Vinyl soffit for ceiling - those who have tried it

Eds Garage · Jul 9, 2011

I'm done insulating and ready to install a ceiling in my 24X36 pole barn garage/shop. The ceiling joists are only 2X6 on 16" centers and spanning almost 12 feet. This makes them a little springy and I don't want to go to the trouble of installing drywall just to see a bunch of cracking and nail pops over time. The triple 4 soffit strips look like a nice alternative to other solutions.

http://www.lowes.com/pd_7427-271-36572118_0__?productId=3108801&Ntt=soffit&pl=1&currentURL=%2Fpl__0__s%3FNtt%3Dsoffit&facetInfo=

My question is for those who have installed or used this type of material for ceilings. If properly nailed, does it lay nice and flat and not sag between joists? It seems like it is designed to span that much distance for soffit useage but I'm not sure how flat it would appear over larger ceiling area.

thanks,

sawatch · Jul 9, 2011

Man, I can't see why that wouldn't be a great app. There should be no sag since they're 12" wide and 16" centers is normal, say 3 nails or screws per layout. The 12ft lengths work great with your modular cieling length so minimal waste.
The non-vented might be a better choice just to keep any moisture from entering the insulation if it's fiberglass.
Compare your sq ft to metal cost could be less.

oldgoat · Jul 9, 2011

The only problem I would think of is that it would be hanging without support on the length of it like it would have when used as a soffit. Would the insulation be sagging down after time and puting weight on it. I think it would look good and I would guess that it would be cheaper and easier to put up than metal though.

Rudyjr · Jul 9, 2011

Metal works better. I tried this on a porch ceiling and it sagged like crazy.

KnurledNut · Jul 9, 2011

is there an interior wall that the 2x are bearing on? i would strongback the joists perpendicular (maybe run cross-bridging too) and run 1/2" rock. span for spf 2x6 is shy of 11'. i dont see a problem. i would discourage the vinyl. it likes dirt. it hates temp changes. its expensive (probably twice as much as rock psf). and it moves. vinyl hangs...it doesnt nail tight, so it will have a little variance. if you decide to go that route, use roofing nails or pancake screws. no drywall screws.
metal would look professional and is good for a shop environment. another option would be painted osb/plywood.

rburke65 · Jul 9, 2011

Did anyone read the OP first entry?

6768rogues · Jul 9, 2011

I have used it many times for ceilings on porches. It works well. It will sag a little if spanning 24 inches, but with your 16 inch nailers it will work very well. It is also cleanable with a pressure washer. For a buck a square foot, it is not a bad deal. I remember buying it for less than half of that a few years ago before oil was expensive.

nate379 · Jul 9, 2011

My uncle did his WHOLE garage with that stuff. Well I should say, paid to have it done. He was proud as all heck about it. My Dad, brother and me just gave each other the look. Didn't have the heart to tell him it looked like complete ****, not to mention nearly impossible to clean with the 80 million holes in it.

jlckmj · Jul 9, 2011

Well the OP showed a pic of the solid panel not the perforated one.
I see no reason why it would not work, you state that;

the insulation done, so there should be no weight hanging or sitting on it.

16 inch centers should help keep it from sagging.

The finished result should look nice and clean.

That said, I really think metal panels would do all of the above and probably do it better, plus they are cheaper at $70.00 per 100 sq foot. (Menards) You would need 8.3 of those panels to get 100 square foot, running you over $80.00

The only advantage to those that I can see over metal would be that they may be a little easier to hang.

Good luck, Jim

nate379 · Jul 10, 2011

Sorry didn't see the link.

That being said, it's not cheap! Looking at about $1000, where you could put OSB or drywall for about $300. Nothing says you have to even tape or mud the drywall, and use screws, not nails.

ddawg16 · Jul 10, 2011

I used it on the overhand on my garage...worked fine...

As long as your garage does not get too warm, you should be ok...but vinyl bends real easy when it gets soft.

