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I am closing in my Florida room. I want to drywall the ceiling. It is made out of aluminum insulated panels. I can't get any drywall screws to grab. No studs to drill into. I can leave it as is, but drywall would look nicer(and make my wife happy!). Any suggestions? Is gluing an option?

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    Do you have pictures? How are the aluminum panels hanging?
    – DMoore
    Jun 3, 2014 at 21:48
  • There must be structure above the panels, right? Sounds like you just need longer screws, and to know where the rafters are.
    – Tester101
    Jun 4, 2014 at 10:14
  • Where you able to get it done? I'm doing the same thing and just wondering
    – user44495
    Oct 12, 2015 at 14:06

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Do you need the fire resistance and sound-deadening of drywall, or just want the look?

You might consider something else that would look quite similar but not have the weight.

I put textured paintable wallpaper over wood paneling, like this textured wallpaper. Once painted, it blended right in with the drywalled wall next to it. Nobody knows it isn't drywall, even standing right next to it.

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I wouldn't trust glue unless it was certified to deal with the solar heating, humidity, etc. it will be subject to. There are industrial adhesives which would do it... but it's also going to be a pain to maintain that way.

Have you considered just painting the aluminum panels? Or using screws of a size and type actually designed to carry weight when suspended from aluminum? (Drywall screws are designed to go in fact, not to be strong attachments.) Of course if that's closer to aluminum foil than aluminum, no screw is going to work. Anchors of some sort might, or might not.

Any idea who made those panels? They might be able to advise you.

Alternatively, I guess I'd suggest either installing joists that you can screw the drywall to, or doing a suspended ceiling (which probably means losing 3" of room height).

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  • I did put a new metal roof over the panels with insulation in between. That may help with any temperature issues. Do you think glueing 1/4 in drywall and self-drilling drywall screws would work? The metal is almost 1/8 in thick. One thing I did not mention is we expanded out onto the deck. This part will have drywall on the ceiling. So I would like for them to match.
    – user21908
    Jun 4, 2014 at 3:01

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