Home Page link

To finish or not to finish the drywall

Home| Search | About
Login Password
Register Now! Lost Password?

Home Repair - - If it ain't broken, don't fix it. Otherwise look here. 

Page 1 of 2       1 2 > last >> Bookmark this page:  YahooMyWeb Yahoo!  Google Google  Windows Live Favorites Windows Live  del.icio.us del.icio.us  digg digg  Add to Netscape Netscape
Subject Author Date
To finish or not to finish the drywall Eigenvector 11-12-2006
If you were  Registered and logged in, you could reply and use other advanced thread options
Posted by Eigenvector on November 12, 2006, 5:16 pm


We finished routing the wires for the outlets and lighting in the basement
and now am stuck wondering if we should put the drywall up or not.

This is for a basement re-wire job that I recently completed.

I mentioned to my buddy that I intended on putting the ceiling drywall on
first, as is recommended, then finishing with the walls. That said, he
mentioned that it might be a better idea to leave the ceiling unfinished so
as to make other rewiring jobs easier. The thought is that by leaving the
ceiling open you could push wires down from the box, through the floorplate
and into the basement. From the basement you could then route the wires
over to where you need to go. I'm on the fence as I think that routing the
wires from the attic would be much easier and would allow me to finally
close up the basement into a nice cozy room.

So a couple of questions. Is it vital to put the ceiling on first when
drywalling a room? Second, does his argument make sense given that the
wires are run from the attic currently?



Posted by on November 12, 2006, 5:38 pm


I don't think the order (ceiling first or not) is the deciding factor.
It depends on a couple things, and I write this as someone who has had
to rip ceilings out of the basements in two old houses:

a. do you anticipate needing access to your mechanicals ?

b. is there any dampness ?

Personally I would not drywall a basement ceiling but lots of people do
it. If you get all your pipes and ducts and wires how you want them
and the basement is dry, sure. It makes that space more valuable on
resale if it is viewed as liveable.


Posted by Eigenvector on November 12, 2006, 8:17 pm



>I don't think the order (ceiling first or not) is the deciding factor.
> It depends on a couple things, and I write this as someone who has had
> to rip ceilings out of the basements in two old houses:
>
> a. do you anticipate needing access to your mechanicals ?
>
> b. is there any dampness ?
>
> Personally I would not drywall a basement ceiling but lots of people do
> it. If you get all your pipes and ducts and wires how you want them
> and the basement is dry, sure. It makes that space more valuable on
> resale if it is viewed as liveable.
>

Hmm, I've not seen any evidence of dampness, the actual basement is
structured like a room, so having drywall on the ceiling would be a plus.

I don't believe that I'll need access to any mechanicals, there aren't any
pipes in that area at all.



Posted by HeyBub on November 12, 2006, 5:51 pm



> We finished routing the wires for the outlets and lighting in the basement
> and now am stuck wondering if we should put the drywall up or not.
>
> This is for a basement re-wire job that I recently completed.
>
> I mentioned to my buddy that I intended on putting the ceiling drywall on
> first, as is recommended, then finishing with the walls. That said, he
> mentioned that it might be a better idea to leave the ceiling unfinished
> so as to make other rewiring jobs easier. The thought is that by leaving
> the ceiling open you could push wires down from the box, through the
> floorplate and into the basement. From the basement you could then route
> the wires over to where you need to go. I'm on the fence as I think that
> routing the wires from the attic would be much easier and would allow me
> to finally close up the basement into a nice cozy room.
>
> So a couple of questions. Is it vital to put the ceiling on first when
> drywalling a room? Second, does his argument make sense given that the
> wires are run from the attic currently?

Compromise with a drop ceiling. Best of both worlds.



Posted by JoeSpareBedroom on November 12, 2006, 6:40 pm


> We finished routing the wires for the outlets and lighting in the basement
> and now am stuck wondering if we should put the drywall up or not.
>
> This is for a basement re-wire job that I recently completed.
>
> I mentioned to my buddy that I intended on putting the ceiling drywall on
> first, as is recommended, then finishing with the walls. That said, he
> mentioned that it might be a better idea to leave the ceiling unfinished
> so as to make other rewiring jobs easier. The thought is that by leaving
> the ceiling open you could push wires down from the box, through the
> floorplate and into the basement. From the basement you could then route
> the wires over to where you need to go. I'm on the fence as I think that
> routing the wires from the attic would be much easier and would allow me
> to finally close up the basement into a nice cozy room.
>
> So a couple of questions. Is it vital to put the ceiling on first when
> drywalling a room? Second, does his argument make sense given that the
> wires are run from the attic currently?
>

Others can address this question, but no matter how or when you cover it,
I'd photograph pipes and other breakables in enormous detail before covering
them up. Then, print the pictures and stick them in a loose leaf binder with
notes, and a drawn map of where the pictures were taken. And, I'm not
talking about out of focus, washed out too-much-flash pictures from a cheap
ass point & shoot camera. Even if you have to borrow or buy something that
actually works, make sure the pictures are good ones.



Page 1 of 2       1 2 > last >>
Similar ThreadsPosted
Finish on Hardwoods July 25, 2005, 7:11 am
deck finish September 3, 2005, 2:13 am
deck finish October 3, 2005, 3:59 am
Wood finish June 14, 2006, 3:21 pm
Floor finish April 30, 2007, 9:03 am
Cedar Siding - Best Finish ???? July 29, 2005, 4:51 am
Finish for new pine floor October 19, 2005, 10:42 am
Whitened Acrylic Finish October 5, 2005, 2:32 pm
Damaged Floor Finish September 15, 2005, 2:21 pm
hardwood floor finish December 20, 2005, 9:31 pm

Contact Us | Privacy Policy

XML SitemapXML Sitemap