Was cleaning out the garage today... Still need to wire and insulate, but I was thinking... Drywall is heavy. Is it smart to use for a ceiling in a garage? Would 1/8" or 1/4" pressboard work?
2/3 of the garage is done with 2x10" trusses with attic space above. The other third is 2x4" trusses (Might be 2x6". Can't remember).The weight really doesn't matter that much. Even a light sheet of material is tough to handle in 4x8 size. Do yourself a favor and rent a drywall jack. I tried to put up a couple of sheets on my garage ceiling without one, what a hassle. I went and rented one and it went *so* much easier. I also used it to put up the 8' fluorescent light fixtures.
Only if you want a major fire hazard. I put 1/2" and even 5/8" drywall on garage ceilings all the time. Just about every new house has drywall in the garage and on the ceiling. The trusses are designed to hold it. As J.A. suggested, rent a drywall lift if you are working alone. A 4x8 sheet of
1/2" is easy for a single experienced hanger to hang alone on a bench. The bench costs only about $250 and are not available from many places to rent. If you have a pickup truck you might be able to do it with one other person quite easily. Except in CA, you simply run the drywall across the trusses (taper running across the truss, cut end along the edge of the truss), put nails on each side of the drywall into each truss, and put 3 evenly spaced screws across the face into each truss. On the butt joints (the cut edges) you need to put nails or screws every 6" or so, at least 9 into each edge, if you want smooth joints after taping.It ususally takes 2 of us about 3 hours to do a whole 3 car garage, ceilings and walls.
Good advice by other posters. Lightweight material will also sag and look really bad after a short time.
Don Young
Still need to wire and insulate, but
I'd check local code too. I'm not sure what pressboard is with regard to building material, but I doubt it would meet building code in the US. Drywall is typically required and if it seperates the garage from a living space, it typically has to be fire rated.
Thanks all!
I should have noted that this is a standalone garage. No other structures around it.
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