Tyvek as a cheap/light ceiling?

[gtivr4]

Hold on, hear me out first

I insulated my 2 car attached garage with fiberglass craft faced R19. I want to add a cheap, lightweight and easy to install "ceiling" that does a couple of things.
1) Reduces fire risk (the paper facing seems like its prime for catching on fire with sparks from welding)
2) Makes it a little tidier (insulation looks unfinished)
3) Makes it brighter

I'm not sure what the fire resistance is of tyvek, but otherwise it fits all of my needs. Its pretty cheap, bright, and I can put it up myself. Is this just plain stupid? Any other ideas?

 

[digdug18]

its plastic it melts. your going to burn your shop down. They make this really cool stuff called "drywall" yeah it has a paper covering, but is more fire resistant then a plastic bag.

 

[Ohio Auto]

Find a Menards...buy grade 2 steel panels..get them in white. Economical, fireproof, light, and very reflective. You will thank me.

 

[jdub63]

Most insulated metal buildings have a Tyvek vapor seal.

 

[buddyboy]

i had to cover up the kraft paper in my walk-in closet. to comply to some fire code. I used rolls of foil paper especially made for this purpose.

do a google search for Reinforced Aluminum Foil (flame retardant)

you might have to call an insulation company to get your hands on some as I don't think it's sold retail.

good luck

 

[Falcon67]

12 years in a shop with a kraft paper ceiling - don't point your torch at the ceiling LOL.

 

[gtivr4]

Find a Menards...buy grade 2 steel panels..get them in white. Economical, fireproof, light, and very reflective. You will thank me.

How much does that stuff go for though? Unless its under $10 a panel, its too expensive for this particular application.

 

[srmofo]

How much does that stuff go for though? Unless its under $10 a panel, its too expensive for this particular application.

Im interested in this also. I really dont feel like hanging drywall.

I cant find anything on google.

To the OP, I have plastic hanging in mine right now. I wont weld or grind anything in there though. I plan on doing blow in and I just wanted something to keep the heat in while I work out there this winter. Its not my long term solution, Its just my vapor barrier until I get rock hung.

IIRC my 10x100 roll of wrap cost over $100. That buys a lot of drywall, not as easy to install but a better product for this application. Whats the size of your building?

 

[creativecars]

I don’t think tyvek is worth putting up. If you have ever seen any that has been out over 6mo, it falls completely apart.
I have considered using the heavy duty silver tarp from HF. It would act as a vapor barrier, be reflective and light weight at the same time. They have a 19X29 for $50.00 right now. Probably not much for fire resistance though.

 

[Kevin54]

How much does that stuff go for though? Unless its under $10 a panel, its too expensive for this particular application.

Drywall is only about $6.00 for a 4x8 sheet. Tax & all I paid $10/sht for 12' drywall. Hanging the rock is the easy part, finishing it is the pain. I'd rather have sheetrock on the ceiling than plastic or Tyvek.

 

[ambenz]

I used 1/2" foil faced foam sheathing from Menards.
I secured them with car washers and 1" drywall screws.
Sealed any cracks with spray foam.

It keeps the heat in the garage and was a one person job.
Behind the pegboard is 3/4" rigid foam panels cut to fit between the studs.

It allows me to have the flexability to remove when installing a future lift system or future plans to add a stove pipe without worrying about destroying drywall to retrofit.
It buys time for those "Future plans!"

 

[Crazy Car Guy]

I don’t think tyvek is worth putting up. If you have ever seen any that has been out over 6mo, it falls completely apart.
I have considered using the heavy duty silver tarp from HF. It would act as a vapor barrier, be reflective and light weight at the same time. They have a 19X29 for $30.00 right now. Probably not much for fire resistance though.

i wonder what brand it was because im on year #3 of 2 walls of my house in only lowes brand Tyvek and ive had to re staple 1 edge due to a dog trying to eat it other than that the wood under it looks like brand new. the temp shop is only wrapped in tyvek and it will last! inside it works fine for a vapor barrier / wind barrier. it is flammable bad! welding sparks can light it on fire or at the least melt it

 

[creativecars]

I don’t want to steel this thread, but my experience with Tyvek was this, I thought it was suppose to be great stuff. I bought it to put on my walls, but was not ready, so I put it down to protect a sub floor for 3 months during the winter in Missouri. When it came time to put it on the walls for that same area, it tore to shreds. I did some more research and ended up using tar paper instead, not as easy to put up, cheaper and just as effective.

 

[Grumpy365]

I like tyvek, I think it is a good product.

BUT

All the tyvek i have ever seen has logo's printed all over it, and i think that fact alone would make it look like sh*t as a ceiling / sheet rock substitute.

 

[Grumpy365]

I did some more research and ended up using tar paper instead, not as easy to put up, cheaper and just as effective.

Tar paper doesn't breath like tyvek, in some applications i guess it would be fine, but it is not an apple to apples product.

 

[Grumpy365]

its plastic it melts. your going to burn your shop down. They make this really cool stuff called "drywall" yeah it has a paper covering, but is more fire resistant then a plastic bag.

Almost every home constructed in the last 15 years is wrapped in tyvek, i don't get your argument.

(and really i think it is closer to woven fiberglass than plastic).

 

[Zengineer]

Cheap and easy: drywall, but don't mud. At least down the road if you want to finish it you're part way there. I did my 16x24 ceiling with a drywall lift ($18 rental) in 4 hours by myself. It's a piece of cake to hang it.

