# Important consideration when drywalling basement ceiling



## bbieger (Sep 15, 2009)

So I painted my walls and ceiling and the high contrast allowed me to see a slight wave in the ceiling drywall. Determined to figure out what happened I measured joist to foundation distances on the side of the basement that isn't finished. While this probably only aplies to older homes (I have a 1918 craftsman home) that was built in the days of true 2 x 4's and old growth joists but it appears that one of my floor joists is 1/4 wider than the rest. So when I installed my hat channel with recessed clips using a jig that kept the depth exactly constant on all the clips, the distance to the floor varied in the one spot with the wider joist.

Sooooo if your planning on drywalling your ceiling then you may do well to either run a string across the entire room to see if all the joist bottoms are level or measure floor to ceiling in various spots to ensure consistant heights. Variations can be planed away or shimmed depending on your conditions and skill level. My room still looks fine but if I was going to install crown molding it would really call attention to the variations in veiling height.
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## tjambro (Jan 16, 2007)

Don't feel bad, my rafters and floor in the basement are not level. :gulp:


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## bbieger (Sep 15, 2009)

I put a second coat of paint on the ceiling and with some creative edge cutting have pretty much eliminated the wave in the ceiling. Its only a 1/4 inch over about 5 feet so not like a big deal breaker or something. 

I think I posted just to vent. But it is one of those things that most don't think about until its too late to correct...


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## the colors (Mar 28, 2008)

I know what ya mean about uneven ceiling joist. My house is built in 1913 and the ceiling is also out from joist to joist. My fix is still ongoing is to sister 2x4's to the joist using a laser across the ceiling to acheive a level ceiling through out. Good luck.


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## bbieger (Sep 15, 2009)

_Posted via Mobile Device_

nice that you caught it now. If people don't have a laser level you can also use a piece of string stretched across the joists. Bummer is recessed my isolation clips in the joists so I was already doing the work. Oh well, in the grand scheme of life this shakes out pretty low on the totem pole


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## the colors (Mar 28, 2008)

There is a level that attaches to the string and will show when your level. I have yet ordered my ceiling clips, hope they still have them.lol


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