Framing for a drywall ceiling??

I am about to move into my new house with a unfinished daylight basement and finishing the basement is one of my first projects. The basement has about 1400 sq ft of space but I am only going to refinish about 1000 sqft. The ceilings are 10ft high but they have HVAC ducts, gas pipes, etc. and I will need to drop it down about a foot to clear the obstructions. We will definitely be going with drywall vs. tiles.

How do I go about framing for a drop drywall ceiling? Can I frame it with 2x4's? Would I also need to support the 2x4's from the ceilling or can I just use the wall studs? The widest part of the room is 16ft.

Picture attached


Does anyone have any pictures or links to pictures that show how to construct a framed drop ceiling?

THANKS for your help!

Eric



LINK TO PICTURE-
http://www.imagestation.com/album/?i...06861581&idx=1

 

Well I can't say I've done one where the floor joists are I-Joists. At least that's what they look like in the picture.

My suggestions are to a) tie the new lower 2x4's into the wall studs, b) use some type of way to attach or hang the 2x4's to the I-Joists every 2', c) Place blocking between the 2x4's to keep them stiff and from swaying, especially if you are just hanging them from the joists. Once the drywall is on it should stiffen up even more.

Then as always you may want to check with your local building code if what you do will be ok.

 

For what you have here and to get into the ceiling if I had to later. I for sure go with a T bar drop down ceiling here it would also help to cut done on noise and a lot less work. ED

 

Thanks for the responses.

Ed Imeduc- What is a "T bar drop down ceiling"? Do you have any info as far as where to buy?

Thanks

 

He is talking about a drop ceiling with tiles. I think in your original statement you did not want to do that and you wanted to drywall it all.

 

Oh, ceiling tiles. I would like to avoid them and use drywall instead. I thought there might be another way to install drywall (the rack system of ceiling tile but with the finished drywall look??)

 

You can always put 3/8 drywall (or even 1/2) in place of the tiles. Just use more ties to hold up the ceiling grid.

 

I think if you go look at the ceiling tiles that Home Depot and Lowes have you will find something you will like. It will help a lot more for noise there from up to down or down to up. Also no tape to mud in and sand or paint to do . Your done then and there. ED

 

Boy they sure didn't help when they built the house did they? It's going to take a lot of boxing and soffit building. You will have to run 2x4's along the entire ceiling to hide the gas line. Attach your soffits to the wall framing and the ceiling. Use the ceiling joists just like you would regular ceiling joists to tie into. A compressor and a nail gun would help speed things along. Don't let these guys talk you out of a drywall ceiling. It will take some thought and time but you can do it.

 

I love drywall, but sometimes it's not the best in a basement. You can't cover any electrical junction boxes, and you should put access panels (usually I make a hole in the drywall and cover with a return heating grille) for any valves and plumbing traps you have from upstairs. If height is not a problem and all you need to cover are electrical/water/gas pipes I usually just screw a 2X2 (or 2x4) onto the bottom of the joists and screw the drywall onto that. That will give you 1.5" of room to hide stuff. If you need more you'll need to build a soffit. Oh, and use 1/4" drywall unless you have a drywall lift. Much easier on the arms. I also usually insulate the ceiling, mainly for noise control.

 

Good advice, trinitro, but never use 1/4" drywall. If you touch it it will break. You will see every floor joist and it will be the waviest ceiling in the country.

 

1/4" drywall on a ceiling 1/2" will even cup down if some dampness gets to it ED

 

Huh?

 

that in some cases a drywall ceiling is not a good Idea.

I'm fortunate that my builders thought about the basement cieling when they built. They kept all the ducting and piping in the mechanical room, the hallway and the roughed in bathroom. I can drywall right to the I-beams everywhere else.

For those areas where I can't drywall directly to the joists, I'm putting "ceiling joists" of 2x2s 12 inches apart and then using 12X12 cieling tile (used to call it acoustical tile). Some of the new stuff looks pretty good. It's tongue & groove and you blind staple it. I think it's a good compromise between drywall (which would be a huge ordeal if you ever had to get to those pipes!) and hung ceiling (which looks amateurish and takes an extra 6 inches to slip into place).

 

Wow - 10ft of vertical space to work with. You have lots of options!!

I too like a drywall ceiling. But look around at various tile "systems". Armstrong has a plank system that eliminates the grid and tile look. There are many styles of tiles, too. I went with 2x2 tile. Looks better than 2x4 to me.

Are you going to install/finish the drywall? If yes, then do consider alternatives. Working overhead is very tiring. Its not just the installation. Applying mud and sanding is a real pain (literally). If you do go with drywall, it would be well worth the cost to hire out the finishing (getting it paint ready).