OT: suspended ceilings
BenB - 6/4/10 at 08:37 PM
Does anyone know the specific term for the type of metal angle used in suspended industrial ceilings?
Bit of a long shot I know 
Whoever built my house didn't know the meaning of straight so the beams tent up towards the middle of the room by about 5 degrees (there was a
wall in the middle of the room so it wasn't obvious... it isn't there any more!!)....
I had a cunning plan involving attaching metal angle to the bottoms of the beams as a known straight + level datum and attaching the plasterboard to
the metal angle not the beams.
But I can't find the stuff for looking. I know I could just go down to Ikea with a spanner and nick half their ceiling but I'm not sure
they'd appreciate it...
I could do it using flipping big bracket from B+Q / metal supermarket but it would cost.... I'm assuming a generic suspended ceiling supplier
would be cheaper.
daniel mason - 6/4/10 at 08:41 PM
you can buy the metal angle on ebay!
Guinness - 6/4/10 at 08:42 PM
If you want a smooth plaster finish, rather than 600 x 600 tiles, you want to be researching (Google) "MF Ceiling"
British Gypsum have some details on their site.
You won't normally be able to span all the way across, you'll be forming a grid and fixing the plasterboard to that.
It's tricky, but not impossible to get level. A normal spirit level just won't cut it!
If you give me the dimensions of the room, I can sketch it up in CAD, so you can get your quantities sorted.
Mike
richwill - 6/4/10 at 08:46 PM
you want perimeter trim for fixing the boards to. Try CCF or CPD Google search or you may get it from a local Travis Perkins builders merchant. Pretty
cheap by the meter.
BenB - 6/4/10 at 08:48 PM
quote:
Originally posted by Guinness
If you want a smooth plaster finish, rather than 600 x 600 tiles, you want to be researching (Google) "MF Ceiling"
British Gypsum have some details on their site.
You won't normally be able to span all the way across, you'll be forming a grid and fixing the plasterboard to that.
It's tricky, but not impossible to get level. A normal spirit level just won't cut it!
If you give me the dimensions of the room, I can sketch it up in CAD, so you can get your quantities sorted.
Mike
Ooh that stuff looks fancy! I wasn't planning on anything that trick (just 3 long lengths of angle) but that stuff looks very nice Might have
to get my laser level out to play!
deanwelch - 6/4/10 at 08:48 PM
what about using lengths of wood that taper away to nothing.............used for leveling floors or puting a fall on a flat roof...............then
screwthem to ceiling then screw plaster board to them.......may have got wrong end of stick but plasterboard is a lot heavier than ceiling
tiles........
BenB - 6/4/10 at 09:09 PM
quote:
Originally posted by deanwelch
what about using lengths of wood that taper away to nothing.............used for leveling floors or puting a fall on a flat roof...............then
screwthem to ceiling then screw plaster board to them.......may have got wrong end of stick but plasterboard is a lot heavier than ceiling
tiles........
I could do that but there's a noggin in the middle which I don't want to chop in half. I could notch it slightly for some angle metal but a
big old bit of wood might be a problem.... But ultimately yes, I suppose I could just get some wood and level it out....
jos - 7/4/10 at 06:09 AM
I know it as 'T bar'. HTH
Peteff - 7/4/10 at 08:57 AM
Find the old ceiling joists and just nail some 3x2 to the underneath of them full length then fasten your boards to that. You'll have a slightly
lower room so saving heating costs . The rise in the middle is where the old wall held the beams up and the other walls possible settled, is there a
ridge in the floor as well or did that get relaid ?
zilspeed - 7/4/10 at 11:43 AM
quote:
Originally posted by Peteff
Find the old ceiling joists and just nail some 3x2 to the underneath of them full length then fasten your boards to that.
Or, as I would do if I had to, brander across the joists at 90 degrees. Straighten throught with a string line as you go after finding the lowest
point (with a water level) and working to that.
You can do this in anything from 2"x1" upwards and use thin stuff as your packers. We used to use hardboard cut into strips 2" wide
then cut to 3" on the crosscut. Big bag of that for packing and away you go fitting it in as you go and nailing after packing.
This is how we used to strap and sheet a ceiling to cover up the horrors of multiple cracks / horrific artex etc.
Standard practice amongst wood butchers.