For questions on the general topic of the upper containing surface of a room or other enclosure. Please use additional tags to refer to a specific area of concern, such as lighting, insulation, repair, painting, waterproofing, etc.
4
votes
0answers
27 views
What is the best method of hanging drywall on ceiling?
I am hanging more drywall and will be doing a basement ceiling. I generally start in a corner and work my way out. I use glue on the joists and then drywall screws.
Is the glue needed? I learned ...
11
votes
3answers
2k views
How do I meet the 7 feet high ceiling requirement after finishing the basement?
My basement ceiling joists are exactly 7 feet above the concrete slab. The requirement for finished living space is 7 ft from the finished floor to the finished ceiling. Since I'll loose a couple of ...
3
votes
1answer
38 views
How do I replace part of my bathroom ceiling?
I had a leak in the roof above my bathroom. I had a contractor investigate. He looked at the roof carefully, and he examined the ceiling with an infrared scanner while it was actually leaking. He ...
1
vote
2answers
89 views
How can I light up a room without a ceiling light?
I will soon be moving to an apartment that has no ceiling lights. Unfortunately installing my own is not an option, it needs to be reversible. There may or may not be a switch wired to an outlet.
I ...
3
votes
1answer
42 views
Can I vent a bathroom fan through an attic window?
Would venting a bathroom exhaust fan into the attic and through the attic window cause any problems? I was thinking this would prevent cutting a hole in the roof or the soffit. My thought was to ...
2
votes
1answer
338 views
Insulating attic ceiling and looking for synthetic t&g ceiling boards
We have a 3/4 upper floor room that is in desperate need of a complete overhaul.
The current ceiling consists of 2x4 ceiling rafters with a foam vent and perhaps 2.5" of foam insulation, then the ...
1
vote
2answers
175 views
How do I replace a 7' drop ceiling so it matches an 8' ceiling with 2 layers of drywall and popcorn texturing?
I would like to remove a dropped ceiling and give the room an 8 foot ceiling. The great room ceiling has 2 layers of drywall already. I need to repair many areas of the ceiling (remove an attic fan, ...
5
votes
4answers
535 views
How can I locate and repair a leak?
We recently bought a 100 year old house that stood uninhabited for 18 months prior to our move. Everything had been properly winterized for the cold winter months (Temperatures can reach -40 C) and ...
0
votes
1answer
66 views
How can I dress up a boring drop ceiling?
I don't like the look of the standard drop ceiling tiles in my finished basement. I'd like to replace them with something like the one picture below. However, the cost of these is prohibitive given ...
2
votes
2answers
62 views
How can I remove a stuck overhead light fixture?
I recently decided that it's time to install some less hideous lighting in my apartment. Since it's an apartment, my options are limited because I must be able to restore whatever is there now if I ...
1
vote
1answer
180 views
How to open ceiling light cover to replace bulb
I don't understand how to open it so that bulb can be replaced. It has no screws. Tried to move white dome anti-clockwise but does move at all.
2
votes
1answer
140 views
How do I prepare a ceiling for restomping?
I had to cut access panels in the ceiling of a 7' x 11' room to make several plumbing repairs. The ceiling has the slapbrush/stomp texture:
I have patched the drywall and I plan on restomping the ...
3
votes
2answers
91 views
Can I sheetrock over styrofoam on a garage ceiling?
I am buying a home with a detached garage that the original owner insulated. The garage is probably 25 years old. At the time of construction, 1" expanded foam was nailed directly to the rafters to ...
3
votes
1answer
97 views
How do I paint over a textured ceiling without removing the texture?
A painter I had at one time painted the textured drywall mud ceiling (off white color) in a different part of the house. He had to change to a sprayer because he said the drywall texture was coming ...
1
vote
2answers
190 views
How to change halogen bulbs at 18 feet height ceiling?
How can I change the halogen bulbs above 18 feet high ceiling? How can I change the light bulbs around 20 feet height in tennis court?
1
vote
0answers
49 views
Can I use mixed shellac flakes in place of Zinsser BIN primer?
I have heavy nicotine damage on my ceilings. I want to seal the ceilings and then install a drywall ceiling just below them (with cornices) to cover up the ugly painted "popcorn" texture (I tried ...
1
vote
1answer
183 views
How do I determine how much weight an indoor hammock mounting kit can bear?
