Sheetrocking on Uneven joists?

[Micscience]

Someone just installed some joists onto the ceiling and many of them are not level or aligned in height to the others. When I place a long 2x4 or level up onto the joists some have like 3/4" - 1" difference in height and the others that are off are like 1/4 to 1/8 of inch. I'm wondering will I be able to get away with installing sheetrock on them? The owner plans to have the sheet rock plastered so I don't know if that helps. If you guys can offer any advice I'd appreciate it thanks.

edit: I was hoping to avoid using strapping with shims since this job is being done for free.

 

[65Goat]

Grip-Rite 3.75 ft. Shim Drywall (100-Bundle) GRDWSHIM - The Home Depot

Shim drywall at home or on the jobsite with the Grip-Rite 100-Bundle Drywall Shims. The paper-faced shims are flexible and 45 in. long. Drywall Shims allow for a greater into the drywall joint.

www.homedepot.com

 

[Micscience]

I edited my post after you replied. I was hoping to avoid using strapping and shims since I am doing this job for free. Will the sheet rock definitely crack and is this to much of a deviation?

 

[The Cobbler]

plaster in the old days would fix that, plaster now a days is just a skim coat and won't hide the discrepancies.
if the homeowner is OK with a terribly wavy ceiling , slap on the drywall. if not, you have to make a decision or 3 .
strapping or shimming is the only real fix .

 

[Busted_Knuckles]

I rocked the lid of a very rural 2400sqft home built in 1904, with wood that was apparently milled on site. No two joists for the second floor where the same height when it came to hang the ceiling. When new, it was lathe and plaster, and it appears they knew how to hide it, with sheet rock I was screwed.

Anynow, ended up ripping 2x's and using the shims like shown above. Rock wont let you hide much of anything, it will fail shortly after you walk away if you try, the screws or nails will pop out as you try to tighten it,... walk away if you can.. its **** sandwich.

If you go ahead and try it, might give 1/4" rock a try, or what ever the thinnest you can find. It will look terrible, but if the objective is to just get it hung...

 

[Wiz02]

@65Goat, I used those exact, amazingly expensive, cardboard shims to true up the studs in my bathroom tub surround, before installing the Kerdi foam board. The shims helped out a lot, and the job is flat enough for drywall, tile not so much. I need more practice.

Another thing that I learned is that for tiling, the walls need to be plumb as well as flat. My walls were so out of true, I should have bought some metal studs and reframed the tub surround.

 

[Garcky]

Someone just installed some joists onto the ceiling and many of them are not level or aligned in height to the others. When I place a long 2x4 or level up onto the joists some have like 3/4" - 1" difference in height and the others that are off are like 1/4 to 1/8 of inch. I'm wondering will I be able to get away with installing sheetrock on them? The owner plans to have the sheet rock plastered so I don't know if that helps. If you guys can offer any advice I'd appreciate it thanks.

edit: I was hoping to avoid using strapping with shims since this job is being done for free.

Even though you're doing this for free, the owners will be unhappy with the result and blame you for the problem, no matter how much you try to explain it. That's just the reality. They don't truly understand the problem, so they won't understand the issues after the work is done.

I recommend that you walk away from the job, telling them that you are not capable of dealing with the issue effectively. If you don't do the job, you can't be blamed for an unsatisfactory result.

I've faced similar situations during my life. The only solution is to simply not do the work. If you do, the owners will be unhappy and so will you. That's one of the problems of giving work away; you get the blame if it doesn't look professionally, but not the credit if it does. It's a lose/lose situation.

 

[Leaflessshadetree]

If they want drywall then shims and strapping is by far cheaper/easier than other options.

 

[jack stand]

How big of an area are you talking about here?
If the average is ok and just a handful of high joists, it won't be to bad to get it a lot better in a normal size room.

 

[Rst277]

Even though you're doing this for free, the owners will be unhappy with the result and blame you for the problem, no matter how much you try to explain it. That's just the reality. They don't truly understand the problem, so they won't understand the issues after the work is done.

I recommend that you walk away from the job, telling them that you are not capable of dealing with the issue effectively. If you don't do the job, you can't be blamed for an unsatisfactory result.

I've faced similar situations during my life. The only solution is to simply not do the work. If you do, the owners will be unhappy and so will you. That's one of the problems of giving work away; you get the blame if it doesn't look professionally, but not the credit if it does. It's a lose/lose situation.

Best advice - take it!!

 

[mike93lx]

It will look terrible.

Shim/strap it or don't do it

 

[Zeke]

Here's the thing: if there is really something that is 3/4" low, the nails or screws will pop. You have to do some leveling. Even for a poor job I wouldn't trust more than 1/4" deviation in 16". Those cardboard strips go up fast with a staple gun.

