DIY & Home Improvement

Last edited Wed Apr 10, 2013, 12:46 PM - Edit history (1)

I think you have to look at it through what you don't know before you go into how you will go about
fixing the problem. It comes down to this- if you are going to venture into it, you first remove the drop ceiling -the 1x's 2's carefully and from there see what you got. Even before you remove those 1x's 2's you should have a pretty idea of what you are up against in so far as the damage to the sheet rock .

The first question that comes to mind is why is there so much damage to the drop ceiling tiles ?
One poster mentioned a roof leak- that is possible. And again is there a second story ?

If it were me ,I would want to know why that drop ceiling was installed -to know that removing it will tell the story.

If you find the sheet rock ceiling is warped due to water damage the only way to fix that is to
demo the ceiling and hang new sheet rock.

At this stage in it you cannot be advised until you know what you are up against-,removing the drop ceiling will show you what the underlined problem is'.

After you know what you are up against ,that is when you go into the corrective measure stage in your project.

What it comes down to is you want to know or you don't. The previous owner decided to do the drop ceiling -cover the problem up- easy-cheaper and less of a mess.

It does you no good to be advised on how to apply tape and mud until you know what the extent of the problem is. demo is the first phase of your project. After that you will know what you are up against.

Again if the ceiling is warped badly due to water damage or some such issue,you will have to demo it and hang new sheet rock.

And, bin sober made a point about the application of tape and mud- there are no short cuts-you always sand between applications of the mud. There is a method and done correctly you simply swipe over the areas you apply the mud -pole sanders are good for that job. You can buy a apparatus that attach's to your industrial vac. that way all the sanding debris is sucked up.
On the final sand you must feather it all in. But you are not at that stage in your project.

A lot of contractors like that u mix mud- hot mud.
However there is a mixing technique and experience applies.Ready mix if perfectly ok for the beginner. There is a new product out for the final application of the mud- it is pre mix and a low or no dust . I used the stuff on a job in a office building recently and it did surprise me that the stuff does what it says it does. The dust falls straight down and does not travel.

You get sheet dust,debris traveling through a house and that is a cleaning nightmare.
The new stuff is great for repairs- the debris falls straight down and does not travel. It is amazing.