Thoughts on Covering the Insulation on Ceiling

Hi Everyone,
Please bear with the Newbie, but I am looking forward to this forum for many discussions to follow.

I am a new homeowner, and have a full unfinished basement. For conserving energy (my assumption), the builder has put fiber glass insulation on the basement ceiling, which of course keeps my hardwood floors pretty warm on the first floor. The basement instead is always freezing, not an issue.

I want to use the basement to put some exercise equipment in, and small work space in the corner...however have no desire to breath the dust from the insulation.

I have read through the forums, and people recommend putting a drop down ceiling, but at this point, I am trying to keep my cost to a minimum...buying the new house killed the savings Plus I will probably try to get the basement finished the next year, so for now, need a low cost way to preventing the dust ending up in my lungs. Blogs/forums are saying Tyvec or plastic or some even say cloth sheets. The basement is HUGE...so looking for something cost effective, that I can just staple down.

Any thoughts welcome!!

to House Repair Talk!

What about hanging some drywall board up. More expensive than poly but then you will have a finished ceiling and be more attractive than drop ceiling tiles, just my.:2cents:

oldognewtrick said:

to House Repair Talk!

What about hanging some drywall board up. More expensive than poly but then you will have a finished ceiling and be more attractive than drop ceiling tiles, just my.:2cents:

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Hadnt even thought of that.
Although with almost an 800 sqft basement...that might defy the cheap option

My first thought was drywall too but finishing the basement will require framing, plumbing, wiring that is far easier with the ceiling open. So I would lean to something more temp. like fabric or tyvac.
And welcome to the site.

A roll of plastic and a staple gun would be easiest and cheapest. There is a potential fire hazard issue with covering it with anything flammable and not sheetrock. Sheetrock would be nice but if you're not sure of your future layout of the space, ie walls, plumbing or electrical you may end up taking some of it down.
Thing is...lightweight rock is cheap, covers a large area, goes up quickly and you wouldn't necessarily have to do the entire basement. Safety is the main issue...I vote for sheetrock, some friends, beer and pizza.

beachguy005 said:

A roll of plastic and a staple gun would be easiest and cheapest. There is a potential fire hazard issue with covering it with anything flammable and not sheetrock. Sheetrock would be nice but if you're not sure of your future layout of the space, ie walls, plumbing or electrical you may end up taking some of it down.
Thing is...lightweight rock is cheap, covers a large area, goes up quickly and you wouldn't necessarily have to do the entire basement. Safety is the main issue...I vote for sheetrock, some friends, beer and pizza.

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Stupid question...does the Fiberglass Insulation with nothing on it pose a fire risk too?
I know anything paper or cloth kind would be a fire risk...is the plastic cover also flammable?

Interestingly, I was looking at Certainteed's web site and they say this about breathing around it. Seems that the fibers are too large to enter the lower lungs. As for fire rating...that's not an issue either because of the high combustion temp.
So...with that new information, if you're not cutting or tearing it when you're down there...you're good to go as is.


Will my health be compromised if I inhale the fibers?

No, unless you have a specific allergy to fiber glass. The reason we recommend respirators is to mitigate any irritation the fibers could have in your throat or chest.

Do what they used to do in the early 1800's.. use some canvas. Canvas is also paintable. Also available in the painting section of any paint store. Old canvas ceilings are still in some of the building at Brown university in RI. Look like the day they where put up.. and they do sag, but that is the charm.
Some folks will put the canvas up and use stick boards screwed into the ceiling joists.
Good luck.

Take a look..https://www.google.com/search?q=can...niv&sa=X&ei=UtCtVKq1O4vnsATTgIEg&ved=0CB0QsAQ

Thanks Guys.
Seems like sheet rock seems to be the recommendation.
Might cost me a couple of hundred...but seems the safest way to go.

