Reusing and/or recycling drywall for soundproofing ceiling project
February 9, 2013 9:58 AM Subscribe
I am planning to attempt to soundproof my ceiling of my condo. I plan to use a method that includes adding drywall/green glue between the floor joists and then adding additional drywall below. (example)
I was wondering if there were any problems in carefully tearing down the drywall that is there and using it for the smaller areas between the floor joists (i.e., taking down larger pieces out, cutting them to size, and using them for the inner floor joist area). I'd have to get new drywall for the outside, but I am trying to minimize cost and waste.
Is this reasonable?
Best answer: Assuming the exsisting drywall isn't mouldy there isn't any safety reason not to do this. It's going to be difficult to get the dry wall down in pieces large enough to make it worth it. But it won't cost you anything to try.
If I was attempting to do this I'd use a stud finder to determine where the joists are; snap a chalk line at the edges and then use a skil saw set at the thickness of the drywall to cut the pieces at the chalk line. If you cut just over top of the joist then you should end up with sections of dry wall wide enough to rasp down to fit in the joist bays. You'll need someone to hold the dry wall up while you cut. Wear safety glasses; you'll be cutting the occasional nail.
Be aware this is a lot easier to do in new construction than retrofit. There might be all sorts of pipe, wire, cross bracing and ducting in the joist space that will get in the way of getting sheets of drywall up there.
posted by Mitheral at 10:12 AM on February 9, 2013
If I was attempting to do this I'd use a stud finder to determine where the joists are; snap a chalk line at the edges and then use a skil saw set at the thickness of the drywall to cut the pieces at the chalk line. If you cut just over top of the joist then you should end up with sections of dry wall wide enough to rasp down to fit in the joist bays. You'll need someone to hold the dry wall up while you cut. Wear safety glasses; you'll be cutting the occasional nail.
Be aware this is a lot easier to do in new construction than retrofit. There might be all sorts of pipe, wire, cross bracing and ducting in the joist space that will get in the way of getting sheets of drywall up there.
posted by Mitheral at 10:12 AM on February 9, 2013
I will take hours and hours of dusty, sweaty labor to salvage drywall that is nailed to the joists. On the other hand, it takes literally 10 seconds to cut a strip of drywall from unfixed, new sheets using a utility knife. As Carterk said, drywall is very cheap in the scheme of things.
The typical way of removing ceilings is to make a hole, grab the edge with your hands and wiggle it while pulling down gently to try to remove the nails with the drywall. The goal is to try to get the biggest pieces possible. If the drywall is screwed, this will be more difficult. Using this method you can remove an entire ceiling in just a few minutes. Otherwise you could spend days trying to salvage usable pieces.
If you go to all this trouble for sound proofing, you should seriously consider using isolation channeling to reduce direct sound transmission through the joists. In fact, if I were doing it, I would skip the drywall between joints, fill it with fiberglass insulation and use sound channeling to attach double drywall, with Green Glue in between.
posted by JackFlash at 11:44 AM on February 9, 2013
The typical way of removing ceilings is to make a hole, grab the edge with your hands and wiggle it while pulling down gently to try to remove the nails with the drywall. The goal is to try to get the biggest pieces possible. If the drywall is screwed, this will be more difficult. Using this method you can remove an entire ceiling in just a few minutes. Otherwise you could spend days trying to salvage usable pieces.
If you go to all this trouble for sound proofing, you should seriously consider using isolation channeling to reduce direct sound transmission through the joists. In fact, if I were doing it, I would skip the drywall between joints, fill it with fiberglass insulation and use sound channeling to attach double drywall, with Green Glue in between.
posted by JackFlash at 11:44 AM on February 9, 2013
Response by poster: Still learning about sound proofing, but wouldn't channeling require the ceiling to be even lower? I don't really think I can afford to lose 2" on my current ceiling. Also, if talking about triple drywalling a 965 sqft place---reusing to save 1/3 of the cost is helpful. Also, I have more time than money--but I am still considering options.
posted by lccslug at 12:35 PM on February 9, 2013
posted by lccslug at 12:35 PM on February 9, 2013
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posted by carterk at 10:01 AM on February 9, 2013