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.
22
votes
4answers
6k views
Should I use nails or screws for hanging drywall on the ceiling?
I'm replacing water-damaged drywall on my ceiling and was considering using screws. Other than cost, is there any other reason I should use nails instead?
Or am I too paranoid that nails won't have ...
12
votes
1answer
421 views
How can I fix the noise level in my home?
When anyone walks above me in our two level home it sounds like a herd of elephants stomping through. Is there any way to fix this?
11
votes
1answer
715 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 ...
10
votes
6answers
335 views
How do I balance a ceiling fan?
About a year ago I installed a new ceiling fan in my living room and when it was installed it was balanced nicely, but it has a little wobble. How do I bring it back in to balance?
10
votes
1answer
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 ...
9
votes
5answers
2k views
How can I paint over a ceiling after there's been a leak?
We had a leak in our upstairs bathroom, about 2 weeks after we had a new ceiling put up and painted in the room below. It wasn't a major leak, but it caused quite a wide line to show up on the ...
8
votes
4answers
2k views
What is the best way to remove popcorn from the ceiling?
What is the best solution for removing popcorn from the ceiling if I want to get it to look smooth afterwards?
Edit: thanks for your answers! Would you estimate that replacing the drywall on the ...
8
votes
2answers
6k views
How much weight can I hang from a drywall ceiling?
I have a potted plant (approx 5kg/10lbs) that I wish to hang from a drywall ceiling of a window aisle.
Unfortunately, I have no idea about what specific kind of drywall plate it is or how it was ...
8
votes
3answers
1k views
How can I make low ceilings appear taller?
I am having my basement remodeled. The ceiling is about 6'6 recessed lighting has already been installed. I would like to know what I can do do make the ceiling appear taller.
8
votes
4answers
627 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 ...
7
votes
2answers
417 views
Why are there two layers of dry wall in my ceiling, and how can I patch it?
The fan in my bathroom died. We bought a replacement that's a bit bigger. The original was nailed to a beam in the ceiling and required me to cut out some drywall to remove.
When removing the old ...
7
votes
2answers
448 views
What should I look for when choosing faux tin ceiling tiles?
My fiancee really likes the look of the faux tin ceilings. We found some in Home Depot, but they are 20$ for each 18" x 24" pane. For a moderate sized room, this will be a LOT of money to do one ...
6
votes
4answers
2k views
Can you paint a popcorn ceiling?
My guess is that a paint sprayer might be easiest, but are the other ways that won't remove the popcorn?
6
votes
3answers
257 views
What do I need to use one winch motor independently on several different cables (for overhead storage)?
I'm almost-nearly-started on installing a bunch of motorized ceiling-storage platforms in my garage. I was researching which winch/hoist to buy when I realized that I'd rather not buy one electric ...
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 ...
6
votes
2answers
3k 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 ...
6
votes
1answer
411 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 ...
5
votes
3answers
572 views
Thin walls means lots of noise
My bedroom is directly under my neighbors living room, he has crazy hours and I find myself waking up constantly. I tried talking to him and he's trying his best but it's just not good enough. What ...
5
votes
1answer
204 views
How do I fix my kitchen ceiling?
How do I fix my kitchen ceiling? I have the ceiling covering peeling off. It has exposed cracks where water has possibly come through from the tiles above. So, how do I fix my kitchen ceiling?
5
votes
5answers
713 views
Can I hang a heavy weight from a concrete ceiling if I reinforce it with fiberglass?
I'm investigating the possibility of hanging a pull-up bar/ rock-climbing training board from the concrete ceiling in my apartment. The slab is 180mm (7inches) thick and the (static) weight which I ...
5
votes
2answers
1k views
How do I repair this hole in my ceiling?
So I did something stupid and I screwed up my den ceiling:
For scale, the hole itself is about 3-4 inches long, but the overall damaged area is about 9 inches in diameter.
It's hard to see, but it ...
5
votes
1answer
412 views
How do I splice a drywall metal outside corner bead?
When re-finishing my ceiling (formerly popcorn, now smooth) I had some trouble with the edge of the tray ceiling in the master bedroom. Since the length of the tray was longer than a standard metal ...
5
votes
3answers
436 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 ...
5
votes
2answers
961 views
How to change the bulb in an enclosed ceiling light?
I have just moved to China and my apartment has these kinds of lights:
I simply cant open them! The glass can be rotated without much force, as can the inner metal ring. The outer metal ring can ...
5
votes
2answers
459 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 ...
5
votes
2answers
110 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.
...
4
votes
4answers
2k views
Second layer of drywall on textured ceiling: Do I need to sand down or remove the texture before second layer goes on?
I have a textured ceiling similar to this:
Some of the texture peaks at 1/8", but it mostly peaks at 1/16". I am going to be applying a second layer of drywall with Green Glue in between and I ...