I did a basement ceiling once with what they call garage board. It’s pre-painted peg board (white) with a grove every 16 inches. I couldn’t get full sheets down there so I ripped them right down the middle of the groove and screwed them up as 16” wide planks staggering the ends. The nice part was I used black drywall screws and used the holes in the peg holes and the screws looked just like a hole. I liked it for a couple reasons it didn’t seal the space off tight with all the air holes and it seemed to work good as a bass trap as I had some big subwoofers down there. It cost a bit more than drywall per sheet but I didn’t have to tape and mud and paint it. I even made some round holes and snapped in some can lights.

bud16415 said:

I did a basement ceiling once with what they call garage board. It’s pre-painted peg board (white) with a grove every 16 inches. I couldn’t get full sheets down there so I ripped them right down the middle of the groove and screwed them up as 16” wide planks staggering the ends. The nice part was I used black drywall screws and used the holes in the peg holes and the screws looked just like a hole. I liked it for a couple reasons it didn’t seal the space off tight with all the air holes and it seemed to work good as a bass trap as I had some big subwoofers down there. It cost a bit more than drywall per sheet but I didn’t have to tape and mud and paint it. I even made some round holes and snapped in some can lights.

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With hole arn't you going the wrong way? He wants to seal off the fibreglass from getting in ther air.

nealtw said:

With hole arn't you going the wrong way? He wants to seal off the fibreglass from getting in ther air.

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Well in my case I didn’t have fiberglass between my joists and I wanted air to circulate into that space. I would think the only way fibers would ever get in the air is if you brushed against them. If they fall apart on their own the bottoms of your wall cavities would be filled with tightly packed fibers.
I would assume his subfloor, floors and what was above tile, carpet, sheet good flooring would be a vapor barrier? Would putting one on each side be a good idea? He said the basement is very cold due to all the insulation so once he gets down there he will be doing something for heat I’m assuming. Does he have water pipes and such in that space?

It was only an idea that I had used once and worked pretty nice for my needs. There was another plus to the smaller strips and no drywall finish and that was many times I took a piece down to run cables and get at things and it went right back up with just a screw driver. I had water valves and stuff also up in mine and I cut square holes to get in to access them and then I cut larger squares and just sat them above the hole.

I agree that fibres should not be a problem but that is us, not him. The insulation in an unfinished ceilling likely indicates in floor heating above. If the basment is a cold zone like a crawl space you don't want anything that would be a moisture barrier as that is the job of the subfloor. If the basement is heated it really dosn't matter but fire rated drywall would be best, the insulation adds to soundproofing. But if he intends on finishing the basement in the future I would not fill the cracks or screws so it would be easy to remove but then you are back to dust from unfinished drywall.
I think he should go back to Inspectors post.

nealtw said:

I agree that fibres should not be a problem but that is us, not him. The insulation in an unfinished ceilling likely indicates in floor heating above. If the basment is a cold zone like a crawl space you don't want anything that would be a moisture barrier as that is the job of the subfloor. If the basement is heated it really dosn't matter but fire rated drywall would be best, the insulation adds to soundproofing. But if he intends on finishing the basement in the future I would not fill the cracks or screws so it would be easy to remove but then you are back to dust from unfinished drywall.
I think he should go back to Inspectors post.

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Thanks Guys.
The basement is not heated, and honestly, I wasnt planning to do something to heat it up. I want to use it for a workout, and working out in the cold"er" basement was not an issue for me.

Inspectors idea of canvas is good. Might have to do some digging in terms of cost. Although woulnt that be a fire issue too?

Cheers

buckeyedoc said:

Thanks Guys.
The basement is not heated, and honestly, I wasnt planning to do something to heat it up. I want to use it for a workout, and working out in the cold"er" basement was not an issue for me.

Inspectors idea of canvas is good. Might have to do some digging in terms of cost. Although woulnt that be a fire issue too?

Cheers

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Painter drop cloths, paint stores, lumberyards, used might be interesting.