You will also have some obvious seams every 12'...even if you stagger them...they will show up.

nate379 · Jul 10, 2011

Was thinking, how about while panel board? They make some that is about 1/4" thick, it runs about $25 a sheet. You'd be looking at around 26-27 sheets, so still cheaper than the soffit material, plus it would be easy to keep clean, and also not be as much of a fire hazzard such as from flying sparks.

danski0224 · Jul 10, 2011

Eds Garage said:
I'm done insulating and ready to install a ceiling in my 24X36 pole barn garage/shop. The ceiling joists are only 2X6 on 16" centers and spanning almost 12 feet. This makes them a little springy and I don't want to go to the trouble of installing drywall just to see a bunch of cracking and nail pops over time. The triple 4 soffit strips look like a nice alternative to other solutions.

http://www.lowes.com/pd_7427-271-36572118_0__?productId=3108801&Ntt=soffit&pl=1&currentURL=%2Fpl__0__s%3FNtt%3Dsoffit&facetInfo=

My question is for those who have installed or used this type of material for ceilings. If properly nailed, does it lay nice and flat and not sag between joists? It seems like it is designed to span that much distance for soffit useage but I'm not sure how flat it would appear over larger ceiling area.

thanks,

16" OC is standard construction. Install this stuff perpendicular to the ceiling joists.

If you want to install it the other direction, you will need to put furring strips on your ceiling joists.

You will want to stagger the seams at least 2 joists apart. Overlap joints, not **** joints.

You will want to center it so the rib pattern finishes the same on the opposite walls.

You will have to hang it "loose", just like vinyl siding, so it moves on the nails.

You will need to support the panels on the walls. Using F channel on all 4 sides will be tricky.

If you will heat or cool the garage, you will have all kinds of air leaks along the walls from the ribs. This will cause problems above the ceiling.

Eds Garage · Jul 10, 2011

danski0224 said:
16"
If you will heat or cool the garage, you will have all kinds of air leaks along the walls from the ribs. This will cause problems above the ceiling.

That's a good point about air seal that I hadn't fully considered during the heating season. I've used a vapor retarder faced insulation but that really isn't much of a seal by itself. I'll have to give that some more thought.

KnurledNut · Jul 10, 2011

danski0224 said:
You will want to stagger the seams at least 2 joists apart. Overlap joints, not **** joints.

You will need to support the panels on the walls. Using F channel on all 4 sides will be tricky.

If you will heat or cool the garage, you will have all kinds of air leaks along the walls from the ribs. This will cause problems above the ceiling.

Dude, its soffit, NOT siding. You DONT overlap it. Your installation would require running two rows of double J-channel (becomes H channel) at 12' and 24' thus creating three equal spaces across the 36'. This requires backing the J with nailers. Aluminum J makes for a much cleaner/neat install and finish.

This will intersect the J channel on the walls. There is no need for F channel. :headscrat

If the ceiling is properly insulated (incl. foam baffles) any air leakage will be minimal. Id be more concerned about heat transfer thru conduction from an uninsulated garage door.
:thumbup:

Not flaming. Just an observation.

RAYJAY · Jul 10, 2011

I personally would not use vinyl on the ceiling in a garage , the reason why is because if you have a small engine fire the whole place would be gone in min. i have dry wall now if I ever rebuild it will be a steel metal

danski0224 · Jul 10, 2011

KnurledNut said:
Dude, its soffit, NOT siding. You DONT overlap it. Your installation would require running two rows of double J-channel (becomes H channel) at 12' and 24' thus creating three equal spaces across the 36'. This requires backing the J with nailers. Aluminum J makes for a much cleaner/neat install and finish.

This will intersect the J channel on the walls. There is no need for F channel.

If the ceiling is properly insulated (incl. foam baffles) any air leakage will be minimal. Id be more concerned about heat transfer thru conduction from an uninsulated garage door.

Not flaming. Just an observation.

If it is spanning more than the length of the panel, then you need to overlap it.

If you **** joint it, then the expansion will push the panels apart and/or buckle them.

