Help me put up a timber ceiling please

john.west

Hi all,

Does anybody have any experience of putting up a timber ceiling. The red-deel tounge and groove type thats approximately 90mm wide? I'm wondering is it possible to attach it directly to skimmed ceiling, or more advisable to remove skimmed ceiling first as I don't think it will take nails? Also how best to remove a skimmed ceiling if I need to go down that route, from above or below? There is no attic insulation in house in question.

AckwelFoley

You could batton the ceiling without moving the slabs if you wanted and nail the t & g to that.

I however would use a batton detector, find the ceiling joists and then fix your t&g to the joists through the slab

john.west

snyper wrote: »

I however would use a batton detector, find the ceiling joists and then fix your t&g to the joists through the slab

Many thanks snyper, I learn something new every day....never knew there was such a device as a batton detector. Where would I come by one of these? I am assuming a hardware store/ building supplier? Also do you know if they are an expensive piece of equipment? Again many thanks.

kodak

john.west wrote: »

Many thanks snyper, I learn something new every day....never knew there was such a device as a batton detector. Where would I come by one of these? I am assuming a hardware store/ building supplier? Also do you know if they are an expensive piece of equipment? Again many thanks.

Yeah stud detectors are good enough in some situations, if you dont want to buy one you could just drill small holes to locate centers of timber as you'll be covering up the holes up as you go.

Although most stud detectors will roughly find cables too.

If you take down ceiling you'll have to put it back up again as per fire regs..

There was a thread on this not so long ago by the way

AckwelFoley

john.west wrote: »

Many thanks snyper, I learn something new every day....never knew there was such a device as a batton detector. Where would I come by one of these? I am assuming a hardware store/ building supplier? Also do you know if they are an expensive piece of equipment? Again many thanks.

About 20 or 30 quid in B&Q for a DIY one.

Might be no harm to use a light bead of Construction adhesive too when fixing the boards - "no more nails" type tack

martin46585

if you can find one joist then you can find all the rest, as in most cases they are in at 16" centres though if this is upstair, pre fab trusses are sometimes at 24" centres, you can double check with a bradawl, mark all down one side then like wise down the other, and snap a chalkline between your marks, this will take time now though you will save it when you get to putting up the new ceiling.....

tiocimarla

do not remove your plasterboard, im actually surprised noone has mentioned the danger of fire, red deal burns fast and if you had i fire downstairs then that 10-18mm red deal ceiling and the 18-22mm floorboard would leave you with about 10% chance of survival in a house fire, you would be in trouble very fast and I dont think it would be the smoke that kills you.

As for a stud finder some brands are crap some are ok. You cant beat tapping the slab for solid and hollow parts. There should be solid part 16" centers so just drill small holes.

Once you have found out which direction the joists run mark each end on the ceiling and get someone to help u chalk line the joists to make it easier to batton.

Also make sure ye stagger the joints on the new ceiling and spray or paint it with fire resistant treatment.

Hope this helps

gsxr1

tiocimarla wrote: »

do not remove your plasterboard, im actually surprised noone has mentioned the danger of fire, red deal burns fast and if you had i fire downstairs then that 10-18mm red deal ceiling and the 18-22mm floorboard would leave you with about 10% chance of survival in a house fire, you would be in trouble very fast and I dont think it would be the smoke that kills you.

As for a stud finder some brands are crap some are ok. You cant beat tapping the slab for solid and hollow parts. There should be solid part 16" centers so just drill small holes.

Once you have found out which direction the joists run mark each end on the ceiling and get someone to help u chalk line the joists to make it easier to batton.

Also make sure ye stagger the joints on the new ceiling and spray or paint it with fire resistant treatment.

Hope this helps

i never even thought about the fire risk of the stuff .

I guess when you compare it to the existing plasterboard regarding fire protection, you have a very valid point. that thin light red deal would go up like a match.

OP. You will have to be good with your hands and have a good eye for detail with a job like this. It looks terrible when done badly.

you will need a chopsaw for the job. It looks better if you fit a slip around the corners also.(all around the room) For this you will need a power plane to make the slip out of the sheeting. Planning off the tounge and groove.

A second fix nail gun will also make the job very neat and much quicker

get it at the hire shop. Hand cut joints look amateurish at best.

Lastly. you need to get up to a working level.. and a helper.

wayoutwest

Hello John west.How big is your ceiling?Is there a vapour barrier between p/b and attic space?,Are you able to insulate your ceiling from above?.There are regs about the use of t+g when it is used to cover large areas.Over a certain amount and you have to treat them with fire retardent and I think that even with a new build,plasterboard is required as backing on a ceiling[ especially if a roof void is behind.If it is an A shaped ceiling [making insulating from above diffecult]and/or its got no vapour barrier Iwould rip down/insulate/vapour barrier[taped]/3/8ths plasterboard up and draw rafter centre lines onto/nail up t+g with small oval nails[two on each fixing point-one in the middle of board is not good enough and will result in the boards cupping.

CarrickMcJoe

A useful tip for varnishing the wooden ceiling is to put on the 1st coats on the timber before you put it up (sanding between coats). No pain in the neck later:D and saves a lot of time.

Carlow52

When I do this I put 2 by 1 battens on the ceiling underneath that are screwed to joists that are found as noted already: normally head room is not an issue for these projects.

Then depending of what client wants I try use the Alu clipon systems which work well.

If not then the second fix nailgun works well.

May seem like over kill but if the ceiing/ wall junction is badly plastered then getting a good fixing on a board that may be curved against the plaster is not always easy
+1 on chop saw:)

tiocimarla

CarrickMcJoe wrote: »

A useful tip for varnishing the wooden ceiling is to put on the 1st coats on the timber before you put it up (sanding between coats). No pain in the neck later:D and saves a lot of time.

Good idea, Just dont varnish the tongue and groove as it will be a nightmare to slot together, Also you can put the fire spray on as well.

tfer

did a kitchen ceiling with t&g a few years ago, no battens just straight on to the slab, what an effing nightmare !!! Did another one not too long ago and put battens on ceiling first, what a difference, the t&g flew up