. You may size the access panel smaller than the 4'x8' typical sheet.
Victor

[Eric Haycraft]

The air gap that a drop ceiling provides should provide a buffer and lower the sound transfer upstairs as long as you get a good tile with an acoustic rating.

That being said, I think a drop ceiling is great for sound deadening, but you loose some overhead space. That loss of 3-4 inches may not be a big deal, but working with 8 foot pieces (assuming an 8 foot ceiling before the drop was put in) may become more tricky. If you prefer to keep the total height, there are some special methods of applying drywall that will kill the sound transfer. See here: http://www.wired.com/culture/lifestyle/news/2007/06/soundproofing

A third option would be something like a spray foam insulation or fiberglass batts. The foam would probably kill more sound than fiberglass, but you wouldn't necessarily need to finish the ceiling with either. Foam would be about 60 cents a square foot to put in.

Personally, if overhead space isn't an issue, I would go with the drop ceiling. It is nice to be able to get at the structure if you need to run new water lines, wiring, etc. If overhead space is an issue, drywall with soundproofing goo or spray foam is probably the better route.

In terms of cost.. it would probably be (cheapest first):
fiberglass batts
spray foam
sheetrock + goo
drop ceiling

In terms of effectiveness (most effective first):
sheetrock + goo
drop ceiling
spray foam
fiberglass

YMMV

Eric

[NICK BARBOZA]

Typically (at least in Maine) a drop ceiling can cost between $2-3 /sf and drywall would be around $1.75 /sf. Both prices are installed. a drop ceiling will do much be quieter as well as it will absorb more sound rather than drywall bouncing it back into the space. that is one reason acoustic (drop) ceilings are often used in large office buildings.

i also agree that with a drop ceiling you will have access to above in the future. and if you ding or smash a tile, $4 at the home depot can replace it.

[Dustin Thompson]

I would go drop ceiling or screwed wood panels before taped drywall. But if you hang the drywall and don't bother taping, that would be fairly cheap. Fiberglass offers decent sound proofing that isn't too hard on the wallet.

Eric raises some excellent points in regards to sound deadening. Spray foam in your floor would be about two to three times the cost of fiberglass insulation, based on an installed price.

There is a metal channel that will attach to floor joists, that ceiling panels affix to, that provides an air layer for sound attenuation. I think it's called hat channel?

I think I would insulate with FG, install hat channel, and then screw up untaped drywall, or plywood/sheetgood panels if the hat channel will support it.

Nick, where are you in Maine? I am in Old Orchard.

Dustin

[NICK BARBOZA]

up "north" in Bangor.

[Dustin Thompson]

Up in Bangah? Nice to meet you. What's the weather up there today?

Dustin

[Jamie Buxton]

If you're mostly interested in reducing the noise transmitted to the house above, use sheet-rock hanging on resilient channel. That's been the industry-standard noise-reduction technique for decades. The resilient channel doesn't add much cost to the rocking job, but it reduces the sound transmission a lot.

[Lewis Cobb]

up "north" in Bangor.

Nick - I have you beat - I am further north than you - I'm in Fredericton, New Brunswick - about an hour from Houlton, ME :D Great to see some "locals" on here.

As to the ceiling - I would never use drywall in a basement on the ceiling - for all the reasons listed here. Also - in the future when you have scads of money and really want to tighten the room up as far as sound goes, you can pop the tiles out, and fill 'er with pink fiberglass bats of insulation as well - then it will be as sound proof as you will get unless you want to build a "floating room" on springs or something crazy like that - the extreme home theater guys are up to that foolishness all the time.

Cheers from Sunny Eastern Canada
Lewis

[Greg Muller]

Go with the drop ceiling. I used to have a drywall ceiling in my shop, but then I wanted to add more electrical and alter my dust collection.

After those two jobs, I looked up and thought about other improvements I wanted to make later (add running water for a shop sink, run pneumatic lines, etc) I decided that I didn't want to keep destroying and repairing drywall (I, admittedly, am not good at drywalling, so I hate doing it and it hates me.) every 6 months, so I ripped out the remaining drywall and put in the drop ceiling. It took 3 days of intermittent work and I used regular panels. I would like to add better accoustic panels in the future, but right now, I'm spending money on all the shop improvements that are going above the drop.:D

It is really nice to be able to do everything without the reservations that ceiling destruction entails.

