Boarding over plaster & lath ceiling: noggings+one man j

[mark482]

I'm planning to board over a plaster & lath ceiling and have been reading all the posts about this I could find..

Question 1: Reading the white book suggests that noggings are mostly required to support board edges. If I understand the forum posts the common practice is just to fix boards at 90 degrees to the joists, making "end-to-end" joins over the joists. This means that the edges at 90 degrees to the joists are not supported. Is this ok i.e. noggings is overkill for 1 x 12.5mm board?

Question 2: Mysteriously I am not getting many volunteers to help me with the job - how bad a job is this to do by myself? Any tips? I see a few gadgets on the web e.g. props (google "drywall emporium") - anyone use these or is a t-shape (dead man?) just as good?

 

[diykat]

i recently took down old lathe and plaster ceiling then replaced with 12.5mm plasterboard. i'm complete beginner and managed ok, if you got balance, patience n can juggle a bit u can do it on ur own up a step ladder without a prop. if you want a prop though you can make one by nailing a flat bit and a long piece of wood together.

do you know where your joists are? - you will need to make sure you are screwing (drywall/plasterboard screws) into these.

you shouldnt need noggings - depends how far apart your joists are though, still shouldnt be so far apart that you need em though. i put the length of the boards across the joists and put about 4 screws in each joist across width of board. 2 ends of boards must finish on joists.

cutting the board... i started off by sawing it, then figured its much easier to score with stanley knife and straight edge/ruler then bend and snap along line.

 

[mark482]

Thanks for the reassurance, I'll probably end up giving it a go myself. I wondered a couple of things: i) did you use "full size" boards?, ii) was there a reason for taking down the ceiling before boarding - I was planning to board over to the avoid the mess and possibly uneven joists?

 

[diykat]

hi

I wouldnt try to put full size boards on the ceiling - plasterboard it quite fragile and will bend and snap where you dont want it too... its also quite heavy, especially when ur tryin to hold it with stretched arms above ur head. you also may have a job fittin a full sheet in ur car, i think mine were cut into 4 anyway. u will probably be better off going to a builders merchant rather than i diy shop - b&q wont cut stuff for u coz of health and safety - which i found a bit silly when they are tryin to sell massive lengths of wood and stuff to diyers who will probs only have cars that the stuff wont fit into n no heavy duty tools to cut stuff with. staff at builders merchat were way more helpful n more than happy to cut the stuff for me and it was probably cheaper too

it would probably be better if u took down ur old ceiling so u can see where the joists are and make sure your new plasterboard is firmly attached. also, if ur old ceiling is anythin as bad as plaster in my house itll crumble n fall off as u try to drill/screw into it.

 

[RF Lighting]

If you remove the old ceiling it will also reveal any hidden pipes and cables which you may have otherwise screwed into when you fix the plasterboards.