Accoustical tile vs. Drywall for a ceiling

[haugy]

Can I drywall this sucker or what?!?!?!

Go to second page to see edited conversation. Can I drywall my ceiling or not?

I framed out my walls, and called in some pro's for the ceiling since I know my limitations.

Talked to the guy and he said since my trusses are so far apart, I can't put drywall in there unless they put in a lot more trusses at 16" apart. My shop is a 30x40 so the span is big.

The guy recommended Accoustical tiles, the kind you see in an office environment with the grid layout. Hanging wires support the grid, and then batt insulation goes on the tiles.

It is the ceiling, and I just need it to be enclosed, insulated, and hold the lights. Does anyone see why this would be a bad direction to go?

The cost will be much less for the accoustical tiles.

If anyone has used these, please let me know your thoughts about temperature insulation, sound deadening, problems, etc.

Thanks

 

[rockchucker]

You can hang 5/8 Type X Rock at 2' OC. How far apart are your Trusses? 4' ?


I personally hate Acoustical Tiles. Just my .o2 though.


Pics?

 

[DuluthMN]

More Feedback Guys, I may go this route also. My trusses are 2' OC.

 

[haugy]

They are 5' OC

 

[haugy]

I personally hate Acoustical Tiles. Just my .o2 though.

Why? Could you be more detailed?

Is it appearance? I can understand that. There are tiles that have a smoother finish and are solid white. That's what I'm looking at. I hate the ones in my office.

 

[MScott]

You could strap the ceiling with 1x 3 or 1x4's perpendicular to the trusses and at 16" centres. This is often done anyway to even out the drywall,

 

[Leadfoot3232]

my trusses are 5'OC, I ran 2x4" nailers at 90 degrees to the trusses on 24" centers and screwed 12' sheets of 1/2" rock on these..going on 5 years now,no sag and looks like new..

 

[premierplayer]

Add 2x4 purlins to the bottom of the truss's @2'-0" o.c. to attach the drywall.
This is the same construction as your current wall and roof, the purlins are the 2x4s perpendicular to the truss's and wall poles that the metal exterior finishes are attached to.

 

[rockchucker]

Yes. 100% on the look. I think it really cheapens a place up. I personally would Balloon Frame Between the Trusses and hang Rock.


Waaaaaaaay more work than Acoustical Tiles though. The one good thing you will get out of Framing it all in would be a lot more Structural Rigidity out of the Building. Tying everything together up top. After the Rock is done you could just have some guys come in and blow in Insulation instead of having to deal with placing all of the Bats or buying insulated Acoustical Tiles. With a Fully Rocked Lid you have a sealed unit in a sense. With all of the Tiles there is no way to seal the Attic Space from the main Building. Hotter in the Summer and Cooler in the Winter.


Judging from the rest of the Framing you are going to Insulate and Rock the rest of the Building from the looks of it. I would continue the Rock to the Lid. Rock the Lid (5/8" Type X) then the Walls (1/2") if you do. A very common mistake made by people today where they Rock the Walls then install the Lid.


Again just my opinion....

 

[haugy]

my trusses are 5'OC, I ran 2x4" nailers at 90 degrees to the trusses on 24" centers and screwed 12' sheets of 1/2" rock on these..going on 5 years now,no sag and looks like new..

Add 2x4 purlins to the bottom of the truss's @2'-0" o.c. to attach the drywall.
This is the same construction as your current wall and roof, the purlins are the 2x4s perpendicular to the truss's and wall poles that the metal exterior finishes are attached to.

If I do this can I install lights as well? I mean I see what you're saying, and it sounds good, but will it hold up? Meaning the load on the trusses, and the drywall hanging, I'm worried about structural rigidity and strength of the trusses.

I just don't want to overload the trusses or the roof.

 

[TheShrine]

How about corrugated?

 

[haugy]

Not my style. I like your shop, but it won't jive for what I'm trying to achieve. I thought about it. White corrugated, but I just didn't like the ridged look. If I got flat panels, I'd still have to frame out for lights.

 

[rcayot]

There are some very good looking acoustical tiles out there for $$$

Lighting would work VERY well with a suspended ceiling, lots of options there.

Otherwise, whatever floats your boat.

Roger

 

[srmofo]

A very common mistake made by people today where they Rock the Walls then install the Lid.
.

I hear this alot. Is the only reason you do the ceiling first to hold up the edges of the ceiling rock?

 

[supertooljunkie]

They make fixtures that mount right to the sheet rock. You put them up with toggle bolts. Then you don't have to worry about framing for the lights. That is, unless you want the drop in, flush look.
I gave a friend of mine some fixtures for drop in ceilings. He mounted them flush to the sheet rock in his kitchen, then framed them with wood. Looks real nice for cheap.

