Our whole house has the one foot ceiling tiles on the ceiling. They have been there for 25 years and now have a ripple effect throughout, much like ripples in the water. We want to drywall the ceilings. My question is this: my husband says that we can put the drywall right over the ceiling tile, but I want to take the ceiling tiles down and start from scratch. I have been told that eventually the ripple effect of the ceiling tiles will transfer to the drywall if we put the drywall right over top of the ceiling tiles. We have had to fix some of the ceiling tiles as well as they fall out!
Answer:
I have to admire your husbands attempt but this time, he'll have to change his mind. The ripples are there because of a moisture problem and until you track down the source, you shouldn't put anything up there. The tiles come down, 6mm poly vapour barrier goes up under the insultion and then at least half-inch drywall. The thicker the drywall the better because its a great temperature retaining medium and can be the major heat loss feature of the house.
Courtesy of Ren Molnar, Construction Consultant at HomeFocus.com. I can also be reached at (613) 748-3003 and Home Focus – The Radio Show is broadcast live 8 to 10 A.M. (Ottawa, Ont. time) on Saturdays on www.cfra.com. In the interests of retaining credibility and in fairness to all, I do not recommend prices, people nor companies for various projects.
