I have a detached double garage, with an uninsulated roof decked with
chipboard (which is slowly disintegrating with age and damp) and covered in
ye olde 'tar and felt'.

All being well, it will soon be reroofed with insulation on top, (mostly to
keep it cooler in summer rather than warmer in winter), thus converting it
into a so-called 'hot roof'. Once this is done, it will (I believe) no
longer be necessary for me to leave the roof timbers (about 2" wide x 9"
deep joists) and the underside of the decking, exposed for ventilation
purposes. I could therefore fit some sort of ceiling, not for aesthetic
reasons, but so that it will not accumulate mucky cobwebs and dust, which
rain down on my prized vehicles and tools, and most important of all it will
help make the most of the interior lighting, (ie the ceiling will be white).
I have already painted the walls white and it made a huge difference to the
lighting, converting a dark and dirty space into a much lighter one that is
far more pleasant and practical to work in. My aim is to make it lighter and
nicer still.

My question is, bearing in mind that its purpose is not so much to look nice
like a ceiling inside the house, but to fulfil a practical need, what would
be the most suitable (and cheap) DIY material to use? I don't really want to
be messing about with plasterboard, (unless you can persuade me otherwise),
so I was wondering about white-finished hardboard (to save me having to
paint). In time, I am sure that it will sag and buckle a little, but as long
as it is not to too extreme a degree I could live with that.

In practice, I will probably leave a gap of several inches on either side,
ie at the ends of the joists, rather than continue the ceiling right to the
side walls. This is because (a) there is no positive source of heat in the
garage so perhaps a little ventilation wouldn't go amiss, and (b) there are
quite a few alarm and power cables fixed along at the ends of the joists,
and it would save having to disrupt them.

There is a photo at http://www.sterry.org.uk/temp/garage_ceiling.jpg to give
you an idea of what I am talking about. You can also see some of the
aforementioned cables.

Any thoughts?

Many thanks in advance, as they say.

--
Rick

"Richard Sterry" wrote in message
...

There is a photo at http://www.sterry.org.uk/temp/garage_ceiling.jpg to
give
you an idea of what I am talking about.

That's a garage???

But ... it's tidy!

I must show it to Spouse.

Mary

Mary Fisher wrote:
"Richard Sterry" wrote in message
...

There is a photo at http://www.sterry.org.uk/temp/garage_ceiling.jpg to
give you an idea of what I am talking about.

That's a garage???

But ... it's tidy!

I must show it to Spouse.

Mary

Sorry - that's the most UNtidy bit!! I have my wife's car in there, two
motorbikes, three pedal bikes, a workbench, some shelves, and still room to
walk around.

*PROUD* :-)

Rick

Richard Sterry wrote:
Mary Fisher wrote:
"Richard Sterry" wrote in message
...

There is a photo at
http://www.sterry.org.uk/temp/garage_ceiling.jpg to give you an
idea of what I am talking about.

That's a garage???

But ... it's tidy!

I must show it to Spouse.

Mary

Sorry - that's the most UNtidy bit!! I have my wife's car in there,
two motorbikes, three pedal bikes, a workbench, some shelves, and
still room to walk around.

*PROUD* :-)

You've got a car in a garage??? What kind of strange person are you?

--
James...
www.jameshart.co.uk

James Hart wrote:

You've got a car in a garage??? What kind of strange person are you?

No, listen. *MY* car stays outside. The deal with SWMBO is that if *HER* car
can go in the garage, then *I'm* allowed to have motorbikes. Seems like a
fair trade to me! OK, I turf her car out if I want to saw up floorboards or
something that takes up a bit of space - she lets me, as long as I put it
back again afterwards.

Rick

On Fri, 16 Apr 2004 19:44:11 +0100, "Richard Sterry"
wrote:

James Hart wrote:

You've got a car in a garage??? What kind of strange person are you?