 

[kaymccampbell]

You could sister good straight 2x4s, one to each side of the really bad joists, then plane off the bad bit. It was SOP in days gone by.

 

[jpaw]

If it truly is 3/4-1 inch out run and don't feel the least bit bad...
This is not a job you do for free.

 

[Walkers]

If it is really that bad, then sistering with 2x is probably the best option. Some pics would really help your cause.

 

[Micscience]

I really think sistering 2 x 4's is a good idea. It is most likely the fastest way to get it done and it will most likely give the best result.

For those who are telling me to run, believe me that is what I want to do. I know it is a **** sandwich. The house is my mothers and she is as stubborn as a goat. Against my recommendations she hired a compulsive liar and after he screwed it up, again against my recommendations, she hired another guy who didn't want the job to fix what the first guy did but he also knew it was a **** sandwich. So it is like a **** sandwhich buffet at this point lol

And yes it is truly 3/4" to an 1"inch. I have video of it that I was going to upload but decided not to.

 

[brownbagg]

.

 

[Walkers]

I really think sistering 2 x 4's is a good idea. It is most likely the fastest way to get it done and it will most likely give the best result.

For those who are telling me to run, believe me that is what I want to do. I know it is a **** sandwich. The house is my mothers and she is as stubborn as a goat. Against my recommendations she hired a compulsive liar and after he screwed it up, again against my recommendations, she hired another guy who didn't want the job to fix what the first guy did but he also knew it was a **** sandwich. So it is like a **** sandwhich buffet at this point lol

And yes it is truly 3/4" to an 1"inch. I have video of it that I was going to upload but decided not to.

Well, we all do for our mothers things that others couldn’t pay us for. My mother had somebody at the house replacing the a/c and telling her that she needed all new breakers because the box was burned. I dropped everything and drove an hour each way to find out the paper label on the inside of the 60 year old breaker box is brown. The breakers and wiring were perfect.

Do yourself a favor and get a laser level that will do a plane. I have the Bosch that can be had at HoDe. It will make the job go so much quicker and easier.

 

[Metal-Marc]

It will look terrible.

Shim/strap it or don't do it

This.

 

[brownbagg]

.

 

[firebirdparts]

I don't follow the concept of "the owner plans to have the sheetrock plastered." FWIW. I don't know what that really is. It might be a made up story. "Don't worry about it because [just insert anything here, jibber jabber].

Sheetrock is not very flexible. You cannot install it on that. I say no.

 

[mike93lx]

truss move, with the temperture and load. that why you dont tie your interior walls to the truss. do not sister a truss, it will hold the movement till something pops, by strapping the whole system moves in one plane. also dont screw the drywall eight inches from end. it will pop the screw the first cold snap.

follow the load on the truss, the top is in the cold the bottom is in the insulation blacket so it will creep and move during the temperture, if you have a metal roof you can hear it at sundown and sun up

Where are trusses involved here?

 

[PoorUB]

I agree with the others, furring strips, or don't do it.

Think about it, do it right once, and be done with it. I can guaranty if you cheap out on this and try to skip leveling the ceiling you will be wasting material and a lot more time, and then go back and do it correctly.

 

[Busted_Knuckles]

I don't follow the concept of "the owner plans to have the sheetrock plastered." FWIW. I don't know what that really is. It might be a made up story. "Don't worry about it because [just insert anything here, jibber jabber].

Sheetrock is not very flexible. You cannot install it on that. I say no.

Ive done some remodeling of some homes that where built from the early 50s to sometime likely in the mid late 60s. They would hang what I think was gypsum board ( my exprience IIRC, it was blue ), and then literally plaster the entire walls with plaster, just like it was lathe of one generation earlier. Maybe it was a natural progression from the whole wall, to just doing seams and corners ? Ive only dabbled in residential construction over the years, and being born in 67', really dont know the history of construction from the 1800s till today, only know what Ive taken apart.

Might have been regional too... ?

 

[mike93lx]

Ive done some remodeling of some homes that where built from the early 50s to sometime likely in the mid late 60s. They would hang what I think was gypsum board ( my exprience IIRC, it was blue ), and then literally plaster the entire walls with plaster, just like it was lathe of one generation earlier. Maybe it was a natural progression from the whole wall, to just doing seams and corners ? Ive only dabbled in residential construction over the years, and being born in 67', really dont know the history of construction from the 1800s till today, only know what Ive taken apart.

Might have been regional too... ?

Blueboard and veneer plaster is still a thing, although not common because it is expensive. I had the ceilings in my last house done with it to encapsulate asbestos popcorn and it looked amazing. We did a smooth finish in the bedrooms and it was like glass.

 

[rlitman]

Here's the thing: if there is really something that is 3/4" low, the nails or screws will pop. You have to do some leveling. Even for a poor job I wouldn't trust more than 1/4" deviation in 16". Those cardboard strips go up fast with a staple gun.

