Looking for Suggestions for Light Weight Ceiling

[PCO6]

PC06 - Wish I had read your idea a couple months ago...
I just used the exterior 29 ga sheet metal for my ceiling. Looks similar to yours but it was 20' long and a lot heavier and probably a lot more expensive.

ended up needing a drywall lift - made the job much easier!

6th Gear - I'll trade you my ceiling for your floor space any day! I think you'll be very happy with your ceiling once you get your lights up. With that amount of space it's going to be BRIGHT! One mistake I made was to buy lights (4' T8's) with the reflectors designed to force the light down. I put a few up then decided to buy the more simple and cheaper ones. A lot of light makes its way to the ceiling and being white it acts as a very good reflector.

I like your trap door to the attic. I still have to pop a few "holes" in mine both for access and to allow for better ventilation in the summer time.

 

[PCO6]

I used the corrugated tin, mainly because it had the look I was after and is lightweight. Ran into a bunch of old lay-in light fixtures that I chain hung and painted black and used flex conduit to connect them. Sorry, don't have a picture of it completed.

That looks great! I'll bet it's pretty tough too.

 

[csp]

Before I go check at lunchtime, does anyone have a ballpark price per square foot for the aluminum and/or vinly soffit?

Price per panel would work too.

 

[ratdoggy]

Is the vinyl soffit material flammable?

 

[OakWood71]

Looks good! Now that you've had it for a while how do you like the vinyl soffit? Considering it for my ceiling too.

An alternative to the aluminum soffit is vinyl soffit. You can get what they call T-4 (Triple 4") Solid in 12" wide by 12 foot long sections. The "Solid" means it's not vented so it has a smooth surface and a very "clean" look once installed. It is easy to install, even without a helper. My entire shop from 10' and up will be covered with it soon. See the link in my signature for more pictures.



For your application, it appears the the rafter spacing is too far apart to install it directly without some sagging, so I would suggest wood strips be attached perpendicular to your rafters and then the vinyl would be attached running parallel to the rafters. This might also allow you to shim any unevenness you may have up there on that old ceiling, if you care about that.

 

[shopnut]

Looks good! Now that you've had it for a while how do you like the vinyl soffit? Considering it for my ceiling too.

Thanks! I really like it. I still believe it was the best choice for me, considering the ease of one-man installation, cost, and final results. It looks the same as the day I installed it. Basically everything above 10ft in my interior is covered in white vinyl. It's installed vertically so dust doesn't collect in the grooves.

The index in my Asylum thread will direct you to some tips for the installation.

And I'm always willing to show it off every chance I get...

 

[dcastine]

Wow - that really looks nice, very clever - nicely done!!

 

[77Birdman]

That is a fantast space! Cant quite figure out what the yellow "strut" is at the perimeter. Looks like some kind of trolley system? I like the cantilever hoist beam, I would like to see what that thing is anchored to. One last thing, your sig. list's 1975 H1-500. I assume that's a Kawasaki triple. My brother bought one new in 73. It was my first street bike as a hand me down. Got my DL with it. Although I have a garage full of old bikes that one is long gone, wish I had it back.

 

[shopnut]

Wow - that really looks nice, very clever - nicely done!!

Thanks!

That is a fantast space! Cant quite figure out what the yellow "strut" is at the perimeter. Looks like some kind of trolley system? I like the cantilever hoist beam, I would like to see what that thing is anchored to. One last thing, your sig. list's 1975 H1-500. I assume that's a Kawasaki triple. My brother bought one new in 73. It was my first street bike as a hand me down. Got my DL with it. Although I have a garage full of old bikes that one is long gone, wish I had it back.

Thanks, as well.

You guessed it... that monorail is a track for a perimeter library ladder system. The parts (from the 1930s) were scavenged from my parents' old dairy barn and now have become integrated into my new "barn".

There is a beam in the corner that the jib crane is attached to, and quite a substructure to hold it as well. All details can be found in my build thread if you care to learn more. It has come in handy for all sorts of jobs including putting my BendPak 4-post lift together by myself.

Right again on the H1. Thanks for sharing your story... I could talk about the old bikes for hours! The 2-stroke street bikes of yester-year have always interested me and I have a small collection. My first H1 was stolen when I was in college, but I managed to find another shortly after (unfortunately not as nice as the first though).