Lowering the Kitchen Ceiling

[martin53]

On the advice of a structural engineer we are having two 150mm steel beams place across the top of our kitchen ceiling to stop the joists bowing. The ceiling is quite high so rather than box them in we prefer to drop the ceiling to make it flush with the new beams.

How can we best do this? Is their some form of hanger we can buy or do we have to put in 6inch wooden joists under the current ones? - sounds heavy and costly.

Also will we have to go with fire proof plaster board or will 12.5mm be OK?

Do we have to take down the current plaster board? - presumably we can leave it up to give extra fire protection.

Thanks for any advice.

 

[Bylough]

You need the exoerts if course- but could you not place 3" by 2" battons between the RSJs and also to the walls either side of the RSJs.
If you set them in to the bottom flap of the rsj and wedge them against this with a block next to the ceiling. You could use a wooden wall plate each side of the kitchen to fix the battons to. IE three sets of battons with usual 16" centres.
If this makes sense.

 

[JohnD]

you could also use a suspended ceiling. these are common in offices. The usual method is to hang steel studding from the joists above, and hang a grid off them, which supports your ceiling.

These suspended ceiling systems are made like kits by specialist manufacturers.

The finished job need not look like an office.

You can take the opporunity to put new lighting points and a duct for the kitchen extractor out of sight above the false ceiling.

 

[noseall]

On the advice of a structural engineer we are having two 150mm steel beams place across the top of our kitchen ceiling to stop the joists bowing.

across the top?

surely you mean underneath.

a false ceiling can be secured anywhere below the existing and does not need to be 'structural' elements.

it will be a fire requirement to have 1/2 hour fire protection to the steels, in which case it would be simpler to fully lower the ceiling below the steels.

the existing ceiling can be left intact, unless there is a reason the steel needs to be in direct contact with the joists.

i would suggest using 100x50mm timbers. plug and screw a timber plate to the walls, then fill-in with same size timbers at 400centres.

you could secure a central support timber (binder) to the steels to prevent 'bounce'.

 

[martin53]

Thanks to everyone for the advice. I will now get building