I'm in the middle of converting the first floor of my house. I've started down one end and I'm working my way along. So far I've levelled the floors (sort of) where the bathroom will be and I've erected the stud wall partitioning between landing, bedroom and bathroom. I haven't got there yet but I'm always thinking about how I'm going to finish the ceilings. The plasterboard will have to be attached in some way to the rafters. Unfortunately the rafters are sloping on a gradient (18 centimetres over 6 metres from one end of the space to another). How do I attach the plasterboard without it looking like a total mess so it's relatively even?
- Thread starter wolfpaw
- Start date
The gradient does not matter, it is the rafters that have to be reasonably level in order to screw the plasterboard. You can add wood fillets of the correct dimensions to make a flatt( ish ) surface. If you can get access to the side of the rafters you can add dummy rafters which is easier as these can be screwed to the side of existing rafters with enough protrusion as required. ( plastered laths overcome all these problems because the contour of the rafters is followed)
If you want to have a complete symmetrical room ( no gradient) you really have to build a false ceiling to level everything.
It really depends on how much " character" you want as to what you have to do
If you want to have a complete symmetrical room ( no gradient) you really have to build a false ceiling to level everything.
It really depends on how much " character" you want as to what you have to do
- Blimey, what luxury!wolfpaw said:
I've got a 25cm slope over 2.3 metres! The plasterboard is fixed on battens on the sides of the beams, leaving the same depth of beam showing along the whole length, i.e. the slope of the plasterboard is the same as the slope of the beam. I think it looks OK, it's walking on the floor above with the same slope that is the real challenge!
What period and style is your house though? That would seem to make a big difference to how acceptable a slope is.
Penners
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That's nothing! We used to live in a shoe-box in't middle o' t' M1.Me! said:
Flyfisher
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. . . and you try telling the young people today . . . oh what's the use? I didn't want to do that. I wanted to be . . .
Is there a deja vu smiley?
Is there a deja vu smiley?
Me! said:
It's about 1680s, limestone-built, rough-walled farmhouse. Nothing is even or square so the slope doesn't bother me unduly. I've only corrected the floor significantly where the bathroom is going, to make it easier to fit the shower and bath. I think I'll have to take a pic though as I don't know how to attach the plasterboard to the ridge beam either. :? The problem is that the way things are going I'm going to have a six-inch gap between the plasterboard and the rafters as I need to come down low off the ridge beam in order to avoid some unsightly blocks that there added to it to reinforce the rafters at the apex of the roof. Oh the problems are just never-ending really. The distance between the oak floor joists is over a metre in places so I'm going to have to put noggings in to span the gaps to support the chipboard to support the oak flooring, and adding noggings means adding plasterboard underneath them to create a ceiling for the rooms below, to add insulation and hide wiring, and to hide the noggings.
I'm feeling stressed out. I could do with a holiday
Our joists were too far apart as well and not really strong enough. Instead of noggins (which still keeps the load on the existing joists) we added new joists in the spaces between the originals.
As we have plenty of headroom upstairs, we then added timber spacers on top of all the joists (both old and new) which have been planed so that the tops are all levelish. Wiring goes over the tops of the joists in gaps left in the spacers so there isn't need to weaken them further. This does require a grounded metal shield over the tops of the wires to ensure a nail / screw isn't put through a floorboard into a wire in the future.
Plasterboard is going to be fitted in between the joists at the top to hide the spacers / wires but to leave as much of the joist exposed as possible (almost all of it).
This is a good solution for us but may not work for you. Pictures are available if of interest.
As we have plenty of headroom upstairs, we then added timber spacers on top of all the joists (both old and new) which have been planed so that the tops are all levelish. Wiring goes over the tops of the joists in gaps left in the spacers so there isn't need to weaken them further. This does require a grounded metal shield over the tops of the wires to ensure a nail / screw isn't put through a floorboard into a wire in the future.
Plasterboard is going to be fitted in between the joists at the top to hide the spacers / wires but to leave as much of the joist exposed as possible (almost all of it).
This is a good solution for us but may not work for you. Pictures are available if of interest.