Suggestions to remove drywalling from ceilings

[cdahncke]

We've got a, new to me, 25 x 40 ft garage that has a partially (mostly) drywalled ceiling. I'd like to take it all down... not exactly sure what they were thinking when they put it up. My plan was just to keep it open and exposed to the underside of the roof. But, here is the challenge... it's about 14ft ceilings. And, I'm fairly sure I'd manage to kill myself on a ladder.
Trying to figure out the best way to tackle this project. Thoughts? Suggestions?

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[Shiftless]

You’re right to take it down. It looks like a real mess.
If you hire some laborers to help, make sure to check your homeowners insurance policy. Somebody could get hurt on that job.

The previous owner probably put up the drywall to help keep heat in the building. Hopefully not to hide something awful going on under the roof.

Would the ceiling rafters support your weight? You could punch it down from the top. That’s how I demo’ed a tile ceiling in a stall shower. I used a 10 pound sledge hammer with the handle held vertically. You won’t need such a heavy tool.

 

[Stevedore]

About all I can offer is my sympathies. We moved to a house with similar height garage ceilings, maybe 12-13 ft, and I've had to go up on a ladder to mess with ceiling lights, garage door opener receptacles, etc. At my age & condition, I wasn't very comfortable. If I had to remove the sheetrock, & didn't want to pay someone to do it, I'd probably use a wrecking bar of some sort, on the shortest ladder that would do the job, & and pull it all down to the best of my ability.

I've had work done relatively inexpensively by advertising on craigslist, but I do share Shiftless's concerns about someone getting hurt.

 

[BillK]

Build a quick platform about 4 ft high then get a garden hoe and start pulling. It will probably come down pretty easy.

Personally though I think you would be better off paying a drywall crew to fix the mess and tape it up and paint it. You will be really surprised at how much darker it will be without the ceiling.

 

[cdahncke]

Was thinking about maybe renting a self propelled cherry picker from Sunbelt.



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[jdsac]

home depot rental- https://www.homedepot.com/p/rental/...ctName=Interior-Scaffold&modelNbr=APHDI-41837

 

[Shiftless]

Was thinking about maybe renting a self propelled cherry picker from Sunbelt.



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Will they rent that to an untrained person?

If you go with the suggestion from BillK of a drywall crew to repair the ceiling, you would then gain a visually much brighter and nicer place to work as well as the ability to insulate the ceiling and not have dusty **** fall down all the time.

 

[Ray-CA]

Get a 2x4 and bust through it from below. You’d only need to use a ladder to remove the screws.

 

[cdahncke]

jdsac, how stable would that be at around 9ft. You think I could pull myself around on it without having to get down and reposition it?

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[ynned]

Baker's scaffold is 200 bucks, then you got it for anything else. It disassembles for storage.

 

[manwithtools]

jdsac, how stable would that be at around 9ft. You think I could pull myself around on it without having to get down and reposition it?

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That scaffolding is not really stable at height without the out riggers. Not sure if HD even offers them for rental. You'll not be pulling yourself around too easily on it either. You'll need to get down to move it readily.

I'm in the hire someone to fix / finish it crowd as well. It will make the space much more usable in the long term. You can insulate above it more easily as well.

 

[CTyankee]

I'd think renting a couple of sections of pipe staging with wheels would make for a quick, safe job.

 

[LS6 Tommy]

I wish my ceiling was rocked, even if it wasn't home interior finish grade.
It would make me think harder about considering getting HVAC out there.

Tommy

 

[Leaflessshadetree]

I'd tape and finish it.
If you want to take it down just remove the screws. You may want to cut the sheets into smaller pieces first. For that I'd use a hand saw, possibly with coarse teeth, like for trimming trees.

 

[GRivera]

It's a bad job but at least it isn't taped yet - have it finished/taped. An experienced crew could get it done and maybe the price isn't too bad. Afterwards you could do blown-in insulation via an access panel.

 

[cdahncke]

There is an electric heater in there, and it works, but it's significant undersized. The whole garage is a bigger project than I realized when we purchased it. The bones are good, really solid. The whole thing is brick.... but, every door is mismatched. One of the garage doors are insulated all of the other ones are not. The two service doors have a one inch gap under them... I think they were repurposed from some other project. Working on replacing the exterior lighting now... as none worked, combination of wiring and fixtures being shot. I say all that to highlight that I'm dumping money into it right and left. Trying to insulate it is probably not going to happen in this decade... especially with how 2020 has started off.

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[gmwelder86]

Rent a scissor lift and be done in a day

 

[BD1]

Was thinking about maybe renting a self propelled cherry picker from Sunbelt.



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Rent a drive around manlift. Build a inside box that extends above top of lift. Then as you unscrew the box will hold the drywall.


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[greg13]

Baker's scaffold is 200 bucks, then you got it for anything else. It disassembles for storage.

Baker scaffold will put your feet @5' so unless you are 7' tall with 3' arms it's not going to work well. Standard construction scaffold is 6' so you are getting closer!
19' scissor lift is the way to go.

 

[rburke65]

Find a loose edge, grasp firmly in hand,,.....PULL!

 

[TryingToFixThis]

Exposed beams are never a bad choice IMO. Will look so nice when the drywall comes down

 

[jetnow1]

Finish the install where missing, tape and paint it when you can. Blown in insulation is cheap to do and will make the space so much easier to heat it will pay for itself. Even if you have to pay someone to tape it the biggest expense is drywall and install. Staging can be rented fairly cheaply, and two levels gets you to a comfortable height. A couple of buddies and a case of beer after it is done would get it done in a day, a pro could tape it off in about 4 days, allowing dry time between coats, faster if they used the quick dry mix, though that is harder to sand. Yes these are challenging times but that might mean you could find a pro who is laid off and looking for work.

 

[Jazz1]

You could trim all drywall out with Sawzall then have to pull all the nails out. Tedious job for sure. Obviously you don't need to heat garage if you opening up the ceiling.

 

[didit]

It would make more sense to repair and re-tape what you have, insulating as you go. I agree the best way, would be to buy a rolling scaffold with locking wheels, high enough to work comfortably. I bought a folding scaffold for this very purpose. It's a handy thing to have and doubles as a shelving unit when not in use.