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Cheap-Fast Shop Ceiling?

adastra | Posted in General Discussion on December 17, 2005 07:14am

I need to put up some kind of ceiling in my shop. Its not easy heating the place so I need something to hold insulation.

Its a small 20 x 24 pole barn garage and its open to the roof. Currently nothing but the trusses and girts so I’ll have to do some work before I can put some kind of sheet product up.

I don’t want to do a drop acoustic ceiling, need to keep as much headroom as I can.

I was kicking around the idea of using soundboard (Homosote type stuff) and spraying it with tinted shellac or latex ceiling paint to lock the fibers. Lighter than sheetrock and thought it might absorb some of the noise instead of just bouncing back down to the concrete.

Any suggestions, remember its for a shop so mostly I just need something I can insulate.

Reply

Replies

  1. brownbagg | Dec 17, 2005 07:36am | #1

    I been thinking about some 1/2 inch cdx for my shop ceiling. add some insulation above it, and paint white to reflect the light

    . 2+3=7
    1. oldfred | Dec 17, 2005 03:55pm | #5

       

      I been thinking about some 1/2 inch cdx for my shop ceiling. add some insulation above it, and paint white to reflect the light

      That is exactly what we did with a friend's 20 X 24 shop last spring.  Quick, easy and does the job.  Also easy to add extra wiring when necessary.  We put in an access door.

      Edited to say we rented a drywall lift.  One of us cut while the other screwed the sheets in place.  Well whorth the rental price.

      Edited 12/17/2005 8:00 am ET by oldfred

  2. slykarma | Dec 17, 2005 08:02am | #2

    Insulate and use vapour barrier to hold it in place. That's about as basic as it gets. Then whenever you have a leftover sheet of something cheap, screw it in place up there. Paint if you want or enjoy the random mismatched sheet goods. Let the jobs pay for the ceiling.

    Lignum est bonum.
  3. User avater
    MarkH | Dec 17, 2005 03:28pm | #3

    20 x 24 white tarp held up with furring strips?  Blow white fg insulation on top.  Remember tarps are nominal size, get a larger one than you really need or they will be a foot or so short.  Fire resistant tarp would be a good idea.



    Edited 12/17/2005 7:32 am ET by MarkH

  4. Hazlett | Dec 17, 2005 03:37pm | #4

    7/16" osb, covered by white vinyl beadboard---like for vinyl sided porch ceilings ?

     Put some up on a porch yesterday---it doesn't exactly look like  real beadboard------------------ but it didn't make me want to puke like most vinyl siding materials

     Stephen

  5. User avater
    BossHog | Dec 17, 2005 03:56pm | #6

    What centers are the trusses on?

    I helped put a ceiling in a pole barn a couple of years ago. The trusses were 7' 6" O.C. and the guy didn't want to put purlins in. So he bought 16' sheets of metal. (The kind you'd put on a roof of a pole barn)

    We screwed the metal to the underside of the trusses. We hung it perpendicular to the trusses, so each sheet hit 3 trusses. Then we blew insulation on top. The white metal reflects light nicely, and it looked good.

    I thought he was nuts, and that the stuff would sag badly. But I was in the building recently and didn't notice any.

    I'm still not convinced that it's a good idea. But it's something you might want to think about. You could put some purlins 4' O.C. and screw the metal to that if you don't want to span farther..

    Sometimes you're good.
    Sometimes you're lucky.
    Sometimes you're just good 'n lucky.
    1. Brian | Dec 17, 2005 05:10pm | #7

      What boss hog said, metal is cheap and fast and if you have helpers you can put it up in 3x whatever length your building is.  White metal keeps things bright, and never needs painting.

       Treat every person you meet like you will know them the rest of your life - you just might!

  6. User avater
    Fonzie | Dec 18, 2005 12:36am | #8

    That metal does make a good looking bright ceiling, and you may even be able to get it a real convenient if not full length. If you can afford 1 inch R-board to go on first and run furring strips under it (until you can get the metal) - you won't be sorry. Later you could put unfaced fibreglas above that.

  7. IdahoDon | Dec 18, 2005 04:35am | #9

    How about having an inch of foam sprayed on the underside of your roof sheathing and on the gable ends?  Compared to what's there now it will hold a bunch of heat.

  8. katmagnum | Dec 18, 2005 05:07am | #10

    How about white vinyl soffit material?  It comes in 12' lengths, is easy to install and would be easy to clean.  I'm not sure what the O.C. spacing of your trusses is but you may need to put up a furring strip perpendicular to the trusses.

  9. User avater
    ProBozo | Dec 18, 2005 05:27am | #11

    1x4x8' T&G pine from our local sawmill. Kinda rough, not a planed finished...but cheap, and fast and easy to install solo. I was already well clobbered up with junk in the shop, didn't want to move/rearrange stuff too much to get 4'x8' panels up. Pre-painted before install, faced nailed with gun.

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