Need to remove all the ceiling drywall in a one story block wall house. All insulation removed. All wire removed. No a/c or heating to worry about. Plus, the walls are painted block that will remain so. In essence….a no worries for the removal.
wondering if there is a cool method I’m not aware of. In the past I’ve used the “wiggle” technique….not a bad way.
anybody ever tried laying 2x next to the joist and pounding down…maybe saw all between joist then wiggle or pound.
any experience would be greatly appreciated.
Replies
Hire a couple of big teenage boys. Pay by the hour, give them a room each, first one done with their room gets a bonus. Everyone except the looser goes home happy.
seems like a good scheme
...until it is't.
I'd advise to make sure any teenage boys are licensed and insured. Demolition can be dangerous. If you hire unlicensed and uninsured day labors and one of them gets hurt on your property (and they know enough to get a decent attorney) the one going home unhappy could be you.
You're absolutely correct, and I would never want to see anyone hurt. I suppose you don't get my style of humor, some do, most don't.
I don't tend to joke around when safety and/or professional liability are at issue. Call me old fashioned, but allows me to sleep good at night.
BTW, good demolition practices don't just involve brawn. Brains win out just about every time. The irony is that it takes experinece for the latter to kick in. I have found that usually rules out the high schoolers. We once had a young high school apprentice on the jobsite that was a body builder and martial arts champion. Biggest whiner on the jobsite. And always got the least amount done.
I' m also reminded of the tailgate article in Finehomebuilding many years ago (I'm paraphasing here) where a contractor asked a young apprectice to remove an old cast iron tub from an upper floor bath to be remodeled. It was to be destined for the trash heap. The kid wrestled with the tub for most of the day. Wore himself out, but never got it much past the bathroom door. The wise old contractor came in at the end of the day with a 10 # sledge hammer and had the thing downstairs and into the dumpster in less than 10 minutes--all.without breaking a sweat.
Brawn helps though, I'm old and my brawn is about all gone, fortunately I'm smarter now. As a youngster I hired out a lot for labor jobs, now I pretty much work on jobs that require experience and talent for a MAJOR company that fell on hard times (Kodak). Sometimes I have to do physical work, but not much anymore.
I hear you. Since you still have the call for physical work, I recommend practicing Tai Chi.
Its all about using your body more effeciently using the basic physics and body mechanics. I have a grand master that I learn from that is almost 77 years old. He weights 145 pounds wet, but will accept a martial arts challenge from anybody that is so inclined. I wouldn't recommend touching the guy with bad intent unless you absolutely know him to be sleeping. I've seen him work out all day long (where I was totally exhausted) and he looked like he could do the same amount of work 3x's over with no problem.
Down from the top seems safer if you have the afttic space to work. I doubt it will take much to break the nails/screws loose if you start in the middle with the 2x and work it like a zipper to the edges. We have very low slope roofs here so attics are not a place you want to work in if you don't have to. When I did my bathroom, I just put up another layer of drywall because removing it was more than I wanted to screw with..
The couple of times I've done this I just yanked it down using claw hammers, sledge hammers, garden hoes, and whatever other tool seemed like it would work to punch a hole in the board, get behind it, and let you yank. (Do wear goggles, though.)
Remove ceiling
Thanks for the replays...both serious and humorous. Was hoping someone had some large commercial remodeling experience and had a big secret up his sleeve. Thanks again!
Last time I removed ceiling DW could get into attic enoug to be on feet in a crouch.
2x10 across ceiling joists, Size 13 shoes for mah big feet. Simply step, stomp, step, stomp. < 2 minutes per sheet.
Assuming it is nailed and not screwed? If screwed, then ya gotta goa cross the bottom with a long handled hammer and snap off the screw heads.
If joists will take the load, what Greg said, just overlaywith new layer.
Can confirm that this works like a charm. You will feel like a demolition god as you watch the drywall fall down almost effortlessly (in comparison to the amount of work required to pull it off the walls).
Other demo tip: If you are trying to save the hardwood floors, put down chipboard.