Ceiling under house garage

[HayHay]

Hey Every one, I am wanting to build a small studio. A space for drawing and what not. 

I live in a Queenslander style House That is built in underneath (Cinderblocks) 

I want to wall off an end add a door and a ceiling. My issues are all of our electrical / plumbing sits lower than the joists.

This poses 2 issues for me. 1, I do not want to use plaster and have something go wrong with the plumbing or electrical and have to rip holes every time it needs to be fixed. & 2 What Can I use to attach what ever I am using to the joists? 

Would MDF 3mm be an option? cut in smaller pieces and screwed not nailed to make for easy removal? 

Should note. am on a budget also. The boss says I cant go "silly" I am also aware the room will not meet minimum height requirements for a bedroom. Not a concern, it will be pulled down before we leave the house any way.

Thanks in advance for any suggestions

[MitchellMc]

Welcome to the Bunnings Workshop community @HayHay. It's wonderful that you've joined us, and many thanks for your questions.

You might like to show us some images of the space so our members can better visualize your requirements. That will allow them to offer some great solutions for your project.

Almost every home is built with plumbing and electrical work enclosed behind plasterboard. Unless there are some pre-existing issues, the likelihood of needing access is relatively low. Using 3mm MDF or 3mm Plywood screwed into the framework could be an option. In saying that, you could also screw plasterboard to the frame, and that would be just as easy to remove for access. We also have a range of access panels if you wanted to fix the sheeting more permanently. You could strategically place one or more of these panels where the main electrical and plumbing work is located.

This sounds like a fantastic project, and I'm keen to follow along, assisting as you go. I also look forward to seeing some images of the space, and please let us know if you have further questions.

Mitchell

[redracer01]

Hello @HayHay 

Hello and welcome to Bunnings Workshop. Have you thought about painting the ceiling all black matt? Modern office studios and the new trendy offices paint all their industrial fittings black to save on money when decorating their offices. They then use the extra money to make fantastic looking walls and dividers. I would suggest giving the ceiling area a tidy up and maybe secure the electrical wires with zip ties so that it looks quite organized. Then spray paint it black, I would suggest looking at modern industrial office designs with black ceilings to give you possible ideas. I have also seen it done in reverse where the whole thing was painted in white. The trick to the entire set I believe is to have proper lighting pointing down and highlighting a chair or table and the ceiling is largely ignored but should you see it is not a consequence as it is very well camouflaged in to the surroundings! Doing a general search on the net I saw a few designs that could possibly work.

The other direction is to use timber slats on a frame. Using timber slats with a fixed mounting point you can then remove the slats if you need to repair something and put it back in after the repair is done. Again the trick to this set up is the lighting, as long as it does not highlight the fact that there's nothing behind it, it will look very professional. I hope my suggestions help and please keep us updated to what you have decided to put in. Good luck and stay safe.

Cheers,

Red

You can build it in sections so that it is removable.

[StevieB]

Great ideas and reference images, @redracer01. Thanks for sharing. Your input is always appreciated.

Stevie

[HayHay]

Thank you  

I love the black. It looks great. However I live in North queensland and the reasons for wanting the room built in is so we can put an aircon in too. Unfortunately as it is there is just too many gaps and gets wayy to hot. Whats better to use to attach to the joists? Metal or wood batten? 

With the metal batten how do they actually work? I see there are multiple options. And I think direct install would suit. But does the plaster just screw to the metal or go through both? The metal just doesn't seem strong enough to hold? 

Sorry for so many questions. Never done anything like this before 

[MitchellMc · Accepted solution]

Hi @HayHay,

I believe your easiest option will be fixing some timber battens to the underside of the floor joists. The battens would only need to be as thick as the pipework. Alternatively, you could have the pipework relocated and screw the sheeting directly into the floor joists.

The Knauf 22 x 6100mm Cyclonic Ceiling Batten is a direct fix application and has a wide flange at the base of each leg, which allows for direct screw fixing to the joists' underside. Your sheeting will then be fixed to the face of the batten with screws. Your screws do not need to penetrate through into the timber. They are used quite extensively in the building industry and are more than adequate to support plasterboard.

Keep the questions coming. We're here to help.

Mitchell