I'm looking to mount hammock indoors using an indoor hammock hanging kit, and was wondering how I'd determine how much weight the wall studs or ceiling I attach this mounting kit into can bear.
The ...
3
votes
2answers
853 views
Why does the breaker trip occasionally after I installed a new light fixture?
We bought a house a couple of years ago with a covered light fixture box in the ceiling (a blank cover over a wired box and a blank cover over the switch box). I recently modified a plug-in pendant ...
8
votes
4answers
678 views
How can I install a recessed light container in an abnormally thick ceiling?
We are in the middle of our home remodeling and we have just noticed that our ceiling seems to be a bit thicker than what the maximum our recessed lights allow for.
As shown within the picture link ...
5
votes
2answers
134 views
How should I patch a popcorn ceiling?
I had to repair a corner joint between my kitchen and living ceiling (kitchen is ceiling lower than living room) by scraping the popcorn off of the kitchen ceiling and replacing a metal corner bead.
...
1
vote
3answers
218 views
Will plaster on basement walls and ceiling provide insulation?
My basement's insides are completely unfinished. It has bare brick walls and bare concrete beams-vaults as the ceiling. I though of coating the walls and the ceiling with 2 inch thick plaster with the ...
0
votes
3answers
180 views
Can I paint over XPS insulation?
I've a top floor apartment in India which gets almost like an oven during the summers which is like for 9 months out of 12. I've decided to apply under the deck XPS 50mm (nailed to the ceiling). I ...
0
votes
1answer
123 views
How do I safely install a weight bearing fitness equipment system in an apartment?
I am looking to (semi) permanently install some fitness equipment in my apartment (the Lifeline Jungle G XT system if that helps). It requires installing a strap mounts into either two ceiling joist ...
4
votes
2answers
1k views
How can I seal the gap around a bathroom exhaust fan?
I've got my exhaust fan installed in the ceiling of the bathroom, now I'm wonder how best to seal the gap around it. The fan housing is obviously sheet metal, and the ceiling has the plastic vapor ...
2
votes
1answer
333 views
Is this asbestos in my ceiling drywall?
While looking through a hole in the drywall, I saw this...
Is this asbestos?
2
votes
2answers
769 views
How do I repair a drywall ceiling when there is blown in insulation above?
I was finishing the space above a garage. The space was buried in blown in cellulose insulation and we framed in some walls, laid a subfloor, and finished the room. During framing two different ...
1
vote
1answer
364 views
How to rehang vertical blinds on a damaged bay ceiling?
My vertical blind has lost two of its four brackets. It was fixed to the ceiling of my bay window and the plugs and screws have pulled away. Is it possible to fill and replug in the same place and ...
1
vote
1answer
420 views
How can I attach a light fixture to plasterboard?
After some water damage and a ceiling repair I cannot locate the joist to refix the light fitting. It is a circular fluorescent light weighing about 3 and a half pounds.
Is it safe to fix all 3 ...
0
votes
1answer
96 views
How can I figure out where this water is coming from?
I have the situation where my shower piping is leaking underneath a tiled floor. This only occurs when the shower is running, suggesting a drainage issue.
The pipe passes from the shower faucet ...
1
vote
0answers
162 views
Should I install drywall or plywood above a drop ceiling to increase the insulation value?
I am currently insulating a new room in my house. I am planning to put up a drop ceiling. I have insulated between my roof trusses. Do I need anything else between my drop ceiling and attic space ...
3
votes
2answers
789 views
How can I hang a heavy bag from this beam in my garage?
I'm renting a house that was built about 10 years ago. The attached, finished garage is under the master bedroom. It has two large beams running across it, see picture.
The larger one is 6.5" ...
1
vote
2answers
258 views
Should I texturize my ceiling after removing popcorn? [closed]
I'm going to remove the popcorn ceiling in my 90's era house and was wondering if I should texturize after removing it. The walls have the "orange peel" type of texture on them but I just don't know ...
0
votes
0answers
179 views
What could cause my ceiling fan light to go off after 2 seconds of being on?
I have a Harbor Breeze ceiling fan in my daughters room. The fan works great, but the light does not. When I turn the light on, it comes on and then 2 seconds later it turns off. What do I need to do ...