No, listen. *MY* car stays outside. The deal with SWMBO is that if *HER* car
can go in the garage, then *I'm* allowed to have motorbikes. Seems like a
fair trade to me! OK, I turf her car out if I want to saw up floorboards or
something that takes up a bit of space - she lets me, as long as I put it
back again afterwards.

Rick


Ooh dear.

You're under the thumb aren't you :-)


..andy

To email, substitute .nospam with .gl

On Fri, 16 Apr 2004 19:21:24 +0100, "James Hart"
wrote:

You've got a car in a garage??? What kind of strange person are you?

My car has been in the garage virtually every night since we bought
it, about 4 years now.

But I've just had to put up a new 8x6 shed in the garden because I've
run out of space in the garage.

PoP

---
http://www.ukdiy.org.uk

"Richard Sterry" wrote in message
...
Mary Fisher wrote:
"Richard Sterry" wrote in message
...

There is a photo at http://www.sterry.org.uk/temp/garage_ceiling.jpg to
give you an idea of what I am talking about.

That's a garage???

But ... it's tidy!

I must show it to Spouse.

Mary

Sorry - that's the most UNtidy bit!! I have my wife's car in there, two
motorbikes, three pedal bikes, a workbench, some shelves, and still room
to
walk around.

*PROUD* :-)

Rrrasssppppppppp!!!

Mary

Rick

Mary Fisher wrote:

"Richard Sterry" wrote in message
...
Mary Fisher wrote:
"Richard Sterry" wrote in message
...

There is a photo at http://www.sterry.org.uk/temp/garage_ceiling.jpg to
give you an idea of what I am talking about.

That's a garage???

But ... it's tidy!

I must show it to Spouse.

Mary

Sorry - that's the most UNtidy bit!! I have my wife's car in there, two
motorbikes, three pedal bikes, a workbench, some shelves, and still room
to
walk around.

*PROUD* :-)

Rrrasssppppppppp!!!

It's quite unnatural, isn't it?

Sheila

On Fri, 16 Apr 2004 18:43:48 +0100, "Mary Fisher"
wrote:


"Richard Sterry" wrote in message
...

There is a photo at http://www.sterry.org.uk/temp/garage_ceiling.jpg to
give
you an idea of what I am talking about.

That's a garage???

But ... it's tidy!

I must show it to Spouse.

Mary



You lead that poor man a rotten life. :-)


..andy

To email, substitute .nospam with .gl

"Andy Hall" wrote in message
...
On Fri, 16 Apr 2004 18:43:48 +0100, "Mary Fisher"
wrote:


"Richard Sterry" wrote in message
...

There is a photo at http://www.sterry.org.uk/temp/garage_ceiling.jpg to
give
you an idea of what I am talking about.

That's a garage???

But ... it's tidy!

I must show it to Spouse.

Mary



You lead that poor man a rotten life. :-)

I decided not to be so hard on him. He's been helping a son build a brick
garage all week and now it's raining and I couldn't be so cruel ... I do
have a heart ...

Mary


.andy

To email, substitute .nospam with .gl

Mary Fisher wrote:
"Richard Sterry" wrote in message
...

There is a photo at http://www.sterry.org.uk/temp/garage_ceiling.jpg to
give you an idea of what I am talking about.

That's a garage???

But ... it's tidy!

I must show it to Spouse.

{Adopts slightly different posture}

Um, of course it's tidy - it's the ceiling. You should see the floor! ;-)

Rick

"Richard Sterry" wrote in message
...

{Adopts slightly different posture}

Um, of course it's tidy - it's the ceiling. You should see the floor!
;-)

Well show us a picture of that to make us less guilty ...

Mary

Rick

Mary Fisher wrote:
"Richard Sterry" wrote in message
...

{Adopts slightly different posture}

Um, of course it's tidy - it's the ceiling. You should see the floor! ;-)

Well show us a picture of that to make us less guilty ...

