lowering a ceiling

[ptaylor]

I have got to lower the ceiling in my bedroom and i would normally use s set of joist hangers and use 100x50mm joists but the problem is that one of the walls is plasterboard. room is 12ft by 9ft

I was thinking of screwing a batten to the joists in the plasterboard wall but i am not sure it will hold especially with the woood at 50mm wide.

Also how far apart fo you nornally set your joists? I was going to do them 3ft apart is this correct?

And finally does it matter if you can't get wood long enough for the whole room? i was a bit concerned about making a join in the wood if one piece wasn't long enough.

Any help with this would be really appreciated and sorry for the long mail.

Thanks

Phil

 

[Deluks]

Why have you got to lower it? It seems like unnecessary graft to me.

In any case, yes, you could attach a 4x2 wallplate to the studs through the plasterboard, but you'd have to locate them first. Removing a strip of PB along the top of the wall is one option. Whats on the other side though?

Why can't you attach the new lowered ceiling to the old ceiling? This can be done with 2x2 as hangers from the existing ceiling joists.

3ft apart is way too much, 2ft (600mm) minimum but I'd go with 450mm apart, then a sheet of 6x3 (1800mmx900mm) plasterboard will line up perfectly on the centres of the joists.

If the wood isn't long enough then you'll have to suspend it from the current ceiling, joining the wood halfway between the ends will be a bodge and will probably fail.

 

[ptaylor]

Thanks for the reply.

I have got to lower the ceiling because of a noise problem from the flat above.

On the other side of the plastboard wall is my new bathroom. Because the ceiling is very old i didn't want to punch too many holes in the ceiling as it is lathe.

I also i don't think the joists run parallel as the house is very old so they tend not to be straight

 

[^woody^]

Fix the new timbers to the joists at 90 degrees to the joists, and at spacings equal to the width and thickness of the boards you will use - ie 600 centres for 12.5mm boards (1200 x2400) or 400/450 centres for 9mm (or if the boards are 900 x1800). Does not matter if the timbers are in two or more lengths, as long as they join on a joist

But if this is a noise problem through the floor, fixing to it may not solve it as the new ceiling should be isolated from the existing

It may be worth removing the ceiling and filling the floor void with rockwool, fitting rubber isolation pads to the joists, and then reboarding

 

[ptaylor]

Thanks for the help woody but i really don't want to rip down the ceiling because also it has artex on it from the 70's so i am not sure if it will have asbestos in it. This is reason why i need to build a floating ceiling underneath.

I was wondering if i could fix a batten to the plasterboard wall using brackets onto the joists but what would you fix the battens to the other three solid walls with? i was going to use wood that was 50mm x 100mm so it would be pretty think to screw through?

Thanks for the advice about the cavity though as i am going 1200x2400
blue sound board.

 

[Deluks]

If you can get a long 4x2 on opposite walls (one screwed through the plasterboard into the studs behind, and one rawlbolted into the solid wall) then you can hang the joists off of these with speedy hangers (the little ones). Don't forget your noggins.

I'd advise 400mm centres of using soundblock plasterboard (heavier stuff).

Use the rockwool whatever you do.

 

[ptaylor]

Thank for all the help it has been really appreciated

 

[Monsoon]

I created a false ceiling to reduce noise to the flat above.

Ended up using a metal frame (all the plasterboard companies have similar products)

Pretty easy to put up.

Couple of things to consider on the noise reduction front.

I was advised to remove the existing plasterboard before starting. It kind of contradicted my gut feeling that that would act as an additional layer to reduce the sound.

It turns out this creates what is known as the triple leaf effect. The air thats trapped between the the plasterboard acts a bit like a loudspeaker!

I ripped out the old plasterboard to expose the ceiling joists. Stuffed as much yellow glass fibre between the joist as would fit.

Created the false ceiling using the metal frame (attached using acoustic hangers)

Then heavy rockwool slabs laid on the frame then 2 layers of plasterboard.

Job done

 

[ptaylor]

Thanks for all the help and advice it has been really appreciated

Phil

 

[DrWho]

Hello there,

Interesting thread this.

I have a problem with the neighbour above me after she laid laminate flooring, well actually what happened was her washing machine flooded my recess area and the deafening was not put back as it was previously, therefore that particular part of the lounge is susceptible to noise such as anything that has been dropped, washing machine, and even when they use their hoover.

I was told that any deafening is usually placed from the flat above, is this true?

It was suggested to me that lowering the ceiling may help, and when I found this thread it helped, but I am not that handy, so I would require to get someone in to do this. Do I need permission to lower a ceiling in my own flat?

 

[ptaylor]

Hello mate,

Sorry for the late reply. To be honest you are not supposed to lay laminate flooring in flats anyway.

I am pretty sure that the deafening is put in from above but if you are like me and live in a very old flat you won't have any at all.

I am not sure if you need permission, it should say in the lease mate.

You can do it yourself, i used a system from British Gypsum, it is on the website and is call a Casoline ceiling. I put mine up and then insulated it with Isover mineral wool and then double boarded it with sound proof boards (Blue ones) then skimmed it off........job done.

Give me a shout if you need any more help mate

 

[DrWho]

ptaylor,

Thanks for your reply.

Yeah, the upstairs neighbour got the laminate flooring put in without any consideration for me that is for sure.

You mention about the laminate, is that law, or perhaps just in England and not Scotland.

Do you think there is anything I can do officially, mediation doesn't really work.

 

[ptaylor]

They never do mate!

I know exactly how you feel, it drives you up the wall.

What i do know is that no-one around mine is allowed because it says so in the lease. Most lease are the same, dig yours out mate, if they are not allowed you can make them get rid of it!

Good luck mate, keep me informed

 

[DrWho]

I never thought of that, as it's my own flat who would I check the lease with? would it be who I have my mortgage with?

The thing is I have been in this flat for 20 years, so not sure if laminate flooring was around then.

Here are some interesting comments from people in Scotland, so it would seem I am in the majority.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/3815163.stm

 

[liamconnolly]

Hi all,

This has been a pretty useful topic for me.

I'm about to install a suspened ceiling in my bathroom. it's a small room (1700mm x 1700mm) and I am going to run with timbers at 90deg to joists screwed through the existing artex ceiling.

A couple of queries though:

1. The timber battens - i'm trying to retain as much room height as possible - what's the min depth & width of timber batten i can get away with?.
2. I'm looking to fit standard spotlights in the suspended ceiling. How much clear space do they need between upper plasterboard and existing ceiling for heat dispersion? (answer to this probably informs question 1!).

Thanks,

Liam