 

[mmhouse]

If I do this can I install lights as well? I mean I see what you're saying, and it sounds good, but will it hold up? Meaning the load on the trusses, and the drywall hanging, I'm worried about structural rigidity and strength of the trusses.

I just don't want to overload the trusses or the roof.

Check the specs on your trusses. It should list the engineering rating for the bottom chord load. You should be looking at the dead load rating. Then you can figure out the weight of the drywall, strapping, lights, insulation, etc. and see if it is within the load limits. This is one reason that engineered trusses are good...you actually know what they will (and won't) safely support.

That said, I see no problem putting a suspended ceiling up there. Using plain white vinyl covered 2'x4' tiles should look good and they are among the least expensive tiles. You could then just use the lay-in 2x4 fluorescent light fixtures designed for this type of ceiling. Just makes sure to put in lots of hangar wires and buy extra tiles for when you hit one with a long 2x4 or pipe and damage it.

 

[slip knot]

I would stay away from a suspended ceiling in a garage environment where you have some large openings to let wind gusts in (garage doors). I helped install a suspended ceiling in a Boys club gym and when the doors are opened the tiles blow all around when the wind blows thru the building. We even used the heavy weight tiles instead of the lighter fiberglass.

I believe I would pursue the 1X strapping and 5/8 rock. There are more options in surface mounted lighting versus the drop in troffer lights

 

[Identaltech]

^^^^^A+ on the wind problem with he suspended ceiling.
I would go with the corrugated metal. seems to fit right in with a pole barn.

 

[kartracer23]

We had a ceiling on our basment that was made from the same material as acoustical tile - but looked like wood. It was in T&G planks than you just toe nailed to the joists. It's lightweight, easy to install, and you don't lose any headroom like with a drop ceiling.

 

[haugy]

That's a good point about the wind. I hadn't thought of that. And with 12x12 doors, that could be a problem.

Here's an idea, yall tell me what you think:

Mount 2x4's in between the trusses. But mount 2" down using joist hangers like these:

That way the wood is at it's strongest vertically to prevent sag. And I can make it flush with the current trusses.

Would that hold up? Should I have some sort of reinforcement?
I'll climb up there today and see what the load rating is on the trusses, but I'm going to call the manufacturer first to see if they know off hand.

 

[mmhouse]

I'll climb up there today and see what the load rating is on the trusses, but I'm going to call the manufacturer first to see if they know off hand.

You will not find the load ratings on the trusses themselves. You'll need to look at the design drawings. If you don't have them the manufacturer should.

 

[haugy]

Well the truss guys say that those trusses won't hold up drywall. Everyone I talk to says it will.

AAAAARRRRGGGGGHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Lugnut64052]

Well the truss guys say that those trusses won't hold up drywall. Everyone I talk to says it will.

I'll cautiously call B.S. on that. Guys hang furnaces, chain hoists, lights, piping systems, and all manner of other stuff on trussed structures. I've never heard of one collapsing. Yeah, rock weighs quite a bit, but it would be an evenly spread weight all over the entire ceiling.

Personally, I'd do like several people have already said, run a bunch of 2x4 nailers perpendicular to the joists and rock it with 5/8" fireboard.

[Sheetrock is] Waaaaaaaay more work than Acoustical Tiles though.

Not really . . . well, it's probably about the same labor. Two experienced rockers on a scaffold should be able to knock the whole ceiling out in a day, easy. Couple of days to tape it; you're done.

A very common mistake made by people today where they Rock the Walls then install the Lid.

It doesn't matter either way. The walls are not holding up the edge of the ceiling. It's just easier to do the ceiling first because you don't have to cut the rock as tight to the edges. If you're hanging 1/2" on the walls, you can have almost a half-inch of slop on your ceiling edges and the walls will still cover the crack.

 

[ForceFed70]

I'm having a hard time deciding on this myself. Except I will be using an attic truss.

The tile is awesome to have for access to the ceiling. Installing air lines, additional electrical/lighting, etc is easy. BUT, how do you then insulate above it?

 

[haugy]

Well my air compressor will be outside in a special room. The air lines will be run at 4ft, so I won't be running any through the ceiling. The only thing in the ceiling will be the electrical for the 16 high bay lights, and 12 incandescents.

I just can't decide if the trusses will hold the weight of 2x4's every 2 feet, AND 1/2" drywall. Can't go with 5/8". That will be too much. I just hope that 2' OC for the 1/2 will work.

 

[Lugnut64052]

1/2" regular rock on 2-foot centers will eventually sag, especially in a more "outdoor" location like a shop.