Oh heck, give me a little time and I'll fake some untidiness. ;-)

Rick

On Fri, 16 Apr 2004 20:26:31 +0100, "Richard Sterry"
wrote:

Mary Fisher wrote:
"Richard Sterry" wrote in message
...

There is a photo at http://www.sterry.org.uk/temp/garage_ceiling.jpg to
give you an idea of what I am talking about.

That's a garage???

But ... it's tidy!

I must show it to Spouse.

{Adopts slightly different posture}

Um, of course it's tidy - it's the ceiling. You should see the floor! ;-)

Rick


It's like I said to SWMBO once. "The garage is tidy, apart from the
stuff on the floor".



..andy

To email, substitute .nospam with .gl

On Fri, 16 Apr 2004 18:39:43 +0100, "Richard Sterry"
wrote:

I have a detached double garage, with an uninsulated roof decked with
chipboard (which is slowly disintegrating with age and damp) and covered in
ye olde 'tar and felt'.

All being well, it will soon be reroofed with insulation on top, (mostly to
keep it cooler in summer rather than warmer in winter), thus converting it
into a so-called 'hot roof'. Once this is done, it will (I believe) no
longer be necessary for me to leave the roof timbers (about 2" wide x 9"
deep joists) and the underside of the decking, exposed for ventilation
purposes. I could therefore fit some sort of ceiling, not for aesthetic
reasons, but so that it will not accumulate mucky cobwebs and dust, which
rain down on my prized vehicles and tools, and most important of all it will
help make the most of the interior lighting, (ie the ceiling will be white).
I have already painted the walls white and it made a huge difference to the
lighting, converting a dark and dirty space into a much lighter one that is
far more pleasant and practical to work in. My aim is to make it lighter and
nicer still.

My question is, bearing in mind that its purpose is not so much to look nice
like a ceiling inside the house, but to fulfil a practical need, what would
be the most suitable (and cheap) DIY material to use? I don't really want to
be messing about with plasterboard, (unless you can persuade me otherwise),
so I was wondering about white-finished hardboard (to save me having to
paint). In time, I am sure that it will sag and buckle a little, but as long
as it is not to too extreme a degree I could live with that.

In practice, I will probably leave a gap of several inches on either side,
ie at the ends of the joists, rather than continue the ceiling right to the
side walls. This is because (a) there is no positive source of heat in the
garage so perhaps a little ventilation wouldn't go amiss, and (b) there are
quite a few alarm and power cables fixed along at the ends of the joists,
and it would save having to disrupt them.

There is a photo at http://www.sterry.org.uk/temp/garage_ceiling.jpg to give
you an idea of what I am talking about. You can also see some of the
aforementioned cables.

Any thoughts?

Many thanks in advance, as they say.

I had a similar kind of scenario in a way, although my garage has a
pitched roof. I insulated next to the rafters and then created a
storage space by boarding over the tops of the joists with softwood
T&G.

From the underside it looks similar to your set up although the
joists are not quite as deep.

I kept the space and simply painted the boarding and joists in white.
You can then easily see any grot up there, but more to the point the
space is not wasted. You have about 250mm of height there which
could be used for storage, fitting lights, whatever.

It seems a shame to waste it.





..andy

To email, substitute .nospam with .gl

Andy Hall wrote:
I had a similar kind of scenario in a way, although my garage has a
pitched roof. I insulated next to the rafters and then created a
storage space by boarding over the tops of the joists with softwood
T&G.

From the underside it looks similar to your set up although the
joists are not quite as deep.

I kept the space and simply painted the boarding and joists in white.
You can then easily see any grot up there, but more to the point the
space is not wasted. You have about 250mm of height there which
could be used for storage, fitting lights, whatever.

It seems a shame to waste it.