 

[Gary S]

I used 1/2" foil faced foam sheathing from Menards.
I secured them with car washers and 1" drywall screws.
Sealed any cracks with spray foam.


It keeps the heat in the garage and was a one person job.
Behind the pegboard is 3/4" rigid foam panels cut to fit between the studs.

It allows me to have the flexability to remove when installing a future lift system or future plans to add a stove pipe without worrying about destroying drywall to retrofit.
It buys time for those "Future plans!"

I did the same thing in my garage except I used 1" thick for more rigidity. In addition to the added rigidity, the 1" adds another R6.5 to the ceiling and you won't regret that.

 

[milner351]

A friend of mine wanted a cheap easy white ceiling to blow cellulose on top of.

He used pond liner, it's a rubber like membrane that's water proof, and white, I believe he stapled it in place starting at one corner and working toward the other keeping wrinkles out.

It's been up with about a foot of cellulose on top of it for over a year now with no issues.

 

[jameswood]

I thought about using Tyvek as cost is attractive (about 1.00lf) its light weight and permeable. Had some 9' tyvek left over from a job so did one (of 18qty) 8x20 truss sections for the heck of it. Looks nice and installed fast but burns too easy. Decided its too flammable. Light a piece on fire and watch how fast it goes- similar to my exposed eps insulation (white stuff).
So i am also looking for something to use as a rafter truss ceiling in my shop. osb-maybe, Not as permeable as plywood and requires more support between my 8ft OC trusses. Maybe foil faced rigid insul, and paint white, but its not very permeable.
I have the sweat blanket insulation with the vinyl linning to the inside under my metal roof so adding anything else that might trap moisture for me isnt a good idea. Figure I need to allow it to dry to the inside.
Im looking into Temptrol™ Heat Reflecting Fabric as a possibillity. Otherwise 1/4 inch plywood-painted will likely be my fall back.

 

[creativecars]

Tar paper doesn't breath like tyvek, in some applications i guess it would be fine, but it is not an apple to apples product.

Tar paper does not breath like Tyvek, but it does breath, generally from the bottom up, if it is installed correctly. And it is a very good moisture barrier.
Tyvek is used extensively because it is easy and faster, not better.
I understand time is money and Dupont has done a great job marketing. As a breathable moisture barrier, it does work.
The question here was using it as an interior cover for insulation. I would not recomend it.

 

[mobetta]

tyvek (and other WRB's-weather resistant barriers) are not design to be a vapor barrier. nor are they tarps. when used prperly, for what they are designed for, they work quite well.

1/2" drywall is only about $4.50/sheet here, so less than $15/ 100sq ft, very affordable. as stated, no need to finish tape it unless you need/ want the fire barrier- but then spend the $1.75/sht more for 5/8 type X.

 

[creativecars]

Mobetta, Your area is fortunate, our 1/2 is $8.00 and X type is $11.00.
When suppliers around here first started with Tyvek (and others) they were all excited and thought it was the fix all, wind, weather, rain ect… and had all types of hype from Dupont, then they found they could also have their name printed all over your house and of course it looked good until the siding went up. It is an ok product to kinda slow down air movement, and it kinda slows down water, and it covers up all sorts of sins in the framing. You are correct, it is resistant to water infiltration, but so are Wal-mart bags. Still not a very good option for the OP to use as a ceiling.

 

[BillGalbraith]

Hmmm, I have 150' x 14' of leftover Stego 10 mil vapor barrier left over from my garage build....I could 2.5 times.

 

[6768rogues]

Tyvek is not fire resistant, fire retardant or fire proof. Sometimes it will shrink away from a source of ignition, but it is not recommended for use near sparks, flames or sources of ignition. Covering it with something such as siding makes it ok. Many combustible products are ok if covered, such as extruded polystyrene panels.

 

[gtivr4]

OK, so tyvek is out, but what about roofing felt? Its cheap and light and flame resistant. Only issue I can see is that its black, so a poor light reflector. Any major problems otherwise?

 

[digdug18]

roofing felt, you mean the stuff that has oil in it, yeah, not good mixing oil with fire.

I think ambenz has the right idea, use 1/2" foam, tuck tape the seems, call it a day. The foam has some fire resistant materials in it, but will burn like most things after exposed to fire for awhile.

Andrew

 

[Denee007]

I know you're looking for cheap and easy, but I felt compelled to show my ceiling. First off, the structure of my ceiling I didn't think could withstand the weight of sheetrock, so I thought suspended ceiling, but that would hang too low, then I came across this snaptogther "suspended" ceiling alternative. It wasn't too bad to install, looks great and I used the lighter panels. So that's it~ hope you find what your'e looking for! I haven't posted in a while, so here I am!
Dne'

http://www.kensa.com/

 

[SloppyDogDrool]

Any kind of 1/2" foam board is fine. They make an isoline (probably not spelled correct) that is pretty rigid and has a foil face. You can get the same thing with a different type of foam, white foam, with lower R-value, more flimsy, cheaper, and much lighter. For appearance you really need to use a more rigid foam. Blue, green or pink foam board would work great.

I plan to use a foam board of some sort. I purchased a senco dura spin self feeding drywall screw gun to make the install easier. Bought it from ebay and will resell it on ebay when the construction is done. I've got a 12' ceiling and don't want to be fumbling around with a hammer or screw gun 12' up.

 

[marslawn]

I had Tyvek as a ceiling in my basement. The rats loved it up there