New plasterboard ceiling in kitchen

[duotwr]

Hi

I am trying to work out what to do about our kitchen ceiling - as preparation for a new kitchen being put in. At the moment we have some kind of plastic panels which have halogen downlight holes cut in them. Through a hole I can see what must be some older ceiling board - which looks only about 10mm thick or so.

I want to get rid of the halogen lights, and just get a couple of pendants installed. I am wondering whether the easiest thing would be to rip our the plastic panels, but then to use battens to create a frame for attaching 9mm plasterboard to. I'd rather not get into the messy business of taking down the old ceiling if I can avoid it.

Any advice on whether this is a good idea? And if I go ahead, what is the best way of co-ordinating this work with the electrician who will fit the pendants?

Thanks
Keith

 

[noseall]

Is it not possible to overboard the existing ceiling, whilst leaving the old one intact, using longer fixings into the existing joists?

You would get the sparks to do his wiring from below as damage to the existing ceiling will become irrelevant, leaving tails ready for the new light fitting once the over-boarding and skimming are complete.

There is no need for additional framing or battens.

 

[handyman77]

Over boarding is the way to go! Nosealls spot on!

 

[duotwr]

Thanks for the reply. Sounds like the plan is to take down the plastic stuff, and then locate the joists. I saw a couple of references to the additional weight from new plasterboard being a problem - is this likely to be the case? Presumably the choice over the thickness of plasterboard then just depends on the spacing of the joists.

Most of the kitchen (apart from elec and gas) is going to be DIY - so I'm trying to work out what order to do things in! Sounds like once the old ceiling is down the electrician can do his thing, and I can overboard at my leisure (more or less!).

Thanks for the advice. This forum is great.

Keith

 

[handyman77]

more or less yes! just be carefull of the ne cables. Also make sure your screws are lond enough to get a firm fixing. We sometimes use a few blobs of gripfill to help in case you miss a joist or two this will stop it from springing and help firm it up!