I have a 12x28 movable cabin on skids. I have insulated the walls and put up siding, but have not done anything with the ceiling. I am thinking about insulating the ceiling and then putting us OSB or Beadboard. I am looking for low cost alternatives that are not too heavy, but that look good. This is a place I only use once a month or so, but would like it to look nice. Thanks for suggestions!
If you don't have fixtures installed in the ceiling you could consider cloth (white muslin?) or woven matting with 1/2" x 2 1/2" battens running the length of the cabin and tacked into the bottom of the ceiling joists for support.
Something more or less fire resistant?
Wool rug or carpet could be the least expensive if you found something at a garage sale or at salvage. (If you're really into all-natural, you can use fleeces right off the sheep for insulation.)
Or can you soak the cotton in borax or something?
you can use something called vinyl porchbead,it has the look of porchbead....comes in colors...easy to install..very lite.
As far as fire retardence goes, the main reason to use fire resistant sheetrock is to keep the fire from spreading to another liveable floor. This isn't to say that something that is not fire retardent should necessarily be used, but if all you are trying to do is keep a one hour firewall between your house and your roof...
I just don't ever want to be in a house fire again.
Don't want a fire above me, with bits falling down.
Thinking about fire retardant materials is a very good idea.
I recently visited an older house with a wood ceiling (very low and not to code - only a bit over 7' high) that had experienced an interesting fire.
The owners were having a dinner party and had lit candles and left them burning on the mantle in the living room. They were finishing up coffee in the dining room an hour or so later when someone said they thought they smelled smoke.
The candles had caught the ceiling on fire and because of the fact that it was a leaky ceiling with a multilayer dry roof above, the fire moved quickly up into the structure of the roof and spread over the whole house while the owners where eating!
The house was fully smoke alarmed and none of them went off. The fire department saved the house but the roof is a total loss and with the water damage, the rebuilding will cost almost as much as pushing it over and starting from scratch. In fact that is what I suggested in my consultation report. (This is an old cobbeled together house with may other problems.)
I had never seen a fire that extensive take place when the house was fully occupied and everyone was wide awake. If the ceiling had been drywall (even with wood attached to the bottom) the fire never would have spread.
Materials like drywall serve as much as a draft stop as a fire barrier. This not only keeps flames from getting up into the roof but blocks airflow, heat and cooled air as well.
You do not have to be fussy about the finishing of a drywall ceiling when used as a fire barrier. "Fire taping" is the term used by the installer. This can then be covered by almost anything you like.
I tried the sheep on the ceiling thing for insulation, Amanda-- I don't much care for it--while the room is noticably warmer, he is quite noisy -much harder to feed there and likes to try to kick or butt me a good one as I go by -- had to put a plant under the back half to keep from constantly having to clean up after him - but it is growing better-- like with Miracle grow. ;D
I want to thank everyone for their ideas. I will run with it. Great forum you have here with lots of information. Chris
Thank you so much Glen!
::)
My guess is that if I bothered to put up drywall I'd use it as a finish ceiling. No matter how much I dislike it.
Actually, Glen prefers his sheep by a cliff. They push back that way ;)
Bad, David, baaaaaaaaa d. Actually not true. I'm allergic to wool. :-/