ceiling construction

[mike802]

I was working on the bus this weekend, mc9.  I am padding the ceiling framing with 1" of plywood to get more room for insulation and to isolate the finished ceilings screws from the cold steel, to hopefully eliminate frost and condensation.  My arms are about to fall off from all the drilling and screwing LOL.  Anyway, I was thinking about the final ceiling and was wondering how everybody here has done theirs.  At first I was going to go ahead and install the finished ceiling and then work on the interior partitions.  But would I be better off holding off on installing the finished ceiling, putting up the interior partitions and then going back and installing the finished ceiling around the partitions?  If I install the partitions after finishing the ceiling if there is ever trouble and the ceiling has to come down, I would have to gut the interior to drop the ceiling. Maybe I am making a mountain out of a mole hill here, so thought I would get some opinions from those who have done this already.  I have also been thinking around the same lines about laying down the flooring, is it better to lay the finished flooring down around the partitions rather than building the partitions on top of the finished flooring for the same reasons, if there is ever a problem and the floor, or just part of the floor has to come up the partitions may have to come out, making the job very difficult.

[robertglines1]

what I have learned on flooring it need to be independent of walls and cabinets because of expansion and contraction..the walls?cabinets will try to hold it to tight and it will buckle up.. as far as ceilings I've done both ways. used ozite like a short knapp carpeting on ceiling front to back then put walls in on first two coaches. last two have used a panel system that can be removed and do not extend above walls..so your choice. Bob

[mike802]

Thanks Bob:  I haven't decided yet on the type of flooring, solid wood vs something different, but yes i see where attached walls could lead to problems in the movement department.

[belfert]

I have the problem that Bob described of installing the flooring under the walls and everything.  I used vinyl floor tiles and they have shifted all over due to the movement of the fasteners. 

I figured it would be a whole lot easier to install the flooring first, but not if I have to redo the whole thing later.

[Ace]

Brian my guess is, you used self stick tiles! Even though they have sticky on the back side they WILL NOT stick to the plywood floor on their own and like yours, they will shift from movement. In the commercial field, we ALWAYS spread a thin tile adhesive and allow it to dry completely before installing the self stick tiles. It makes like a contact cement installation and they WON'T move or come up without using heat from a torch!

[pipopak]

I am in the early stages of designing my bus. About the ceiling I would rent a portable scaffold, assemble it inside and lay on my back to do the ceiling work. A lot faster and comfortable (would need a helper probably to handle materials and push me around). I would do the whole thing at once, with some planning I don't see a reason for disassembling it (I plan to run wires inside plastic electric conduit with suitable junction boxes, etc).
About vinyl flooring shifting around: I have used self-sticking tiles and, when laid after using the appropriate primer, they have to be CHISELED out for removal.

[robertglines1]

problem with flooring in a bus is extreme swings in humidity and temperature.mine from 0 F to hot sun 140 F.

[belfert]

Brian my guess is, you used self stick tiles! Even though they have sticky on the back side they WILL NOT stick to the plywood floor on their own and like yours, they will shift from movement. In the commercial field, we ALWAYS spread a thin tile adhesive and allow it to dry completely before installing the self stick tiles. It makes like a contact cement installation and they WON'T move or come up without using heat from a torch!

Nope, they are commercial type tiles that are glued down.  I got the tiles free from a flooring guy cleaning out his garage.  I hired another flooring guy to install the tiles.  He put down the adhesive and then let the adhesive dry before he laid the tiles.

The tile issues don't bother me because the rest of my interior is unfinished.

[Ace]

With that said, let me guess that the tiles were laid when it was cold! If so, that too will allow them to NOT stick! Other , I than that, I have no idea unless I see it and the sub-floor condition, then I could tell you for sure!

[FloridaCliff]

Mike,

This kind of thinking ahead will save you lots of grief later.

One of the things I am striving for in mine is to make everything accessible.

All flooring and ceiling materials are going in last.  Is it a little more difficult, Yes!  But should damage occur or some other need to access above or below, I will be able to do it easily.

One other way I am making possible future repairs easier is to strategically place cabinets.  In my lavatory the cabinet built into the wall above the lav can be completely pulled out by releasing some hidden screws.  The complete unit pulls out of the wall and right behind it is the shower plumbing and controls and below it the water connection to the Lav.  I have a few others for electrical in key locations.

Good luck on your project,

Cliff

[belfert]

With that said, let me guess that the tiles were laid when it was cold! If so, that too will allow them to NOT stick! Other , I than that, I have no idea unless I see it and the sub-floor condition, then I could tell you for sure!

I just don't know.  It was done during the summer so plenty warm.  Plywood floor was brand new.

[crown]

 my ceiling i left the center part open i then put up a sub ceiling built walls & cabanits ect then made & coverd ceiling panals that
where pushed about 1/4 behind cabanits then glued up and at center screwed up after that 1x3 where screwed front to back and
3/8 plywood that are each 4 ft long will be coverd and can be removed to fix anything or add new wires ect hope pics will help
explain  crown

[crown]

 cant seam to post other pics maybe i can email them to someone and they can post them thanks crown

[Ace]

Brian only thing I can think of now is maybe he used the wrong adhesive or the plywood wasn't prepped good enough!

Also, I installed my cabinets first and ceiling afterwards and at that time, the pros from this same board said that was backasswards and wrong. I personally think it turned out pretty decent for being my first one and not having any fasteners showing made it look custom. It too can be removed easily to run more wires or add new.

[thomasinnv]

I laid the floor first, so it is continuous from front to back.  The ceiling however, was installed after the interior walls.  I used t&g knotty pine, so it is really easy to gain access inside the ceiling if need be.  Just remove the screws from any two adjacent boards and they drop right out.  The cabinets are installed over the ceiling, but all the wiring etc. was ran as close to the center as possible so everything is accessible.  I'm actually glad I did it this way because when I built the bunks for the girls, I realized I had forgotten a wire for one of the built in dvd monitors over the top bunk.  It was real easy to just drop a couple of boards in the right spot and pull another wire through.  If I had put the ceiling up before the interior walls I would have had to cut the ceiling and that = more work.