Walls and Ceilings - update on tin ceiling versus drywall

I am replacing the really nasty acoustic tile ceilings in the dining room and living room of my 150 year old house with either drywall or tin ceilings. They are 12ft ceilings and the square footage is 620 total for both rooms. I just got an estimate for drywall with taping and primer coat for both rooms for $1,200. I am totally new at this and trying to determine which, tin or drywall, is going to give me the most bang for the buck. I have no idea if this is a reasonable esimate and would really like some feedback before choosing whether I want the tin or drywall.
Thanks for any feedback.

If the drywall bid was for tearing out the old plaster & lath ceiling, hang & finish new board on a 12' lid, I'd say that's a very good price.

The tin ceiling would need a solid backer behind it.

I agree with Dell'. Code might demand that you hang drywall before tin anyway. Don't know where you live.

Hi again,
Thanks much for the replies. The estimate is for putting drywall over the existing lath and plaster and taping and mudding. I can't remove the lath and plaster due to build up of coal dust above. The house is from 1849. Others I know in the neighborhood have removed the lath/plaster and had disasterous coal dust removal problems.



As for the tin ceilings, most of the info. I've looked at suggest using plywood as backing?

I live in Northern Kentucky.
Thanks again!

I thought I'd reposte this because I was gone for 2 days and guess maybe the thread was dead?

Anyway....thanks much for the replies. The estimate of 1,200.00 for 620 sq.ft. is for putting drywall over the existing lath and plaster and taping and mudding. As far as I understand, I can't remove the lath and plaster due to build up of coal dust above. The house is from 1849. Others I know in the neighborhood have removed the lath/plaster and had disasterous coal dust removal problems. Does this sound reasonable?


As for the tin ceilings, most of the info. I've looked at suggest using plywood as backing? Any thoughts on plywood versus drywall? Seems kindof a waste fo drywall effort to just cover it?

I live in Northern Kentucky.
Thanks again for any feedback.

When you go to the main page where the various current ?'s are listed, if you'll scroll down, you'll see a link & drop down menu which says. { Showing threads 1 to 17 of 17, sorted by last post time in descending order, from last 2 days.} You just need to click on the last drop down & choose a longer period of time. After I finish this reply, I'll merge this new thread with your old just to tidy things up & helps any future posters to know the whole situation.

OK now to the actual question de jour :D, I would whole heartedly agree, you need to cover what's there!! You do not want all that coal dust accumulated from 100+ yrs dropping into the occupied space of the home. We don't have the coal dust thing here, but I worked in older homes on gravel roads that have had a tremendous build up of dust in their attics & removing old ceilings, just isn't a practical solution in that sort of case. Old & sometimes hazardous insulation materials pose a similiar risk.

If you decide to go with the tin ceiling, I'd think a layer of just like 1/4" luan material would suffice, but do follow material manufacturer's recommendations for approriate guidelines.

The $1200 quote you got for the 620 s/f ceiling seems kinda high to me, in this part of the country that would be like a $750 job & if you were going to put the tin over it, all I would do is hang it and tape it & let it go at that. This is commonly known in the trade as "fire-taping". Honestly if you folks are physically capable of the labor, no reason not to do that yourself. At the very least, get a couple of more bids.

As coops suggested earlier, local bldg & fire code may require you put drywall up.



After reading thru the entire thread again, I see that we've failed to ever ask about the condition of the existing P&L ceiling. If you press on the plaster does it feel spongy or is it still firmly bonded to the lath but with some cracking? If it's still tightly bonded you could apply your tin directly over it or there are other options available as well. USG & several other manufacturers make some very nice looking interlocking ceiling tile systems that simulate ornate plaster ceilings & look very attractive. Let us know about the condition of the existing ceiling & we'll go from there.

Uh oh... I hadn't heard back from the posting so I told the contractor I thought it was a go....but, I haven't signed a contract, supposedly tomorrow, so here is the update.


His estimate includes sheetrocking over the pre-existing ceilings and installing wiring and a ceiling light fixture in one room. He will tape and mud and install trim inboth rooms. I am supposed to prime and let him know if I want anything smoothed etc. before painting.

As for the condition of the ceilings, we tore out the acoustic tile in one room and there are 1 x 2 wood strips placed every 14-16 inches which supported the tiles. Above that is the original plaster which is in pretty good shape for most of the ceiling, but crumbling and falling on a few spots where you can see the lath above. I know the other room definitelyhas a small ( 2 x 2 ft.) area of water damage, but haven't taken out the acoustic tiles to look at that one.

So.... does it still seem like a high estimate. I hate to feel like a target for a rip off, but I just don't know what rates for this area and this type of ceiling work are like. If it were a wall, I'd be happpy to try it myself, but I am just one 110 lb person so can't envision throwing those boards up there on my own.

Any advice appreciated.
Thanks,
Evon

I'm not a drywaller, but the bid sounds reasonable to me for the work being performed.

I'd just like to add my 2 cents in regards to the tin ceiling. Take a look at some of the faux-tin ceiling wallpaper being sold at Lowes and Home Depot. I've installed several of these in the past couple of months, and they look incredible. They can be painted any color you want, even a bronze, gold, or copper color. And the labor/materials cost beats a true tin ceiling by a long shot.

I agree with prowallguy, worth the price charged for the work that's involved. Haven't seen the wallpaper he's talking about, but I'm not in the paper-hanging biz, but it definitely sounds like it might be worth a look see.

The coal dust problem is a new one for me. So, there's no way to access from above?

If you can access from above you could vac/blow it out.


Either that, or lock it in place with some sort of paint, adhesive or perhaps a few buckets of sheetrock mud, then remove the ceiling.

I'm assuming Evon went ahead with the $1200 quote which for wiring, drywall, and trim work is a fair price, perhaps even a tad lower than I would have bid it myself. ;)

You could vaccum it out, personally I would want it out of my house, but you'd want it professionally done with a truck or trailer mounted sytem that removed, collected it & disposed of it elsewhere. You be a month with a shop vac. :D

I think trying to seal it up would prove a messy venture in futilaty. Given the condition of the ceilings, I think overlaying them with new drywall is the best option.

IMO, this is $1200 well spent.