Hi,
I’m going to refinish my basement – I’ll be drywalling my ceiling but the joists are a bit uneven. I’m not sure how much at this point, I’ll get a level and find out. At what point should I be concerned about addressing the issue? And if I need to do some leveling, what would be the best approach? Should I sister joists to even them out, do some strapping between joists or use some other method?
Thanks!
Replies
if you strap the whole ceiling, string it, shim it flat.
Depends on how out of level it is, and how much headroom you have to work with.
Absolute simplest approach is a suspended ceiling. Short of that, simplest is to shim or sister the occasional "high" joist, if it's just a few and they're high vs low. But if you have lots of irregularities then strapping (eg 1x3s at right angles to the joists), with shims where needed, is probably the best bet.
You might think that sistering every joist would work, but in practice you'll find this to be a PITA due to the wires, pipes, and bridging that interferes with clear access to insert the sisters.
Most people won't notice if the ceiling isn't perfectly level, so long as it's reasonably flat. What's noticeable is the "wave" as the ceiling goes up and down. But even in that case you can hide the problem (if, eg, the ceiling rises to a point in the center and then dips on the other side) by having some sort of trim or other distracting detail across the high (or low) spot.
"You might think that sistering every joist would work, but in practice you'll find this to be a PITA due to the wires, pipes, and bridging that interferes with clear access to insert the sisters."
what you say is really not that bad, and in fact it is quite an easy approch if you are sistering 2x4's. if one is trying to sister larger framing material it's a waste of money and as you point out, can be pain. unless it's a very extreme case 2x4's work every time. I would actually choose this method based on experince. View Image View Image
Depends. If there's bridging in place then even 2x4s won't work very well.
If your view never changes you're following the wrong leader
bridging never stopped me. I always just go on either side of it as nessecary, never found it a problem. but hey - there's more than one way to skin a cat :) View Image View Image
But that makes it all the harder to get the individual pieces level.Though the new low-cost lasers would simplify the job immensely. And use screws for the sistering so a correction can be easily made if needed.
If your view never changes you're following the wrong leader
really it's not so hard and although I own a laser I would't use it for that aspect of it.
I use the laser to establish lever around the perimeter of the room. once that is established. I tack 2x4's up at either end. most rooms may only have one row of bridging larger rooms will have two.
all the 2x4 are precut. and go up quite fast. because most 2x4's have a slight crown anyway, they have to be straightened anyway, having some broken up into shorts because of bridging not a huge deal. I set up string lines anyway, so bridging spots is usually a perfect place to set some lines running perp to the floor joist. then simply adjust the 2x4 to the correct height. usually I'm working off a scaffold. once the 2x4's are set st the string lines points, I sight down each sistered joist looking for any that need any additional adjustment.
I prefer this method, but do not opposed the strapping method. I simply find it easier and faster for me than shimming each point of contact when strapping a really bad ceiling. some may find strapping better for them simply because they have developed a feel and technique for doing that method. both will work View Image View Image