Painting the joists and underside of the deck would be a rather long and
fiddly job, and it would still absorb a lot more of the light than a flat
ceiling. I can't do that with the present deck, as the chipboard is turning
busy back into individual little wood chips and is impossible to paint, but
yes I could theoretically do it with the new deck. However, the presence of
the sectional garage door runners and supports would limit my use of the
space between the joists. So, thanks for the suggestion, but on balance I am
happy to 'waste' the space - I have plenty of storage space elsewhere.
Conversion to a pitch roof would be a sensible, if costly option, but it
would create problems with the aesthetics of the property and rob light from
some of the house windows - pity!

Rick

In message , Andy Hall
writes
On Fri, 16 Apr 2004 18:39:43 +0100, "Richard Sterry"
wrote:

I have a detached double garage, with an uninsulated roof decked with
chipboard (which is slowly disintegrating with age and damp) and covered in
ye olde 'tar and felt'.

There is a photo at http://www.sterry.org.uk/temp/garage_ceiling.jpg to give
you an idea of what I am talking about. You can also see some of the
aforementioned cables.

Any thoughts?

Many thanks in advance, as they say.

I had a similar kind of scenario in a way, although my garage has a
pitched roof. I insulated next to the rafters and then created a
storage space by boarding over the tops of the joists with softwood
T&G.

From the underside it looks similar to your set up although the
joists are not quite as deep.

I kept the space and simply painted the boarding and joists in white.
You can then easily see any grot up there, but more to the point the
space is not wasted. You have about 250mm of height there which
could be used for storage, fitting lights,

Hanging motorbikes ...

--
geoff

"geoff" wrote in message
...

I kept the space and simply painted the boarding and joists in white.
You can then easily see any grot up there, but more to the point the
space is not wasted. You have about 250mm of height there which
could be used for storage, fitting lights,

Hanging motorbikes ...

Ladders, push bikes, lengths of timber - anything really.

Mary

--
geoff

On Fri, 16 Apr 2004 23:33:50 +0100, "Mary Fisher"
wrote:


"geoff" wrote in message
...

I kept the space and simply painted the boarding and joists in white.
You can then easily see any grot up there, but more to the point the
space is not wasted. You have about 250mm of height there which
could be used for storage, fitting lights,

Hanging motorbikes ...

Ladders, push bikes, lengths of timber - anything really.

Mary


I use the space over the doors as a timber rack...

It works well....




..andy

To email, substitute .nospam with .gl

"Andy Hall" wrote in message
news

I use the space over the doors as a timber rack...

It works well....

I puzzled about that then wondered if you had an up and over door. Our
garage doors are very sturdy steel ones which open outwards Well, one does,
the other is inaccessible because of the workbench against it in the carport
... :-)

Mary

geoff wrote:

Hanging motorbikes ...

Only for the bloke who drinks Carling Black Label, methinks. I certainly
can't lift 220kg (34 and a half stone) of bike!!

Rick

"Richard Sterry" wrote in message
...
geoff wrote:

Hanging motorbikes ...

Only for the bloke who drinks Carling Black Label, methinks. I certainly
can't lift 220kg (34 and a half stone) of bike!!

Pulleys.

Mary

Rick

On Sat, 17 Apr 2004 10:00:26 +0100, "Mary Fisher"
wrote:

Pulleys.

Levers.

PoP

---
http://www.ukdiy.org.uk

In message , Richard Sterry
writes
geoff wrote:

Hanging motorbikes ...

Only for the bloke who drinks Carling Black Label, methinks. I certainly
can't lift 220kg (34 and a half stone) of bike!!

Yeah, my Suzi weighs about that

Have you never heard of pulleys and block and tackle ?

--
geoff

geoff wrote:
In message , Richard Sterry
writes
geoff wrote:

Hanging motorbikes ...

Only for the bloke who drinks Carling Black Label, methinks. I certainly
can't lift 220kg (34 and a half stone) of bike!!

Yeah, my Suzi weighs about that

Have you never heard of pulleys and block and tackle ?

