I have been swaying back and forth about sheet rocking the ceiling of my garage/shop. It is a detached shop that will be heated very soon. It is a 20′ x 40′ x 8′ in size and height, the walls are sheet-rocked, it has two single car garage doors that are insulated (one at each end). I can’t think of the name for the type of roof framing but it’s not an open concept. I have got plastic sheeting up now but do not like it. The pitch of the roof only allows for about 3′ in height at the center (widthwise) of the garage from ceiling beam to peak. The pitched ceiling is insulated. Wiring in the shop is complete, nothing else is final. My geographical location is four seasons and considered colder than average. I would do the sheeting rocking myself.
Any comments on future wiring, DC ducting, air lines, heat, aesthetics, cost vs payoffs and anything anyone else can think of would be greatly appreciated.
Replies
If you are paying to heat the space then a thick layer of insulation followed by sheetrock would seem to be an easy to justify decision. Plastic can be an extreme fire hazard, it should get covered or removed.
Installing sheetrock is also a fire protection requirement, legally required in many areas. With an open ceiling a fire will be into the roof in a minute or two. If the space is sheetrocked, the fire will be contained long enough that the fire department stands a chance of controlling it.
John W.
In addition to what JohnWW said, a finished ceiling also reflects light for a brighter workshop.
Thanks, I forgot about the lighting factor.
As well, you'll be able to put some insulation overhead if you climate warrants it.
Both good answers, for sure. I would add that IF your insurance company knows you have a rated assembly, even for 20-30 minutes, your premium might decrease, or at the very least, not increase. They have a knack for finding out everything, somehow...........Of course, check your local government for building permit/inspection requirements. Us building inspectors usually like to see at least the new electrical stuff....... :)
Can't seem to grasp what your roof looks like, but if it's not vented, you may think about adding a small louver in the gables or a ridge vent or similar in conjuction with some soffit venting, insulation baffles, etc.. Just something to get the convection cycle going. When you seal it up, that roof will get mighty hot if you don't have an air flow, plus, your shingles last longer. Payoff for drywall with you doing the work would be real quick. Think about what you pay yourself vs. what you pay the power company..... :)
Rich
You said in you post "The pitched ceiling is insulated." Does that means you have insulation on the underside or on top of the roof deck? I ask because if you seal the truss area up without some sort of venting you could end up with moisture trapped up there.
Before you do cover up the ceiling however. I would suggest that you put a catwalk down the length of the shop above the insulation. So that if you ever want to add airdrops, dust collection, more power, etc. You'll be able to do so without disturbing the insulation, or slipping and putting a foot through the ceiling.
Hi and Thanks. Yes, the underside of the roof is insulated. This is the way I purchased the house. And it has plastic sheeting stapled to to the horizontal roof beams. There is another interesting part, the previous owner installed a 16" industrial fan up in the roof beams. It blows length wise right underneath the peak of roof in the rafters, a light switch on the wall controls the on/off. Both ends of the garage have about two feet of no plastic before it hits the length end of the walls. I would guess that the fan pulled air in an oval fashion moving in one direction above the plastic and the other way below (like a 2-way street). I wouldn't be surprised if he had attched a dust-collection box to the fan. I do not see any ventilation ports/vents on the roof or garage exterior walls? Why would he have done this? Apparently he was a cabinet maker a while back, from other aspects of the house, he seemed to know what he was doing?
Sorry to throw another curve here, but you all are helping a great deal.
The only reason that I can think of for putting a fan and plastic like that is to circulate the air without standing in a draft like you get from a ceiling fan. If it were my shop and I would peel off the plastic, pull the insulation down if it's not covered with a hard surface, put in roof vents and then put the insulation in above the bottom of the trusses with the sheetrock below. With a cold attic space, your roofing materials will last longer. If there already is a hard surface covering the underside of the roof and insulation. I would still peel off all the plastic, paint the trusses white and use the open space between the trusses for storage.
There is no hard surface covering the insulation. If I sheetrock the ceiling you think I should pull the plastic and insulation, then get new insulation to lay above the sheetrock? Lastly, should I pull the plastic regardless of what I do, someone earlier mentioned it was a fire hazard?
You want to end up when your done with sheetrock, plastic (vapor barrier), and the insulation on top. Since the plastic that's there now has been up for a while it's probably full of holes and is compromised as a vapor barrier, so chuck it. Reuse the insulation and add more of the same if you want to be warmer. You can also get an insulation company to blow loose fiberglass on top. If what you have isn't fiberglass then you should get local advise. Wear good eye and respiratory protection when you do that insulation work because it's nasty. I had a single tiny strand of fiberglass insulation in my eye a long time ago and the pain is not in proportion to its size.
I would also recommend pulling down and resuing the insulation on the roof.
Sheetrocking the ceiling will help hold in more of the heat, as you will not be heating the area above - saving you some money to spend on wood or tools.
Also, you have the ability to paint the ceiling a gloss white to help reflect light.
I know that there are products that can go between the rafters down to the soffit vents that would allow you to build up insulation and still have the venting you need, but I cannot imagine that prev owner put them in all the way up to ridgeline and then insulated over that - the way it is now, I would inspect the roof decking from the underside once you have the insulation down to check for possible damage from trapping moisture up there.
I just read about a tip on the ceiling that might help. If your span is 24 or less, nail up 1x3 centered on the bottom of the joists to create a lip on each side. Then cut and paint your sheetrock to fit into the channel you created to make very inexpecsive 8ft panels. They are removable for access.I'm in the basement and have engineered I beams. The lips are there, so all I need to do is cut and paint the panels.
I like that idea, You could also put the panel at a higer level using 1x2 to leave space below the panel if you needed to store something in the area.1 - measure the board twice, 2 - cut it once, 3 - measure the space where it is supposed to go 4 - get a new board and go back to step 1
I did this in the kitchen of my house which has a lot of utilities above it. The removable panels allowed easy access for service and upgrades. The joint between the panels is covered with the tee sections used for suspended ceilings.
John W.
That's a really good idea. Thank's for the post. I havn't done anything yet to the ceiling. The past week or two I am averageing a 10 degree difference of roof vs. ground temp; with the fan going up there maybe 6 degree's.
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