melev

what is the purpose of the insulation? Is it for R-Value, sound dampening, or both? You have an upstairs?

In the ceiling? It's attic and it gets really hot in the summer, and helps keep heat in the house in the colder winters. I have something around 18" tall in there. I could take a picture, but that means going out in the garage again tonight.

Pictures added.

no need. so really all about heat transfer. I myself HATE that blown in crap. Makes it miserable to go into the attic if needed, plus, rodents will tunnel all though it like Magic Mountain. So on the plus side, if you pull the sheetrock, it comes down with little fuss rather than trying to vacuum it out. You could then use insulation rolls. Overall the rolls are fairly inexpensive compared to the savings they provide (not to mention the comfort). Then whenever you do work in the attic, or down below, you don't have all the mess and inhilation issues.

So I guess I would look at it like an opportunity to right a wrong! PITA to deal with, but once it's done right, no problems down the line. Also, there are many alternative insulations available now, or you could even foam it in. There are DIY foam kits that could do a reasonably quick job. Is there room for planking in the attic to utilize it for storage? Or does it get too hot? Or is that 18" total head space? I know my Dad's attic in NC is is used for storage in 3 or 4 areas, and it gets wicked hot there too.

lol...where is it? oops...there it is...

God Almighty, I hate that crap. And I am with you on re-rocking. The ceiling is a mess. I would say you have no choice.

Plus you are going to have a pretty humid environment back there, and the old sheetrock probably isn't rated for the high humidity. And I agree that rolls would be much easier to work with but you could take a push broom up and push the old insulation over to one area and then replace the sheet under the cleared part then move the insulation back over the new piece and replace the next section. After it is all done even it out as best as possible and add what you want/need after.

BTW are you using greenboard or durock rather than regular sheetrock? I know that the greenboard is a lot better than regular sheetrock but I had a friend who had a basement that was semi flood prone and the bottom 4 feet of the wall was durock and the rest was greenboard with the ceiling being regular sheetrock so if it did flood the durock would take most of the water and abuse.

+1 on the roll insulation with desired R=Value. Hate to suggest more work, but if you redo the ceiling, opportunity for a few recessed light fixtures? I did my living room ceiling as it was over inch out of level from the floor, etc.. I pulled the old down, did the plumb line from end-end of the room to level to then lay the furring strips perpendicular to the joists and shimming at each screw to joist point to match the plumb line kind of thing. New sheet rock. Got the compressor and hopper out to shoot some thinned out joint compound and finally did the knockdown approach.

+3 for nightshade, broom insulation from area and replace drywall then re-spread insulation to desired areas.

Pushing it over isn't a bad idea at all actually. It would reduce the rainfall for sure. There are a LOT of wires, cables and more under that stuff. It would be nice to have a couple of walkboards to traverse when having to work up there. Also, I'm trying to come up with a new location for attic stairs, but not coming up with a lot of options yet.

Here in Texas, we definitely insulate as much as possible. The insulation is probably 18" tall measuring from the sheetrock ceiling to the top of the drifts.

I plan to use green sheetrock all around the tank. Possibly the entire room.

I don't buy the whole thing about green rock at all. If you want to get serious, I would recommend DensArmor.

More discussion...

I've never heard of that one. Who sells it, and more importantly what does it cost? The sheetrock I tore out wasn't bad at all, and held up well all these years. I used greenboard around and above the tank, but the walls away from the tank were standard sheetrock.

I know you guys want the best, but my wallet can only take so much.

Dense shield isn't cheap Marc. But it's very good. Just like sheetrock, but has a vinyl coating outside. Fire rated and somewhat water resistant. It's pretty much the standard for new restrooms where tile is installed.

http://www.gp.com/build/product.aspx?pid=4684

I looked it up with my zipcode, and the local Lowes carries it according to that site, Bradley. However, Lowes' website doesn't list it for some reason. I'll have to go in person. There are a lot of types, more than I expected.

Wow!! Alot of chatter on a sheetrock celing............I fully understand budget restaints but I'd recommend tearing the old sheetrock down regardless of how you deal with the insulation. Taping and mudding new joints is far easier than patching five holes and having it turn out nice. A bit more work but that ceiling is a mess. Blown in insulation is quite common now days and 18" is about equivelant to an R-30 bat. Two bundle of new R-30 should be about all you need to redo the ceiling. You can broom the insulation aside and respread it but it'll be a nasty job. either way, I'm sure it'll turn out real nice for a tank room. It is a utilty room afterall, there won't (shouldn't) be a TV and recliner itn it.

Oh, BTW. I personally wouldnt use green board in there. A nice primer and two coats of a quality satin paint along with a nice quiet 110+ CFM bath fan should be all of the protection you need for the life of those walls. At a minimum hold the sheetrock an inch off the concrete so your spills dont directly contact it, or some PVC base trim siliconed to the floor. I can take a garden hose to rinse out my tank room when needed.

Nice to see you on the board here Jonathan.

Not sure if anyone mentioned it, but you could make a pull down stairway into the attic and have a nice big surge tank in the attic! That would be awesome! And you could even hide all of you ballasts and electrical work up in the attic.

-Chris

Definitely a good idea Marc. Why can't you move the dropdown attic access over to the left (standing at the garage door looking in) of the fish room?