Er yes, but I've never met anyone mad enough to hoist a heavy motorcycle up
like that. A pedal bike, yes, but not a motorbike. No hang on, that's not
quite true, I *DO* know people who are mad enough to do that, but they just
don't happen to own motorcycles!

Rick F650GS / R1150GS

"geoff" wrote
| (34 and a half stone)
| Yeah, my Suzi weighs about that

I read that as Susie and thought, she's a big lass.

Owain

In message , Richard Sterry
writes

My question is, bearing in mind that its purpose is not so much to look nice
like a ceiling inside the house, but to fulfil a practical need, what would
be the most suitable (and cheap) DIY material to use? I don't really want to
be messing about with plasterboard, (unless you can persuade me otherwise),
so I was wondering about white-finished hardboard (to save me having to
paint). In time, I am sure that it will sag and buckle a little, but as long
as it is not to too extreme a degree I could live with that.

Don't be tempted to use hardboard, it will sag _a lot_ in garage
conditions (i.e. a bit damp).

12mm CDX (sheathing) ply would be a good choice.
Full WBP ply if you can afford it.
--
Steve

Steven Briggs wrote:

Don't be tempted to use hardboard, it will sag _a lot_ in garage
conditions (i.e. a bit damp).

12mm CDX (sheathing) ply would be a good choice.
Full WBP ply if you can afford it.

Of course I can afford it - I'm absolutely loaded. On the other hand, I am a
skinflint of the highest order!

Seriously, ta for the advice - genuinely appeciated.

Rick

On Fri, 16 Apr 2004 22:31:00 +0100, "Richard Sterry"
wrote:

Steven Briggs wrote:

Don't be tempted to use hardboard, it will sag _a lot_ in garage
conditions (i.e. a bit damp).

12mm CDX (sheathing) ply would be a good choice.
Full WBP ply if you can afford it.

Of course I can afford it - I'm absolutely loaded. On the other hand, I am a
skinflint of the highest order!

Seriously, ta for the advice - genuinely appeciated.

Hi,

6mm or even 4mm ply should do it, best to have it so the thicker
central ply runs across the rafters.

cheers,
Pete.

Pete C wrote:

6mm or even 4mm ply should do it, best to have it so the thicker
central ply runs across the rafters.

Thanks Pete. I think that's probably my best option.

Rick

On Fri, 16 Apr 2004 18:39:43 +0100, "Richard Sterry"
wrote:
I don't think it will meet your dust and cobweb free requirement, but
what I have done is get a 100m roll of silverised bubblewrap (£60) and
put it both between the corrugated roof and the felt and also between
the felt and the inside of the garage. It is an excellent reflector
of light, so brightens up the garage no end.

Peter
I have a detached double garage, with an uninsulated roof decked with
chipboard (which is slowly disintegrating with age and damp) and covered in
ye olde 'tar and felt'.

All being well, it will soon be reroofed with insulation on top, (mostly to
keep it cooler in summer rather than warmer in winter), thus converting it
into a so-called 'hot roof'. Once this is done, it will (I believe) no
longer be necessary for me to leave the roof timbers (about 2" wide x 9"
deep joists) and the underside of the decking, exposed for ventilation
purposes. I could therefore fit some sort of ceiling, not for aesthetic
reasons, but so that it will not accumulate mucky cobwebs and dust, which
rain down on my prized vehicles and tools, and most important of all it will
help make the most of the interior lighting, (ie the ceiling will be white).
I have already painted the walls white and it made a huge difference to the
lighting, converting a dark and dirty space into a much lighter one that is
far more pleasant and practical to work in. My aim is to make it lighter and
nicer still.

My question is, bearing in mind that its purpose is not so much to look nice
like a ceiling inside the house, but to fulfil a practical need, what would
be the most suitable (and cheap) DIY material to use? I don't really want to
be messing about with plasterboard, (unless you can persuade me otherwise),
so I was wondering about white-finished hardboard (to save me having to
paint). In time, I am sure that it will sag and buckle a little, but as long
as it is not to too extreme a degree I could live with that.