Good luck!
Greg

[Douglas Snyder]

Hello,

Thank you for all the great feedback. Based on you anwers I need to provide some addition information which may make a difference in your comments. The basement is a byproduct of a new house (lucky for me - I did not have to sell it to my wife). I had the space rough in, but it is still not heated - which means the builder had to add 6" of fiberglass installation. Also lucky for me the ceiling height is 8' 8". So a drop ceiling is not out of the question. While changes are possible later, I am trying to anticipate any additions - add more than enough light, electrical, etc. I even have a sink which accessible.

It seem like the least expensive approach for me is to drywall the ceiling using resilient channel. If foam is only 60 cent per sq ft, then I could add that and still be cheaper than a drop ceiling. Some mention goo? What that and how much that cost? It think the biggest benefit of a drop ceiling is the ability to get access to the ceiling space. Am I wrong?

Thanks for all the help.

Doug

[David G Baker]

Doug,
Don't know is it was mentioned but there is a drop ceiling style set up that fastens directly to the floor joists. It is made out of plastic fittings and can be used with 24" squares or 24"x48" . It is called CeilingMAX. Check out their informational site at www dot acpideas dot com. I am researching the product for my basement due to the low ceiling height. I don't know about the sound deadening ability of the product.

[Eric Haycraft]

A normal sound deadening application is two layers of sheetrock with a green sound absorbing goo applied between the layers. There are alternatives to this such as using furring strips with the goo applied to both sides of the strips. The goo is a special type of caulk that converts sound energy directly into heat and is probably the best thing around for doing sound deadening without spending tons of money. I think that a case of the green goo is like 150 bucks and a ceiling would probably require two cases. They mention the goo in the link that I provided earlier.

Eric

[NICK BARBOZA]

well that is good that the ceiling is that tall so the loss of 4" is no big deal.

I disagree about the 60cents/sf on sprayfoam. the last time i checked a open cell isonene (sp??) sprayfoam insulation was $1 /sf /inch of thinckness. that provides i think 3.6 (EDIT) "r-factor" per inch. although the "r" isn't in question it just references the density of the foam.

[Eric Haycraft]

I just did my basement walls with it. The consumer stuff is r6-7 per inch and i double checked and you are correct, it was a hair over a dollar a square foot (sorry for the bad info). The stuff that they sell to consumers is closed cell polyurethane and most is fire rated.
Since I think he already has fiberglass there, I wouldn't suggest that he foam anything. Seems like overkill. A good drop ceiling would probably serve him well of if he really wanted to deaden the sound, sheetrock and goo would be better.

[Lee Koepke]

I like my open joists.

I use them for certain storage items and to hang stuff from. I am looking into the closecell foam (i havent insulated yet) because of my existing plumbing and electrical.

[Wes Bischel]

(1) least expensive
Drywall on resilient channel (hat channel is different just FYI)

(2) best at reducing noise transfer up stairs
Drywall on resilient channel - even without Eric's "goo". 5/8" would be better than 1/2" - better yet two layers with staggered joints.

(3) best at damping noise in the shop
Suspended ceiling with 1" fiberglass panels - but then your sound transmission goes up. Happy medium is a commercial mineral fiber ceiling (typically not found at a BORG, but an acoustical distributor)

(4) which one is the easiest to maintain.
Depends - for dings and dents, drywall can be repaired, and always repainted. With ceiling panels can be touched up, but the damage typically remains. If maintaining the building systems in the plenum are the concern, then the suspended ceiling is the best route.

If ceiling height isn't a driving consideration as in David's case, I would caution against CeilingMAX. It requires a great deal more work to install flat and level than a traditional suspended ceiling grid. Patrially due to the fact it is fastened every 2' o.c. versus 4'o.c. Lighting and any additional insulation need to be supported by the joists versus the grid, which again means more work. Plus, PVC tends to move and twist which is something you don't want in a structural component.
Now, that said, I spent 17 years working in the industry developing products so I do have a bias.:D

Also, do a search here on SMC of past posts. There has been a lot of good information presented previously.

Good luck!

Wes

[Wayne Cannon]

Many lights (most fluorescents, many in-ceiling incandescents) generate too much heat to be mounted directly against something that isn't fireproof. You can mount them directly against drywall, but have to space them away from most other materials.

Drop ceilings, fiberglass, foam, etc., will do almost nothing to reduce the low-frequency sounds generated in a wood shop. You need the mass of drywall. "Sound isolation mounting clips" and "resilient channel" (hat channel isn't as effective) eliminate directly conducting sound into the joists. The sound deadening goo between layers of drywall is great, but more effort than most people want to invest. They also use a dense, sound deadening closed-cell foam rubber to deaden sound, sometimes between the drywall and the furring channel.

The drop ceiling is good for running wires, etc.