Hi,
I am a bit confuse. A piece of drywall is about 150-200 pounds. It is VERY HEAVY.
How can you fasten the drywall with a bunch of tiny screws to the ceilling? The screws will just punch through the paper and the very heavy piece of drywall will just fall down. Will it not?
Maybe you should put up smaller/thinner sheets - like 1/2" x 4' x 8' - those are only about a third of the weight you mention.
Nope.
R
It will not. A 1/2" x 4x8 sheet of drywall weighs about 65 lbs. Screws are place a minimum of every 8 inches on the edges, and 12" in the field. That's a minimum of 42 screws per sheet, each one only has to hold a pound-ana-half. Of course, you need to get a bunch in, spread over the sheet, before you let any weight bear on them. But a dozen well placed screws will easily hold up the sheet while you get the rest in.
Dennis
No.... And the reason is simply, "Strength in numbers".
Did you actually WEIGH the drywall sheets you are going to use or is that just a very poor WAG on your part? 150-200 pounds sounds damn high to me unless you're using VERY thick drywall.
Per the US Gysum website, 5/8" thick gypsum panels weight 2.2 lbs per square foot, or about 70 lbs for a 4 by 8 panel. So where does your
150-200 lb figure come from Tom?Jeff
Well.. since there are many thousands of homes across the face of the planet with drywall ceilings, I guess the answer is: "No, it will not". &FWIW, a 4x8 sheet of 5/8 drywall weighs closer to 70 pounds. There should be around 32 nails or screws in a 4x8 sheet, so they're only holding up around 2# each.
I see.
But... I also have the same 4x8 drywall on the wall... I grab the top and then I pull it out. It come right down with all the screws still in the studs... So... I am thinking... if I can just pull it out with my bare hand... there is no way for the drywall not to come down by its own on the ceilling...
I double checked what I had. It was 5/8" 4x8 white drywall I was lifting to the ceiling. So, it was 70 pounds not 150+. It DID feel like 150+ pounds though. It took 3 of us to lift it up to the ceiling.
&FWIW, a 4x8 sheet of 5/8 drywall weighs closer to 70I can't explain it either. I am always amazed when a few screws hold an entire sheet. Multiply the problem a little to get more comfortable with the issues. We did an x-ray lab at a military base that had 1/8 lead sheets bonded to the back of the drywall. Those sheets went over 300 lbs. Same drywall screws, no glue, no failures, oh, by the way, one has to put a small lead slug over the screw heads to maintain the shielding. Puts a whole new meaning to letting the lift go from under the sheets. ______________________________ Keep the whole world singing . . . . DanG (remove the sevens) snipped-for-privacy@7cox.net
there are drywall lifts to make lifting quick and easy. used when you have a lot to put up. you can also use a 2 by 4 with a piece screwed across the top
High prices hold it up.
More seriously, we use 32 screws or more on half inch four by eight. It's about sixty pounds, so that's less than two pounds per screw.
If we're doing five eighths, we double screw.
Haven't had any fall down yet.
Ken
Don't underestimate the power of threads!
I've pulled engines out of cars with four 3/8s bolts. Actually engine with transmission still attached - all held up with a carb plate with four 3/8s bolts holding it onto an aluminum intake. That's like 800lbs engine and transmission for a Hemi!
Listen to Dennis - he's right. The screws distribute the load.
-CF
Hold on there, buckeroo! You're telling us that some guy with a .22 would plug all of the screw heads?! How far away was he standing? ;)
R
Think about tearing a piece of cloth. If you start a tear at one edge you can easily rip it the rest of the way. But if you try and tear it all at once by pulling straight out from opposite ends chances are you won't be strong enough to do it.
It's all a matter of how much of the structure is taking nearly all of the force you are applying.
When you pulled on the top edge of that panel on the wall nearly all of your pulling force was being resisted by just a few screws near the top. When those screws tore through your force was then applied to a few more screws further down, similar to tearing a piece of cloth.
Got it now?
Jeff
I hung three rooms, walls and ceilings last month with 4'X12'X1/2" sheets. Rented a drywall lift for $20 a day and did it alone in a day.
Nothing to it.
I don't know if you are doubting the story or not. Here is one of many sites that deal with lead lined rock:
B. Fasteners: Use wallboard screws along with manufacturer's standard lead protection device for covering head of screw after installation.
These round lead disks, typically called slugs, come in sacks with the job. They are hand installed.
______________________________ Keep the whole world singing . . . . DanG (remove the sevens) snipped-for-privacy@7cox.net
My curious mind wants to know.....
What's the approximate diameter and thickness of those disks and how are they "installed"? Adhesively or what? And what do you need to do to blend them into a flat surface if that's required? Lots of drywall mud?
Jeff
Except for the weight being wrong, the OP was right. Those screws wont hold forever. Some day the ceiling will just fall. This usually occurs one of 5 possible times. 1. when a person is sitting on the toilet and releasing lots of toxic gas into the vibrating ceiling fan.
The solution to this: DO NOT use drywall on the ceiling. Use canvas or cardboard. OR at least put the drywall on the TOP of the ceiling joists.
There you go..... Problem solved !!!!
Think Gulliver and the Lilliputians.
I do not doubt the veracity of your anecdote. Your sanity on the other hand... ;)
I just liked the mental image of a guy plugging the wall with bullets. I'm sure it would be faster and a hell of a lot more fun!
By the way, to an entomologist lead slug would indicate an alpha mollusk without a shell.
The term "buckeroo" shall hereafter be construed to be the equivalent of ;)
RHomeOwnersHub website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.