In practice, I will probably leave a gap of several inches on either side,
ie at the ends of the joists, rather than continue the ceiling right to the
side walls. This is because (a) there is no positive source of heat in the
garage so perhaps a little ventilation wouldn't go amiss, and (b) there are
quite a few alarm and power cables fixed along at the ends of the joists,
and it would save having to disrupt them.

There is a photo at http://www.sterry.org.uk/temp/garage_ceiling.jpg to give
you an idea of what I am talking about. You can also see some of the
aforementioned cables.

Any thoughts?

Many thanks in advance, as they say.

Peter wrote:
On Fri, 16 Apr 2004 18:39:43 +0100, "Richard Sterry"
wrote:
I don't think it will meet your dust and cobweb free requirement, but
what I have done is get a 100m roll of silverised bubblewrap (£60) and
put it both between the corrugated roof and the felt and also between
the felt and the inside of the garage. It is an excellent reflector
of light, so brightens up the garage no end.

Thanks, Peter, an interesting idea for sure.

Bye from Rick

PS: Please post replies at the bottom, otherwise people start getting rather
snotty!

On Fri, 16 Apr 2004 18:39:43 +0100, "Richard Sterry"
wrote:


My question is, bearing in mind that its purpose is not so much to look nice
like a ceiling inside the house, but to fulfil a practical need, what would
be the most suitable (and cheap) DIY material to use? I don't really want to
be messing about with plasterboard, (unless you can persuade me otherwise),

When we built our garage I lined the roof with plasterboard sheets
and painted them white for the same reasons you want to. The
plasterboard was simply screwed in place - no skimming or filling.
It was simple to do (although you need some props and assistance) and
looks as new after 12 years. No cars are in the garage though :-).

--
Peter Parry.
http://www.wpp.ltd.uk/

Peter Parry wrote:

When we built our garage I lined the roof with plasterboard sheets
and painted them white for the same reasons you want to. The
plasterboard was simply screwed in place - no skimming or filling.
It was simple to do (although you need some props and assistance) and
looks as new after 12 years. No cars are in the garage though :-).

Hmmm, plasterboard is fairly heavy stuff and my poor old neck and back
aren't too good these days, but I haven't yet checked to see if it's cheaper
than thin ply.

Thanks

Rick

In an earlier contribution to this discussion,
Richard Sterry wrote:

Peter Parry wrote:

When we built our garage I lined the roof with plasterboard sheets
and painted them white for the same reasons you want to. The
plasterboard was simply screwed in place - no skimming or filling.
It was simple to do (although you need some props and assistance) and
looks as new after 12 years. No cars are in the garage though :-).

Hmmm, plasterboard is fairly heavy stuff and my poor old neck and back
aren't too good these days, but I haven't yet checked to see if it's
cheaper than thin ply.

Thanks

Rick

I imagine it's a *lot* cheaper than plywood. If you're doing it on your own,
6 x 3 sheets are a lot easier to handle than 8 x 4's. You can get a support
rod - which can be jacked up using a handle like that on a sealant gun - for
about 20 quid from the likes of Screwfix.

--
Cheers,
Set Square
______
Please reply to newsgroup. Reply address is Black Hole!

On Sat, 17 Apr 2004 18:20:12 +0100, "Richard Sterry"
wrote:


Hmmm, plasterboard is fairly heavy stuff and my poor old neck and back
aren't too good these days, but I haven't yet checked to see if it's cheaper
than thin ply.

It's a lot cheaper than ply - when I did it I made a couple of simple
"U" shaped props to hold it in place (as someone else has said you
can buy proper adjustable supports) so you were not wrestling with
huge sheets of the stuff but two of us managed the job quite easily.

--
Peter Parry.
http://www.wpp.ltd.uk/