It is being installed more like siding than a traditional soffit.

The space is 24 x 36 feet, either direction is longer than a standard soffit panel.

I would center the ceiling soffit panels just like a suspended ceiling, so the long sides of the soffit panels match from one wall to the opposite (equal cutoff).

I would not do it like you describe, but that could make it stiffer.

The air leakage will be much, much more than you think. The pressure and temperature difference between the conditioned space and the attic will move massive amounts of air through those "high spots" in the ribs.

Not to mention other holes, like for can lights n stuff.

Menards has light gauge prepainted metal panels, and they can cut them to size. It might be less expensive to go that route than vinyl soffit material.

Jamech · Jul 10, 2011

I have this on the ceiling in my detached garage, it was there when I moved in. It does not sag much on 16" centers but the fitment at each end of the 12 ft pieces is not as clean as I would like. Also a garage ceiling is of course much larger than most porch ceilings so any slop would stick out like a sore thumb. It is also pouched up where the garage door opener mounts to the ceiling. It does seem like a solution to a ceiling and I'm guessing it could be a one man installation unlike most 4x8 sheets of anything.

Jamech

camarotoolman · Jul 10, 2011

I used it on my porch cieling, NO PAINTING. Thats the best part! I had dry wall before, had to paint every 2 years to keep it looking nice. If you figure in the d. wall mud ,finidh time cost of paint and lobor to paint its a much better deal. John

Jamech · Jul 10, 2011

Just went out and took a close look at it, there are bows on some individual pieces but I wonder if that is because of the quality of the install.Some pieces are completely flat across their entire length. It's probably been up about 7 years and has R30 above.

Jamech

KnurledNut · Jul 10, 2011

danski0224 said:
If it is spanning more than the length of the panel, then you need to overlap it.

If you **** joint it, then the expansion will push the panels apart and/or buckle them.

It is being installed more like siding than a traditional soffit.

The space is 24 x 36 feet, either direction is longer than a standard soffit panel.

I would center the ceiling soffit panels just like a suspended ceiling, so the long sides of the soffit panels match from one wall to the opposite (equal cutoff).

I would not do it like you describe, but that could make it stiffer.

The air leakage will be much, much more than you think. The pressure and temperature difference between the conditioned space and the attic will move massive amounts of air through those "high spots" in the ribs.

Not to mention other holes, like for can lights n stuff.

Menards has light gauge prepainted metal panels, and they can cut them to size. It might be less expensive to go that route than vinyl soffit material.

SOFFIT DOES NOT OVERLAP. EVER. Ive installed this stuff for years. Ask any siding crew that knows what their doing.
Below is an example of how a proper seam is done. PERIOD.
http:
//www.guttersandsiding.com/ceiling/index.html

Secondly, the insulation gives you your thermal resistance (R), with or without finish ceiling wall material. the R value of gypsum is .39, metal is .0032, and vinyl less than .05. not enough to make a noticeable difference. If your getting air gaps or spaces, insulate them correctly. There is a reason its called a VAPOR barrier. It should have no breaks and be sealed around all penetrations.

darkk · Jul 10, 2011

I had an old Victorian home sided and we used soffit trim similar to what you are interested in for the ceiling on two of my porches. The larger one was 26x 18 in size. It was done about 22 years ago and it still looks good. I sold the house but I still see it occasionally when I drive by there.

danski0224 · Jul 10, 2011

KnurledNut said:
SOFFIT DOES NOT OVERLAP. EVER. Ive installed this stuff for years.

And I would do it differently.

I wouldn't put the H channel in the middle. If The OP wants that look, doesn't bother me at all.

Not saying your way is wrong and my way is right, just different.

Probably hard to overlap aluminum, but vinyl would cut real easy.

:bounce:

KnurledNut · Jul 10, 2011

the reason i have a job is because of the amazing things inexperienced people come up with. you would not believe the amount of ignorance we come behind.

shopnut · Jul 10, 2011

The walls (above ten feet) and the entire ceiling of the Asylum will be covered with T4 vinyl by the time I'm done. I'm amazed at how easy this stuff is to work with and I'm happy with the results. A 16" spacing should be fine. Check my build thread out for many more details about it (index will lead you to relevant posts).

