Over boarding a ceiling is never an easy job and normally requires at least two people, there are several reasons for over boarding a ceiling for example the existing ceiling may be damaged, in which case it is often easier to over board it than to try and patch repair it. In this demonstration we are over boarding a small kitchen ceiling using fire resistant plasterboard.
Before starting this job you can make it much easier on yourself by identifying exactly where the joists are, this can be done by finding the existing ceiling screws using a magnet. Once you know where the joists are you can draw lines on the ceiling and walls to show where the joists are.
This ceiling has already been plaster boarded using standard 12mm thick plasterboard, but now to meet fire regulations it is to be over boarded using fire resistant plasterboard.
At the right hand side of this picture is a prop, this is made from a piece of 3*2 timber positioned and screwed in the shape of a T, this is almost the same height as the ceiling. This can be used to support one end of the board during installation.
Here a hole has been made in the plasterboard for the smoke alarm cable, the board has been placed onto the prop at one and the other end is being pushed up into position.
The cable is also being fed through the hole in the plasterboard.
Here the sheet is being pushed so that it meets all the walls, it has also been pushed up to the ceiling.
Now the board needs fixing to the joists using longer length dry wall screws- Dry Wall Screws
Once the first sheet is fixed you can fit the next sheet. It is important when over boarding to ensure that the joints on the first plasterboard sheets do not line up with the joints on the second set of boards.
You can see here that both sheets are securely fixed with very small gaps around the perimeter.
This ceiling can now be taped and skimmed with finishing plaster.
This is the finished ceiling once it has been plastered and painted
