Lowering a ceiling to cover RSJ.

hulkiebear

I have an extension to our house which only had a door way into it, I opened it up to the full width using a steel beam. As the house has 9" Joists and the Steel beam used was 7", I was able to put most of it up between the joists.

Unfortunately, 2"(which includes the extra plaster boarding needed) is still lower than the ceiling, so, I was thinking that if I lower the ceiling by 2" by putting 2" by 2" across the joists, I could also pack out under the few joists that arn't quite level(by up to 5mm).

Now, my question is, if I use a 4" screw every joist(14") would that be enough to support the weight of plasterboard and skimming?

Cheers
HB

Mr_Warren_2

Yes. This would give you plenty bite in the main joist, assuming you screw your boards every 15" or near about.

hulkiebear

Thanks Mr Warren!

I was thinking about putting the timber across the joists at least every 14", so this would work perfectly.

Thanks for your help.
HB

djohn2002uk

Don't forget to space your new "joists" correctly (and keep them dead parallel) so that sheets of plasterboard end up center to center or you will be cutting every sheet.

hulkiebear

Good thinking, I thought of running them parallel, but if I line a timber at 2.4m then a row of Plaster boards will fit with less cutting!

Cheers DJ

djohn2002uk

The long side of the plaster board runs along the joists and the short side across the joists.

hulkiebear

Right, gotcha, didn't really think about, so good heads up! (not done any plaster boarding before!)

Cheers dude!