Drywalling... Does doing the ceiling first really matter?

[jeff000]

Not garage, but basement.
I really want to start finishing my space with drywall, and reading online they say to do the ceiling first. But I'm not really ready to commit to closing off the ceiling yet.

Is doing the walls first going to make a difference?

 

[remedialmofo]

Yes, because the walls are hung from top to bottom. You get to the bottom then that is covered by the baseboard. Even if you're hanging your wall board vertically you still want to be as tight as possible to the ceiling rock. Pretty much the only way you could do it is use some rock as a spacer. You'll be able to slide all your perimeter sheets in first then rip all your center sheets to fit. It will booger up when you crack corners getting frustrated from having to cut, test fit, bring back down and cut again, test fit and cheese grate lol but hey that's what you wanted plus you can go to town with mud and tape

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[jeff000]

Hmm, I guess that makes sense.

Time to rent a drywall lift I guess, and hope I didn't forget anything in the ceilings.

 

[CNGsaves]

. . OR . . you could decide to put something else up for ceiling in basement instead of sheetrock ?? . . . . like maybe suspended ceiling ??

There are some very nice ceiling tiles now-a-days and having subsequent access to wiring, pipes, etc. is great selling point for suspended ceiling. On HomeTime TV show they had nice low profile stuff and were plastic but looked nice and cut with a tin snips.

By the way, make ABSOLUTELY SURE you are done with all your wiring (including low voltage like internet, CATV, security, speaker wires, etc) . . . BEFORE. . . all that basement sheetrock goes up.

 

[remedialmofo]

Hmm, I guess that makes sense.

Time to rent a drywall lift I guess, and hope I didn't forget anything in the ceilings.

Skip the lift and use your noggin well unless you have limited mobility or you're not comfortable on a ladder balancing a sheet on your head. One screw or drywall nail will hold 75 percent of the weight while you're kinda holding up then just hurry or take your time. If it's rips through sink another one an inch over you can spot that tear out later it's no big deal it's just rough in

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[jeff000]

. . OR . . you could decide to put something else up for ceiling in basement instead of sheetrock ?? . . . . like maybe suspended ceiling ??

There are some very nice ceiling tiles now-a-days and having subsequent access to wiring, pipes, etc. is great selling point for suspended ceiling. On HomeTime TV show they had nice low profile stuff and were plastic but looked nice and cut with a tin snips.

By the way, make ABSOLUTELY SURE you are done with all your wiring (including low voltage like internet, CATV, security, speaker wires, etc) . . . BEFORE. . . all that basement sheetrock goes up.

Even the lowest profile I could find I lose 2 3/4" in height. And when I only have 94 1/2" to start with I'm just not interested in losing more.

Being an electrician I'm fairly certain I have everything needed electrically, and overkill.

Skip the lift and use your noggin well unless you have limited mobility or you're not comfortable on a ladder balancing a sheet on your head. One screw or drywall nail will hold 75 percent of the weight while you're kinda holding up then just hurry or take your time. If it's rips through sink another one an inch over you can spot that tear out later it's no big deal it's just rough in

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Being 145 lbs a sheet of drywall, even being the "lite" stuff is pretty heavy and awkward. Especially with about 1200 sq ft of ceiling.

 

[Justanoldguy]

Put up wall sheeting first and leave a gap at top for ceiling.
When you do ceiling then you have something to rest the sheets on while you screw the rest of the sheet.
Have done this many many times when I am short handed and need the job done.
Either way, you still have to mud the corners, right?

 

[Cyberbear]

Everything already said about this is true. According to the contractor drywall class I took years ago, the drywall board on the wall helps hold the ceiling from sagging around the edges, but nothing is that critical when dry walling, that's why mud and tape was invented.
Putting the ceiling up last can be more difficult and is prone to cracking at the corner joints when not done properly. Once you do it, you'll know if you ever want to go that route again.

 

[OccupantRJ]

If you install nailers on the perimeter between the ceiling joists, you can hang either first. Alternately, if crown molding is used, this will help support the perimeter, and save a lot of corner mudding and sanding. I am presently designing a drywall system for my shop that should require no mudding and sanding other than around protrusions.

 

[58Yeoman]

Drywall a basement ceiling? My whole basement has suspended tiles, and I hate to even have to remove those to fix plumbing or electrical (I'm not the original owner). It will be a major job to have to cut into drywall to fix a water leak, or run another electrical line.

 

[readhead]

Hanging the lid is more tradition than requirement. New construction precut studs have carried on that tradition for fifty years. The idea that the edge of the sheet needs to be supported by the wall sheet kind of goes out the window when you consider that all the edges in the rest of the room are unsupported.