There is a 1/2" fireboard that's stiffer than regular board, but it's also a little heavier. It's not as heavy as 5/8" however.

 

[haugy]

1/2" regular rock on 2-foot centers will eventually sag, especially in a more "outdoor" location like a shop.

There is a 1/2" fireboard that's stiffer than regular board, but it's also a little heavier. It's not as heavy as 5/8" however.

****. ****.

I'll look into fireboard. Is that like Hardibacker/Hardiboard?

Thanks for the info. I just don't know what I should do.

 

[trythis]

How about celotex fiberboard. it is lighter but more flexible than drywall. It looks like they are changing company names probably a lawsuit or something.

 

[mraredneck]

Why not install the grid system and cut drywall pans. best of both worlds? "Lighting" the clean look of lay-in's. Removable panels. Paint them what ever color you like.

 

[Lugnut64052]

mm...well, if I thought I was running that close to the ragged edge of the truss strength, I wouldn't do it at all. I'm still having a hard time believing your trusses won't hold up the weight of a garden-variety sheetrocked ceiling. I've personally rocked several small, country fire stations that were typical truss construction, metal-sided pole buildings, and were all done with 5/8" fireboard.

I do understand trusses are one-off, custom designed for the particular building along with the spacing, but have never seen one so spindly you couldn't at least hang rock on it. We've all seen pictures of guys who built platforms and perched their air compressors up in them, which are several hundred pounds in a single spot. But if your truss guy says they won't take it . . . *shrug*

Anyway, there's another thread going right now where people are emphatically stating that yes, 1/2" rock WILL sag on 2-foot centers, while others are just as emphatically claiming that it won't. The rule of thumb we always used was: 1/2" on 16" centers, 5/8" on 2-foot. As with everything, your mileage may vary.

 

[haugy]

Why not install the grid system and cut drywall pans. best of both worlds? "Lighting" the clean look of lay-in's. Removable panels. Paint them what ever color you like.

Drywall pans? That's a new one on me.

mm...well, if I thought I was running that close to the ragged edge of the truss strength, I wouldn't do it at all. I'm still having a hard time believing your trusses won't hold up the weight of a garden-variety sheetrocked ceiling. I've personally rocked several small, country fire stations that were typical truss construction, metal-sided pole buildings, and were all done with 5/8" fireboard.

I do understand trusses are one-off, custom designed for the particular building along with the spacing, but have never seen one so spindly you couldn't at least hang rock on it. We've all seen pictures of guys who built platforms and perched their air compressors up in them, which are several hundred pounds in a single spot. But if your truss guy says they won't take it . . . *shrug*

Anyway, there's another thread going right now where people are emphatically stating that yes, 1/2" rock WILL sag on 2-foot centers, while others are just as emphatically claiming that it won't. The rule of thumb we always used was: 1/2" on 16" centers, 5/8" on 2-foot. As with everything, your mileage may vary.

Yeah, I'm getting the engineering papers tomorrow and having another truss manufacturer look at them. And the only way I could do 16" OC is to use 2x4's and 1x4's every other one. Alternating them so instead of 2x4's everywhere, I'd have a mix. But when i get the engineering drawings hopefully I'll get good news. I climbed up there in the shop, and they feel solid as hell.

 

[DzNuts]

Have you considered OSB or another type of plywood? Not sure on weight, but I'm sure a quick search of the internet would give you the answers to that.

Ryan D.

 

[DzNuts]

A quick search produces...
-A 4x8 sheet of 7/16" OSB weighs about 47lbs.
-A 4x8 sheet of 5/8" gypsum sheetrock would come in at 70lbs.

 

[haugy]

A quick search produces...
-A 4x8 sheet of 7/16" OSB weighs about 47lbs.
-A 4x8 sheet of 5/8" gypsum sheetrock would come in at 70lbs.

Thanks, yeah that looks like it may have to be an option, but I'm trying to create a nice painted enclosed area. That Plywood won't look well painted unless I get the $$$$ kind.

 

[SL6RAM]

When I was looking at Morton buildings I was told i couldn't drywall the trusses directly. Something about the trusses moving with a snow load. The movement would crack the drywall. Might be something to look into. I'm sure the truss spec sheet will help.
Joe

 

[mball]

I also have been going back and forth between ceiling tiles and drywall in my garage, primarily for having the ease of routing additional wiring, etc. in the future. However, the main thing that is swinging me towards the drywall is the fire rating, compared to the other options. Wheither you go with drywall, (if the trusses support them) or another material, think also about the fire rating. Drwall does an amazing job at keeping fire at bay.

 

[carap]

Not sure of the span but why not put up ceiling joist between each truss? It would distribute the load of the sheet rock to the outside walls.