Even 1/4" in 16" is way too much. I'll put a 6' level across studs both straight across and on diagonals, and if there's a 1/8" gap anywhere, it's got to be shimmed (or planed), because even that much will lead to screw pops.

 

[Uncle murph]

Someone just installed some joists onto the ceiling and many of them are not level or aligned in height to the others. When I place a long 2x4 or level up onto the joists some have like 3/4" - 1" difference in height and the others that are off are like 1/4 to 1/8 of inch. I'm wondering will I be able to get away with installing sheetrock on them? The owner plans to have the sheet rock plastered so I don't know if that helps. If you guys can offer any advice I'd appreciate it thanks.

edit: I was hoping to avoid using strapping with shims since this job is being done for free.

You can’t hide 3/4-1” deviation,it will look like ****,it would really diminish the whole “free” bit.

 

[Micscience]

You guys are also not aware that the new ceiling is also slanted. The guy was raising the second story floor as he was installing the ceiling. So there is a huge slant now and I can easily straighten the ceiling by sistering 1x4's or 2x4's. Strapping might be more rigid but it won't straighten out the ceiling. If I sister onto the joists I can easily make it straight again.

Walkers - I do have a Bosch lazer which I forgot about. Thanks for the reminder

 

[mike93lx]

You guys are also not aware that the new ceiling is also slanted. The guy was raising the second story floor as he was installing the ceiling. So there is a huge slant now and I can easily straighten the ceiling by sistering 1x4's or 2x4's. Strapping might be more rigid but it won't straighten out the ceiling. If I sister onto the joists I can easily make it straight again.

Walkers - I do have a Bosch lazer which I forgot about. Thanks for the reminder

The strapping would get shimmed, just like drywall to the joists. Difference is that it makes it a lot easier to shim than without

 

[Zeke]

Strapping isn't necessary but it too can be shimmed.

 

[frankd]

Like others have said, 1/4"+ is too much of a difference and will be noticeable. To do it right you'd need to shim the joists. I'm not sure what plastering drywall means. Typically after the drywall is hung you would tape with mud/joint compound. You might be able to some minor discrepancies with mud but not the gaps that you're talking about. Plus the amount of time and mud that you'd need...you're way better off just shimming the joists.

 

[Micscience]

The strapping can only make the sheetrock flat to the joists but it won't level the existing ceiling because the strapping is limited to the joists. If I sister onto the new joists I now have a level cieling and flat sheetrock in one move. Sistering to the original joists was the best idea to fix the original problem and that was my recommendation. Instead what they did was install joists under the original joists in a 90 degree direction and pushed the cieling up. However the house would only allow so much give that the joists ended up getting installed off level which looks like a huge slant.

 

[Micscience]

I'm sorry if I may have made things seem confusing but here is a video of the ceiling so you can see for yourself.
https://youtu.be/Vu0uxRNAnpA

 

[Wolley]

Being out 4 inches, I'd forget about level and try to achieve flatness on the bottom of the new framing

 

[mike93lx]

I'm sorry if I may have made things seem confusing but here is a video of the ceiling so you can see for yourself.
https://youtu.be/Vu0uxRNAnpA

Hold smokes.

Good luck

 

[Micscience]

Where did everybody go? .......joking...

 

[brownbagg]

Where are trusses involved here?

your right, i had to do this to my house so i was thinking truss, so I deleted all my post, Im sorry for trying to offer information, I was wrong

 

[The Cobbler]

I have to ask how level is the floor?
the ceiling is off, I bet the floor is too. the entire house is probably way out of level by the looks of things.
the joist above the new ones are coming out to give more height to the second floor?
first off,in my opinion , that's way too much work to do for free,and you have to decide how far you're going with leveling things.... or do you just make it flat ?
I think you're chasing a never ending project if you're looking to make everything level

 

[Denwood]

I have dealt with a similar situation (and where sound amelioration was desired) by sistering metal studs to the existing wood. Just drop them down to a level line via laser or string. This will give you a level ceiling, and also help with noise transmission if this is an issue. Metal studs are relatively cheap and in this case will address large differences in height. I also used resilient (for sound as this was a theatre ceiling) but you don't need to.

 

[PoorUB]

I feel the need to add, as far as sheet rock is concerned, the ceiling doesn't need to be level, but it needs to be flat. If you want it level, then go ahead and level it, but as far as hanging sheet rock, all you need if flat.

As far as using strapping, you just find the lowest spot and use that for reference and shim everything to that point, but you probably will not shim four inches. Some laser levels will allow you to set them off level so you can strap the ceiling to a flat plane, but not level.

I can see why you might want to sister 2x4, 0r 2x6 material to the joists if you want it level.