2
votes
3answers
544 views
What is a good solution for hiding insulation in an unfinished basement?
First off, let me note that I am a tenant in this house. My landlord lets me do small improvements, but I'm not going to finish the basement with drywall myself.
Basically, we have an unfinished ...
2
votes
2answers
130 views
How can I frame a ceiling tray in my dining room?
We have a 12x14 dining room and are looking to add a shallow 6"h x 15"w tray border around the outside. One of the longer sides will not hit any ceiling joists, so I will be using toggle bolts to keep ...
5
votes
2answers
748 views
What are the differences between hot and cold roof systems?
Can someone explain the differences, pros and cons of a hot roof vs a cold roof?
I would like to vault a ceiling in an addition off of our family room, taking the drywall all the way up to the roof ...
4
votes
1answer
639 views
How can I install a ceiling fan where there is no ceiling box or wiring?
I want to install a ceiling fan with a light in a spare bedroom with no ceiling wiring. What size wire do I need to use to install with cord management channels and plug into an outlet controlled by a ...
2
votes
2answers
500 views
What's the best way to shore up a ceiling register that is loose?
I have a few ceiling registers which are not flush with the ceiling since the duct has loosened over time. What's the best way to get them flush with the ceiling? I thought about driving several ...
6
votes
5answers
6k views
What size of ceiling joists should I use
We started remodeling the 2nd floor this last fall, starting with a spare bedroom, but between our day jobs and the holidays, we ran out of time, stopping short of dry-walling - the room is sealed and ...
3
votes
1answer
3k views
How do I repair cracks in a plaster ceiling?
I have a bungalow house built in the early 1930's. It is in remarkable condition and has been well maintained. In the last few weeks a few cracks have shown up in the ceiling. There is an upstairs ...
6
votes
2answers
4k views
Can I install recessed lighting in vaulted ceiling with 6" rafters?
I would like to install recessed lighting in my vaulted ceiling. One contractor I spoke with suggested not doing that because the rafters are shallow (only 6 inches), which does not leave much room ...
1
vote
1answer
94 views
What are these metal ducts/tubes going into the attic used for?
We live in a house that is approx. 1200 sq ft. and was most likely gutted and 'refactored' by the previous owner. In our laundry room, they built a 'closet' around the water heater and our HVAC unit. ...
0
votes
3answers
1k views
How do I fill holes around a newly fitted ceiling light socket?
I'm replacing a ceiling light that when fitted will leave gaps / holes in the ceiling where the existing socket hole is. The previous light was bigger and had a sensible amount of room for the wiring ...
2
votes
2answers
134 views
What should I do about mold until the leak feeding it gets fixed?
About three weeks ago I noticed a leak on the ceiling of my studio apartment. When it began it was just a leak, a few days later it began to get dark-stained all around it and now it's covered in a ...
1
vote
1answer
343 views
Should I primer my walls/ceiling before I spray on texture?
I have removed a wall and upper cabinet, replacing some sheetrock. I have skim coated and sanded the existing walls and removed the "popcorn" ceiling. My question is: do I need to primer the walls ...
11
votes
1answer
767 views
Are these drywall screws driven too deep into the sheet?
First off, I apologize for the asking and deleting my previous question about this. I thought it was more of a dupe of this question that I asked a while back. I'll be more central to the actual ...
0
votes
2answers
1k views
How can I replace a water pipe on the second floor without the need to damage the bathtub?
My father is the owner of the house, and on the second floor area there is a bathtub over the top of the water damaged ceiling on the first floor that i currently live, my father told me that these ...
6
votes
1answer
436 views
Can I install drywall on the ceiling, without removing crown molding?
I'm in the process of replacing a failing plaster ceiling in my finished basement with drywall. I originally had intended only to scrape down the popcorn finish and have it skim coated, so I did not ...
0
votes
3answers
515 views
How can I hide the wires to a self-made ceiling light fixture?
I have a simple self-made ceiling light fixture, but it currently lacks two things:
some kind of a pipe to hide the wire.
a cover to hide the ceiling junction box.
I'd like to use something ...
3
votes
1answer
362 views
Worthwhile to insulate basement ceiling while remodeling?
I have an existing finished basement where I'm in the process of replacing an severely damaged plaster ceiling with drywall. I've got the entire thing open, and as it's an old house (1925) there is ...