That being said I am not one to fly in the face of tradition and I usually hang the lid first then the walls. In the OP 's case I don't see any disadvantage to doing the walls first and butting the lid sheets to the wall. However you have to commit to closeing it up at some point.

I git the whole access idea for mechanical systems and i think it is a good idea but on the other hand most people have drywall on the ceiling under the second floor of a two story house.

 

[theoldwizard1]

Hmm, I guess that makes sense.

Time to rent a drywall lift I guess, and hope I didn't forget anything in the ceilings.

3 man job. Stand on upside down 5 gallon buckets with a couple of 2x6 in between. First guy just a holds the sheet against the joists. Second guy is a holder until the first 6 or 8 screws are in.

You don't need a drywall screw gun, if you are careful/patient. You can use an impact or even a drill.

 

[Hpozzuoli]

For a basement I would discourage dry walling a ceiling. Use a drop ceiling so you can fish wires and pipes at later dates.

I would also do a drop in a garage so you can fish things around.

My drywall guys do the ceiling first all the time.

 

[Matt The Hammer]

The lifts are great if you are looking that route. Worth the rental cost for sure.

 

[jeff000]

For a basement I would discourage dry walling a ceiling. Use a drop ceiling so you can fish wires and pipes at later dates.

I would also do a drop in a garage so you can fish things around.

My drywall guys do the ceiling first all the time.

Unless I do a major reno to my 3 year old house I can't see needing to run anything else, and I'm not going to plan for a leak.

I really hate drop ceiling, even the most expensive looks like add compared to finished drywall ceiling that matches the rest of the house.
I also don't want to lose that much ceiling height.

I am thinking that maybe using res bar might be best, and only lose an extra half inch for an inch loss total. This way I could put res bar around the perimeter to have a nice screw edge too. Although really not sure why I'm so scared of doing the ceiling.

 

[RECox286]

When we were into drywalling, we always would do the ceiling

first, with 3 men and two "dead-men." (sort of the same idea as

a clothesline prop, but made in the shape of a T from 2x4 scrap)

Once the ceiling was done, then we butted the upper sheets to

the ceiling, and the lower sheets to the upper sheets, which

leaves a gap at the bottom to be covered by trim. It also keeps

any small water spills from contacting the wallboard, especially

in a room where that may happen occasionally. Needless to say,

but still an important point is that all joints should be staggered

as much as possible. This installation procedure helps to make

mudding somewhat easier to accomplish. Personal note: I would

choose some other ceiling material for a basement room too, b/c

usually it is the one space where you will need to have access to

most of your plumbing and electrical mechanicals.

Uncle Bob

 

[jkwilson]

Unless I do a major reno to my 3 year old house I can't see needing to run anything else, and I'm not going to plan for a leak.

I really hate drop ceiling, even the most expensive looks like add compared to finished drywall ceiling that matches the rest of the house.
I also don't want to lose that much ceiling height.

I am thinking that maybe using res bar might be best, and only lose an extra half inch for an inch loss total. This way I could put res bar around the perimeter to have a nice screw edge too. Although really not sure why I'm so scared of doing the ceiling.

Problem is, things change. When I built my house, I ran coax everywhere. Most has been replaced with Cat 6 now, and having free access from the basement was a big help. What will you need in 5 years?

I can't believe nobody makes ceiling tiles that snap into thin tracks on the floor joists. Would seem to be the perfect solution to use the joists as the drop ceiling rails.

 

[jeff000]

Problem is, things change. When I built my house, I ran coax everywhere. Most has been replaced with Cat 6 now, and having free access from the basement was a big help. What will you need in 5 years?

I can't believe nobody makes ceiling tiles that snap into thin tracks on the floor joists. Would seem to be the perfect solution to use the joists as the drop ceiling rails.

I agree that a system like that would probably work great and be very popular.

We are moving away from wires though so I don't anticipate any wires. But it's not too hard to fish if I really needed.

 

[slickgt1]

I've done it both ways, and still do. I sometimes have guys working on stuff in the ceiling, and can get the sheetrock up on the walls. So that is how it goes. It doesn't matter much. Support the corner by the sheetrock? So how is said corner being supported in the middle of the ceiling? Exactly, don't kill yourself over it. It is just harder to hit the stud in the perimeter when the wall sheetrock is pushing your drill away by 5/8". That is the only reason I can see putting up ceiling first.

Just do sheetrock. No point in paying more for maybe something happening. You can always install an access panel if needed. Snake some wires. It doesn't take much effort to patch up. Plus ceiling tiles look commercial.

