Installing ceiling drywall

Started by dug, January 17, 2011, 05:05:47 PM

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dug

Looking for tips on how to hang drywall on my ceiling.

It is a cathedral ceiling, 20 ft. high at the peak. Rafter spacing is 24 in. so I am going to use 5/8 drywall. I might be able to get some help but I am not sure when and I wonder if it is possible to do any of it myself.

5/8 sheets weigh 70 lbs. each, and 20 ft. is a long way up... :o, so I'm guessing a drywall jack is the only way. I have rafter ties that are pretty stout and I can put planking across those and work from there, but I still have to get the sheets up top.

I thought about attempting to raise them from the floor with a jack but the rafter ties are 4 ft. OC , I guess I could tilt it and squeeze it through? It's been many years since I used a drywall jack and I forget how they work, and what their limitations are.

Any suggestions for hefting these solo?  Or should I just wait until I can get some help?




Redoverfarm

Most of them have a limit on the heigth.  You would be way over it to the peak.  Maybe able to get the lower course near the wall but I would say that is about it.  I would say you had better find an extra hand to make it easier.  You could probably build a temporary platform with your rafter ties to work off of.  Maybe even use the jack to get them close to that platform but you still have to hoist them into position which will be no easy feat.  Using scaffolding would probably work but the ties may get in your way moving it from one position or the other and prevent you from fully assembling them at the heigth you need because of the cross bracing and the ties.  That is one reason that I used 1X6 TG is that it is more managable for one person.  Not easy just easier. 


Shawn B

Dug,  I would seriously consider hiring a pro-sheet rock company. A lot of times they can supply the materials, hang, tape/mud, sand/finish, and prime the whole house for just a few hundred more than you can buy the materials for. Plus they will get done a lot faster than the average DIYer home owner. On a smaller cabin with lower ceilings then maybe I would give it a go, but with the heights, and complexities involved it's worth a quote for sure.
"The natural liberty of man is to be free from any superior power on Earth, and not to be under the will or legislative authority of man, but only to have the law of nature for his rule." Samuel Adams

davidj

Quote from: Redoverfarm on January 17, 2011, 05:17:09 PM
That is one reason that I used 1X6 TG is that it is more managable for one person.  Not easy just easier. 
I figured I could do 1x6 T&G by myself on my 20' cathedral ceiling.  But I figured wrong!  Turns out that with a 45 degree overhang and bulging insulation it takes a minimum of 4 hands to push the 16' plank up against the joists and slide the tongue into the groove.  I guess there might be some trick I'm missing, or a jig of some sort to hold it in place, but it probably wouldn't be quick given it's often pretty slow moving backwards and forwards on the scaffolding.  My workaround is to save this job for the weekends when my wife is around.  The downside is that now, when I'm up there alone, I get to spend all of my time applying Polycrylic - not the most exciting job.  The upside is my wife gets the upper body workout of her New Year's resolution without me having to pay for gym membership!

rwanders

My cathedral ceiling was 24' off the floor at the peak----the thought of dragging the rock up, installation and then three or four more trips up to tape, mud, sand, mud again, sand again, then texture, then back again to prime then one more trip, at least, to paint made pre-finishing some beautiful pine 1x6 t&g on the ground and then installing it a real attractive option----and I will never have to refinish it when the wife wants to paint the walls a different color (a nice bonus).
Rwanders lived in Southcentral Alaska since 1967
Now lives in St Augustine, Florida


dug

Thanks all for the good suggestions.

I thought about tongue & groove, and I do think it would be easier, and probably cheaper overall. I like the look also but got vetoed by my wife who wants to put up reed cane (like the window blind type). Our friend is renovating a house and did this and I have to admit it looks real nice, I think it will give sort of a Tiki hut vibe to our home.

The plan is to put up the drywall, then the reed cane (running parallel to the rafters), and then rough sawn 2 by 4's on top of the seams of the reed cane. I am going to use 4 ft. widths to match the rafter ties, which I hope will give a timber frame look to the place when it's all said and done.

I do plan to mud the joints but since it will be covered it doesn't have to be pretty, probably just a quick one coat.

So I will see about getting an estimate to have it done, but I'm only ready for the ceiling now. If that doesn't pan out I guess I'll have to hire a couple hands for this job.


Okie_Bob

Dug, I looked into some sort of system to work up to 24' on my cathedral ceiling and didn't find any. Like others have said, this is an area best left for the pros, in my opinion. I was lucky in that a guy drove by and just took a chance and came in to see my progress and said he was a drywall contactor and asked if he could give me a quote? Turns out he did the entire job, walls and ceilings and it wasn't much more than the cost of materials and he did a great job in three days start to finish with a crew of about 4 total guys. These guys must have had some monkey blood from somewhere as I swear they could hang from a sky hook and screw at the same time! (Screws especially on ceiling drywall is the only way to go even if it costs a very little more.)
Do yourself a huge favor and spend the money now, I guarantee you'll be very glad you did after trying to life that first piece of drywall.
Okie Bob has entered the building.