On Wed, 14 Jun 2006 20:05:26 -0400, "bent" wrote:

can anyone point me to good sites to about these (2) topics. I have to
start the ceiling next in the order of my own personal basement reno. I am
willing to go to heroic measures. Probly need to. I can already think of
some specific questions such as:

Joists and ceiling tiles: CGC pamphlet recommend 3" clearance above all
obstructions such as pipes and ducts (1-1/2" with flexible panels such as
fibreglass): How serious is this. I defineletely don't want to do this.
I've got a 1/2" Cu pipe line (styro tube insulated) that runs 15'. but
theres another 2" above it. If it were up to me I'd set up my grid to put
the panels within 1/2' of these and continue. Whats up?
If there IS such a big difference between std. panels and flexible, there is
only one flex option at my local BORGs (ugly if you ask me), white plastic
paper over yellow fibre avail. Are there more than one option for this type
if I look around elsewhere? The EXTRA 1-1/2" is, IS, a need I have.

I don't know, I just put them as close as they'll easily go. If the
pipe below springs a leak, it might wreck a panel or two, but they're
easy to replace. Just leave enough room to get them in and out, and
buy some extras to keep in the shed.

Concrete floor and ceramic tiles: on my orig bare concrete basement pour
there are some areas less than perfectly contiguous wrt obtaining an even
thickness for thinset. How do I know if I need a leveller (what the heck is
that), or if I need to mix up some concrete first to level, or how thick I
can fill in these areas with the thinset I will use to stick the tiles down.
Is there a problem, or better choice, to walking in with the interntion of
buying the 79/99 cent/sf tile wrt the above or other consideration?

It's going to be cold. Really cold. It's cheaper to put them right
on the cement and lay them in a bed of mortar, but for the sake of
your feet (even if you're always wearing shoes) it's worth the
investment to put dri-core (chipboard with a molded plastic sheet on
the bottom) down first. It's easy to lay, and makes the whole thing a
lot more pleasant.

Don't expect the mastic or thinset to fill in anything at all. If you
do, you're going to find out you've got a lot of cracked tiles very
quickly. It's worth your while to make the floor flat first.