Liked it so much, I've covered a 330sf patio ceiling at the house with it too.

rockchucker · Jul 10, 2011

Meh...Vinyl will deteriorate. Just look at 20 year old Vinyl Siding...LMAO!!!

I wouldn't use it in this case. Not for a lid anyways. Well not for Soffit Material either! Vinyl blows.

Just my 2¢

danski0224 · Jul 10, 2011

KnurledNut said:
the reason i have a job is because of the amazing things inexperienced people come up with. you would not believe the amount of ignorance we come behind.

Same here, and yes, I would believe.

70redbee · Jul 11, 2011

rockchucker said:
Meh...Vinyl will deteriorate. Just look at 20 year old Vinyl Siding...LMAO!!!

I wouldn't use it in this case. Not for a lid anyways. Well not for Soffit Material either! Vinyl blows.

Just my 2¢

Just curious...how will it deterioate when indoors and not exposed to the elements? I have seen a lot of vinyl siding and soffit more than 20 years old that looks as good now as when installed. Just admit that you don't like it for yourself but don't down a proven product without documentation.

ddawg16 · Jul 11, 2011

70redbee said:
Just curious...how will it deterioate when indoors and not exposed to the elements? I have seen a lot of vinyl siding and soffit more than 20 years old that looks as good now as when installed. Just admit that you don't like it for yourself but don't down a proven product without documentation.

He doesn't like OSB either.

edit...I mean RockChucker doesn't like OSB....thinks the glue lets loose too soon.

Big Bad Dad · Jul 11, 2011

I used to build screen porches and used triple 4 soffitt panels for the ceilings. They need to be nailed NO MORE than 12" centers or they will sag. 16" centers will show up when they get warm. My bigger concern would be fire. If something like a carburetor fire managed to light it off, the vinyl puts out an enormous black toxic smoke!

RonM3 · Jul 12, 2011

Ok. I know I am about to show my ignorance here but I need to know. I am in the same boat. I have a 30x50 foot pole barn for a shop. I have been looking for the best way to do the ceiling. Several of you have mentioned Metal. What kind and where would you get it?

paullie · Jul 12, 2011

RonM3 said:
Ok. I know I am about to show my ignorance here but I need to know. I am in the same boat. I have a 30x50 foot pole barn for a shop. I have been looking for the best way to do the ceiling. Several of you have mentioned Metal. What kind and where would you get it?

http://www.metalsales.us.com/markets/agricultural/

this is what i'm talking about, you can get it from lowes/homedepot, i order mine from my local lumberyard

darkk · Jul 12, 2011

If the price is reasonable....my vote is for the tin. I like it!

padroo · Jan 19, 2017

I know this is an old thread but does the metal ceiling in a unheated detached garage ever sweat and drip because of condensation. I live up north and it is a block building. My wife wants to use vinyl because she says the net al will drip on her cars.

jdieter · Jan 19, 2017

I installed vinyl soffit on my wife's junk store ceiling and very happy with it. The pole barn trusses are on eight foot centers and I wrapped them with stained pine to create a vaulted ceiling with a rustic look. I installed 2" foam between the roof nailers and then added 2x4 rafters so I could add batt insulation and ran plastic pallet strapping across the rafters so the batts wouldn't cause the vinyl to sag. Still looks good after 15 years. I would flame test a piece before using it in a garage.

shopnut · Jan 19, 2017

WOW... 5 years goes by quickly!!

Just following up here to post a picture of the finished ceiling

. I would do vinyl again in a heartbeat.

And looking the other way towards the front loft...

One more looking towards the side bay...

PurdueSD · Jan 19, 2017

It'll work, steel will work better.

Have you ever tossed a small piece of vinyl in a fire? It's a petroleum product...enough for me not to consider it.

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