36" span to cover w/ 5/8" drywall

Zhaar · 02-01-2011, 05:29 PM

I am in the process of remolding a old farm house and have run into a problem that I thought I might be able to get some help and ideas from some of you. I am rocking a ceiling with 5/8 drywall the joist are 24 oc. I thought that I had all joist true but after hanging all the sheetrock I came to find out that I have one joist about 1/2 higher than the rest. I had put an additional joist between two of the existing joist for added support so with not being able to screw into the 24oc joist I have no problem hitting the 36 oc joist. So basically if you start at one end of the sheet I hit a joist at 24 then a second joist at 24(48"total) then 36(84") then 12(to make the 8 feet). I realize that code on 5/8 sheet rock is 24 oc but without bowing in the rock to secure it to the higher joist or taking down most of the ceiling(something I really don’t want) I hope to get by with just hitting the 36 span the rest of the spans would be the 24 or 12 with extra screws. There will be no additional weight on the sheetrock such as insulation or lights. What are the chances of that sagging? Thanks for the help.

masterofall · 02-01-2011, 07:19 PM

Take a straight edge (level) and span the two level ceiling joists. At various points along the span measure the thickness needed to fill the space to bring the higher joist down to the same level. Cut long filler strips out of scrap 2X4 then glue and nail them in place. Use a good floor glue. Voila, level ceiling with no bow up thing.

proremodel · 02-01-2011, 10:42 PM

ok so you have one higher and what you can try is running some 3in screws into it. Just snug them up and see if that fixes it along with sinks the screws just enough to mud em and never see them again.

bjbatlanta · 02-02-2011, 04:02 PM

Use shims as "masterofall" suggested. If you just try to "snug" screws to hold the board, you'll have problems down the road. As your framing lumber "moves" with seasonal heating/cooling changes, those screws will eventually break the face paper on the drywall. That will cause the "dreaded" nail/screw pop plus there will no longer be any holding power at all. Drywall is intended to be fastened tight to the framing members, not suspended from them....

proremodel · 02-03-2011, 01:48 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bjbatlanta

Use shims as "masterofall" suggested. If you just try to "snug" screws to hold the board, you'll have problems down the road. As your framing lumber "moves" with seasonal heating/cooling changes, those screws will eventually break the face paper on the drywall. That will cause the "dreaded" nail/screw pop plus there will no longer be any holding power at all. Drywall is intended to be fastened tight to the framing members, not suspended from them....

I agree with you but he said he didn't want to take down the boards to get at them.

Actually we never asked how much is it up? Can you screw it tight then float it out?

Zhaar · 02-04-2011, 03:58 PM

I posted the original thread regarding the 36' span. More of what I was looking for was if done once (only one 36 span that big) what are the chances of 5/8 board sagging? And if there was a high chance is there a way that I could secure it to the higher joist w/o taking down the sheet rock? I used the shimming method on several other joist with 2x's to level thing's out but I somehow missed this one. It is a long story but I would have to drag a lift in about 300 yards thru 2'deep snow to remove the portion of the ceiling that would require the shim, not to mention I would need to rent it again, also I am not sure of re-screwing the screws into the old holes, might weaken them? So I was looking more for advice regarding chance of sagging and or any way to secure w/o removing the rock? Thanks for everyone thanking the time to help on this. If you guys think that I can’t get away with a more convenient fix I will remove the sheet rock and fix the problem.

bjbatlanta · 02-04-2011, 04:18 PM

5/8" is pretty solid. It is more likely to sag if there is a lot of humidity/dampness in the room. Do you open the windows for natural ventilation, possibly occurring during rainy/cool evenings to save on the AC bill?? If you keep a constant "conditioned" atmosphere your chances are better of not having an issue with sagging. I'm guessing you didn't use adhesive when you were hanging, so if the board DOES begin to sag the screws in the joists on either side will stand a better chance of pulling through the face paper and detaching. Once the integrity of the face paper on the drywall is compromised, especially overhead, you could have a problem. Personally wouldn't take the chance of having to deal with a repair later on down the line when everything is finished/painted/carpeted when I could fix the problem now. If you do the fix properly, DON'T run your screws back in the same holes...