Designing Kitchens and Bathrooms - rock on rock

hey guys I'm guting my main bathroom and was thinking of putting 3/8 over the top of the old ceiling. My last bath project I took the ceiling down what a mess. Is this a ok idea? The ceiling right now is in tough shape with reacurring mildew. Any tips on putting it in place?

I'd wash that mildew down with a solution of bleach & water, 50/50, & even a coat of kilz over it wouldn't hurt to make sure the algae is dead & completely sealed.

You can definitely go over the existing ceiling with new drywall. Thickness you use will depend on the joist spacing, if it's on 16" centers, you can go with 1/2" rock, anything over that & you need to move up to 5/8" rock, which I always use on bathroom lids, regardless of joist spacing. My reasoning is it's stiffer & less likely to be affected by moisture or to sag. We do not ever use greenboard on lids, the book says you can with joist spacing of 12"o/c or less, but you rarely to never have this situation, so it's kind of a moot point antway.

Hope that helps, post back if you've still got questions. Good luck!

thanks for your help I think I'm going to put 1/2" rock over the old. The ceiling seems too saturated. I'd rather start new. Thanks again OTTOCAT

The ceiling seems too saturated.

If the ceiling is wet, you're going to have to let it dry out completely before you lay new drywall over it or the new stuff will absorb moisture from the old & you end up with a new mess.

Good luck.