 

[jeff000]

I've done it both ways, and still do. I sometimes have guys working on stuff in the ceiling, and can get the sheetrock up on the walls. So that is how it goes. It doesn't matter much. Support the corner by the sheetrock? So how is said corner being supported in the middle of the ceiling? Exactly, don't kill yourself over it. It is just harder to hit the stud in the perimeter when the wall sheetrock is pushing your drill away by 5/8". That is the only reason I can see putting up ceiling first.

Just do sheetrock. No point in paying more for maybe something happening. You can always install an access panel if needed. Snake some wires. It doesn't take much effort to patch up. Plus ceiling tiles look commercial.

Would using that metal corner thing help prevent cracking? It's cheap.

 

[Kevin54]

It's "recommended" that you do the ceiling first when drywalling because the walls will support the edges of the ceiling, but it is not "mandatory" that you do that. Drywall as you see fit. If you want to do the ceiling last, then by all means, do it last. As long as you have no settling issues, you will be fine. Depending on certain jobs, when I was doing remodeling, there were quite a few times we did the ceiling last and never had any problems.

 

[sublime68charger]

Just thinking off the hip can you rip your 4x8 sheet in half and put the half sheets up on the ceiling as 2' strips then put the walls up. You'd still have plenty of ceiling access, there would be more ceiling seems to mud when all said and done.

This might be a total bad idea but my off hip thought.

 

[Alchymist]

3 man job. Stand on upside down 5 gallon buckets with a couple of 2x6 in between. First guy just a holds the sheet against the joists. Second guy is a holder until the first 6 or 8 screws are in.

You don't need a drywall screw gun, if you are careful/patient. You can use an impact or even a drill.

One of these works pretty good, stick it in a drill and have at it:

http://www.homedepot.com/p/Bosch-Di...gclid=CNqww_rj3scCFQGqaQodTgsKEQ&gclsrc=aw.ds

 

[The Cobbler]

if you do the ceiling first,as others have said, the wall sheets support the ceiling edges, but also it enables you to get the drywall on the walls tight to the ceiling making for an easier tape job. do the ceiling after the walls and you'll easily have larger gaps that need to be filled before taping

 

[Hornman]

If you have to get access to pipes or wiring, remove sheetrock as necessary, repair, repeat. It's just sheetrock, you're not texturing it, are you?

 

[Justanoldguy]

you to get the drywall on the walls tight to the ceiling making for an easier tape job.

Whether a gap there or not, there is absolutely no more degree of hardness or easiness in the job.
I have done many miles of it over the last 40+ years so have some experience in it.

 

[bowtie1972]

unless you want to look like this, my be funny looking in a basement

 

[cdestuck]

Drywalling a basement ceiling is something I would never do. Yeah only thing I would use is suspended ceiling track and panels

 

[Justanoldguy]

Drywalling a basement ceiling is something I would never do. Yeah only thing I would use is suspended ceiling track and panels

Reason?

 

[slickgt1]

Would using that metal corner thing help prevent cracking? It's cheap.

You mean corner bead. No. Don't put that in an inside corner ever.

You want it to be 100% sure it never falls down? Use construction adhesive. PL Premioum. Screw it in. Next day you can remove all your screws if you want to. Just makes it a huge ***** if you ever need to remove that section. You will pretty much need a chisel.

You want to screw in that perimiter edge? If you are ready to buy corner bead because it's cheap, buy a bundle of the metal 2x4, or 1x2, whatever is near you and cheaper. Cuts with snips. Screws with same screws into wood. And you can make yourself some perimiter cross braces. I would not do this generally. But one must when one wants **** stronger. I've done this too. Sometimes when you are not sure of durability, you add braces and glue lol.

It's not rocket science really. If you must do it this way, don't let it hold you back. And here, in NYC, we Sheetrock every usable space to make it usable, livable, rentable. It's cheaper than drop ceiling, everyone knows where to buy repair parts, and nearly everyone can patch it. No point being afraid of someday needing to make a hole or even ripping it all up. My garage is sheet rocked with all plumbing and wiring hidden. So is my basement. So is every rental basement. One I did drop ceiling, but that was because its a rental, and I wasn't going to redo all plumbing and electrical to reclaim 2". If all was hidden, I would of Sheetrock that one too.

 

[Dagny]

I am also an electrician and I hate finished basements.

 

[jeff000]

You mean corner bead. No. Don't put that in an inside corner ever.

You want it to be 100% sure it never falls down? Use construction adhesive. PL Premioum. Screw it in. Next day you can remove all your screws if you want to. Just makes it a huge ***** if you ever need to remove that section. You will pretty much need a chisel.

You want to screw in that perimiter edge? If you are ready to buy corner bead because it's cheap, buy a bundle of the metal 2x4, or 1x2, whatever is near you and cheaper. Cuts with snips. Screws with same screws into wood. And you can make yourself some perimiter cross braces. I would not do this generally. But one must when one wants **** stronger. I've done this too. Sometimes when you are not sure of durability, you add braces and glue lol.

