how to dryline a ceiling

hewhoisnotintheknow

Hi all

I have a house where some of the ceilings need updating in the house. I have heard about drylining it with tapered edge plasterboard and then filling it and taping it??

I have no money whatso ever to pay for it to be done - i however have plenty of time and friends to help

My questions are:

Can i board over the exisiting plasterboard?

How does the tapered edge bit work when only one side has the tapered part

How exactly do you do this filling taping malarky

Any hints / tips / guides would be great

I was hoping just to paint on it after wards - the same as in many new builds

adaze

My questions are:

Can i board over the exisiting plasterboard?

Yes, you just need to use long enough screws to get through to the timber joists, you might need to make holes in the original board first. Or you could just skim (if you have the money in the future...)

How does the tapered edge bit work when only one side has the tapered part?

Try and avoid these joints (you can't on a normal ceiling but you can minimise these types of joint), but where they occur you just tape and fill over the joint

How exactly do you do this filling taping malarky

You tape the gap left where the boards but together (the tape stops the filler cracking) then you fill the gap on top of the tape, sand down, fill sand down and hopefully you have a smooth joint that you won't see after painting.

Any hints / tips / guides would be great

You will need STRONG arms to hold the boards up when screwing them up and you will need someone to help you, so make sure you have two step ladders

I was hoping just to paint on it after wards - the same as in many new builds

Thats the plan....

hewhoisnotintheknow

adaze, you are a gent!

do i just use normal paint, or is there some thicker stuff to use?

wallbash

Couple of things i might add.
Buy the correct screws, you will surprized how many you need.
When inseting screws , your aim is to get the screw head below the surface of the board, but NOT breaking the paper!

You will need a cordless screwdriver/drill
Also at least two friends to help. Yes I have seen one guy manage it ( with a prop)
but this is a diy project.

Back to the OP, wots wrong with your ceiling

ceilings need updating

hewhoisnotintheknow

they are all cracked and the artex is all falling off

thebaldwindowfitter

you might find its cheaper to have them skimmed by a plasterer .ive done the maths on houses ive done and it worked out cheaper and you know youve got a good finish

Bungarm2001

Don't forget light fittings. If you have bog standard centre light fittings, make sure you have enough slack on the cables to come out through your new plasterboard and wire up the fitting(s) that you'll have to move.

My OH uses galvanised nails on plasterboard, but has used brass screws sometimes. You'll need at least twice as many as you think you do...if you see what I mean..! Either way, it's important to use fixings that don't rust otherwise you could end up with rows of rusty dots across your ceiling after it's skimmed and/or painted. :eek: (you could fanny around painting over every one of 'em with oil based paint, but trust me, you won't want to!)

You will definitely need a few pairs of hands to help hold the boards up, plus few soft brooms...these are great for propping up boards as they are being nailed. I'll leave it up to your imgination as to how it's done!

Failing all that, get a man in and get the ceilings skimmed...:D

wallbash

Remember rooms are not square ( or rectangle:D )
Plan your boards, nothing worse than trying to fill a small gap.

But don't let us put you off , this IS a DIY job.

27col

Make your self a pair of supports. They are just a length of timber which is just a little bit longer than the ceiling height of the room.Then you screw a cross piece( about 900mm) to the top, to form a T shape. When the board is raised you can wedge these in to keep the board in place against the ceiling. This enables you to fix the screws and not have to carry the weight of the board. This is a DIY project. Once you have done a couple of boards you soon get the hang of it. I did a room which was 10 meters long and 4.5 meters wide. The cut edge which is not tapered, can only be used up against the walls of the room. This can lead to a bit of wastage, but it can be kept to a minimum with a little common sense. I know from experience that it is difficult to fix boards on an existing ceiling. This is due to the difficulty of picking up the joists, which cannot be seen because of the existing ceiling. If you can bear the mess then I would remove the old ceiling. Bear in mind that you will need longer screws if you do decide to leave the old ceiling in place. There is some good advice on this thread.Good luck.

aliasojo

I hired this....

http://www.brandontoolhire.co.uk/lifting-hire/prodview.asp?idproduct=34

The hire cost was cheaper asking instore than online btw.

Fitted in the boot of the car and went together easily at home. Brilliant thing, made life so much easier. Job done quicker with less swearing too.

wallbash

Get a couple of friends in, £36 buys a lot of Beer