4
votes
1answer
789 views
How to reduce heating of cold water pipes in the ceiling space?
On a hot day our kitchen cold tap, if it hasn't been run for a while, will produce water at a temperature up to around 50-55 degrees C shortly after it is turned on. We haven't measured the exact ...
4
votes
1answer
144 views
What advice would you offer somebody who is building a laundry chute for the first time?
I'm looking to build a laundry chute from our bedroom closet to the laundry room below. The positioning is such that the wall of our closet is shared with a storage closet in the loft above our ...
4
votes
1answer
995 views
How do I tent a ceiling?
My fiancé and I are trying to tent our bedroom ceiling. We bought enough fabric from the fashion district downtown and got set up and ready to do it... and nothing was working or looking right.
As of ...
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 ...
4
votes
1answer
392 views
Do I need to attach a wire fished through a ceiling?
I have a finished basement and am mounting a flat-screen TV on the wall and I want to put an electrical box behind the TV. The two existing outlets are both two joists over and each separated with a ...
4
votes
2answers
8k views
How do I frame a room inside a garage so that the room's ceiling will not touch the garage ceiling?
I am considering building a small 6 x 9 room inside my garage to use as an office. However, I do not want to remove the garage door opener unit nor the tracks the door slides on because we will want ...
4
votes
2answers
579 views
Is it safe to drill into the metal spacer between drywall and joist?
I am trying to install a bike hoist in the ceiling of my garage. I found the ceiling joist using the stud finder and when I tried making a pilot hole, I noticed that I am hitting metal. I don't have ...
4
votes
1answer
324 views
Can I hang a hammock from basement joists?
My basement is what I assume is a typical setup, built in the 1970s. 2x8 joists run from the outer cinderblock wall to the center beam with an approximate 11 foot span. I'm thinking about hanging a ...
4
votes
1answer
3k views
How should I run speaker, HDMI and electrical wiring for my ceiling mounted projector theater room?
BACKGROUND:
New house built 5 years ago. I have a basement theater room with 12 foot drywall ceilings that have HVAC conduit and recessed lighting (in other words there is some space behind/above ...
4
votes
1answer
639 views
Can I reroute this air duct?
I'm quite new to dealing with HVAC duct-work.
We would like to install a suspended ceiling in this room. Since the finished ceiling will be higher than this duct-work, we're going to build drywall ...
4
votes
1answer
448 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 ...
3
votes
3answers
1k views
Natural ways to keep the ceiling cool during summer
I live in the single floor independent house in South India with the ceiling exposed to sun. In summer it gets really hot.
I am not an expert but was wondering if there is a traditional/natural way ...
3
votes
2answers
858 views
How do I install a ceiling fan without creating holes in the ceiling?
I wanted to install ceiling fans in my house but there there were no existing outlets in the ceiling so I got an electrician to do it. He created 2 holes in the ceiling and 2 in the wall to run the ...
3
votes
2answers
156 views
Tips To Inspect/ Popcorn ceilings
My wife and I are considering buying a house that was built in the 1960s and has acoustic "popcorn" ceilings. I want to know if there is a cheap, effective way to do a home asbestos test.
I'm still ...
3
votes
2answers
2k views
Should I replace or patch a plaster ceiling?
My house is about 109 years old, excellent condition, other than cracking in the plaster ceilings. I've had one 3x3 section even fall out in my dining room. I want to replace the ceiling in the ...
3
votes
2answers
3k views
Standard height from floor to ceiling?
Is there a standard height from floor to ceiling. I want to install some false ceiling (plaster board) ...
I seem to remember there was a standard but i don't remember it
Any help really appreciated
...
3
votes
3answers
1k views
How do I fix a ceiling fan that won't turn off?
I have a ceiling light/fan fixture in one of my rooms connected to a single electrical switch. There are two pullchains on the fixture, one that controls the light, the other controlling the fan. I'd ...
3
votes
2answers
742 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" ...
3
votes
3answers
1k views
Should I be concerned about the repair to a ceiling after water damage?
We're in the middle floors of an apartment building and have had some damage done to our bathroom ceiling around the manhole due to some leaking pipes (minor rupture so there was a bit of water).
The ...
3
votes
2answers
813 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 ...
3
votes
2answers
614 views
How should I install a hoist given that the walls and ceiling are made of concrete?
I have this hoist, of the engine-lifting variety, which is designed to be installed below a pipe or beam. I do not have any load bearing pipes or beams. What I have are a poured concrete ceiling (9" ...
3
votes
1answer
396 views
Should the tester start flickering when I touch my chandelier's top wiring cover?
(First time quiestion here, so correct me if something's wrong)
I recently installed a lamp on the ceiling (a metallic chandelier). Two wires connected to the ceiling (one phase and one "zero"). The ...
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 ...