It's not rocket science really. If you must do it this way, don't let it hold you back. And here, in NYC, we Sheetrock every usable space to make it usable, livable, rentable. It's cheaper than drop ceiling, everyone knows where to buy repair parts, and nearly everyone can patch it. No point being afraid of someday needing to make a hole or even ripping it all up. My garage is sheet rocked with all plumbing and wiring hidden. So is my basement. So is every rental basement. One I did drop ceiling, but that was because its a rental, and I wasn't going to redo all plumbing and electrical to reclaim 2". If all was hidden, I would of Sheetrock that one too.

Why never put an inside corner?

I have a bunch of glue simply called drywall adhesive, not sure who makes it. I got it because I was told it would help prevent some of the noise transfer between the basement and main floor.

I think I might just hit up all the new house construction in the area and grab enough 2x4 pieces to make a nailing edge the whole perimeter.

And like you say, it really is easy enough to fix and replace if really needed. And I can not see any leaks or issues in the 8-10 years I plan to be here.

When the builder finishing a basement here it's drywall ceiling, but home owner finished seems to be mostly a drop ceiling.
My garage is finished from the builder with drywall, and painted, but they need to for fire code. Well not painted, but once you are taped it's not much extra to paint it.

I am also an electrician and I hate finished basements.

I don't do resi work for the simple fact that I hate working in finished spaces.
But I would much rather live in a finished space.

 

[CTyankee]

I'll leave it to others to argue which way or what type of ceiling you should do. If you do go with drywall, go by a lift at HF. I think with the 20% off coupon it's like 160 bucks. You can do it by yourself, take your sweet time and not kill yourself hanging the stuff. When your done sell it on CL and get half your money back.

 

[black00lightning]

Show an episode on Home time TV where they used a white vinyl planks using concealed clips, very similar to those used on decks. Looks like a bead board ceiling. It can be removed if access is neaded. Depends if you like the look.

 

[ilovevocs]

I don't think you should fear the ceiling. The worst parts of installing drywall in the basement IMHO is:

1. Getting the sheetrock downstairs.

2. Getting the dust out of the downstairs.


Just a suggestion; if your air handler is in the basement turn it off until you can purge the sanding dust from the air.

 

[Beemer533]

You mean corner bead. No. Don't put that in an inside corner ever.

Why never put an inside corner?

I assume slickgt means never use "outside" corner bead for an inside corner...

I used this for all my inside corners and it worked really well...
http://www.homedepot.com/p/Gibralta...0-ft-Inside-Taped-Corner-Bead-70088/100356050

I **** at taping and mudding, but using these gave me really nice sharp inside corners..

 

[TommyK]

Having tight fitting joints makes for easier taping and less potential joint cracking. Hanging the ceiling first makes it easier to get a tight joint. When you're standing on stilts or a staging, plank or whatever, the last thing you want to have to do is keep putting sheets up and taking them down to scribe and fit a ceiling sheet to a wall sheet to get a tight joint. I also think there is something to the support argument which keeps the inside ceiling tape joint from cracking. I've done many ceilings by myself with a lift and many others with a helper. The lift is slower but cheaper than paying someone.

 

[slickgt1]

I assume slickgt means never use "outside" corner bead for an inside corner...

I used this for all my inside corners and it worked really well...
http://www.homedepot.com/p/Gibralta...0-ft-Inside-Taped-Corner-Bead-70088/100356050

I **** at taping and mudding, but using these gave me really nice sharp inside corners..

Yup this. And I too still **** at tape, well not so much ****, just soooo much not like. lol. But sometimes one cannot wait on the guys that should be getting paid for it.

 

[pima67]

This is what I used when I had to tear out a drywall ceiling in a basement bath room to fix a water leak caused by a drywall screw resting against a copper pipe for 20 or so years!

http://www.proceilingtiles.com/Surface-Link-Grid-System-2x2.html

With this system there is little loss of room height. There are many decorative tiles available. Of course it would be more expensive than plain drywall. But it provide easy access to fix problems or add something in the future.

 

[SilverSS1969]

Guess the reason question is, do you need to drywall the ceiling in your basement? I finished all my basement walls in drywall. I didn't like the idea of drywall on the ceiling for all the reasons above. And I knew I wasn't done running wires.

On my basement, its around 96 inch from the floor to the bottom joists, I sprayed the ceiling a flat black. I got a lot of complaints after doing this. Helps to hind all the duck work, electrical and plumbing. but still have full open access to everything.

I do plan on doing a drop ceiling in a few rooms but this works for most of the basement.