Replacing a kitchen ceiling.

[Guest]

Unless the MH next to me is a must-buy at $3000 I am looking at replacing my kitchen ceiling which was ruined by water over the years. When I moved in 16 years ago there was a section cut out of the kitchen ceiling probably 1.5 x 2 feet with a piece of white cardboard inserted into it (held in like a boxtop). It seemed that there was a water leak that came from above a window in the front where the header for the patio covering is attached. The water would come in, roll along the plastic on top of the ceiling, then onto the floor.

Since I just recoated my roof, I decided to tear out that section of the ceiling to see exactly where it leaks (I knew the general area) since it was no good anyways. The ceiling is in 4' sections that go the 12' from one side of the MH to the other. What can I use to replace this and how? The ceiling is only about 6.5 feet high, so a drop ceiling cannot be used. Could I use a drop ceiling framework attached directly to each side of the trusses and then run a strip of wood along the bottom of the truss to hide it just like the original had one to hide the seam on the 4' sections?
The rest of my ceilings are in good shape.

[JD]

I suppose you could do that, though I have never seen it done that way. You would need to cut each panel lengthways to fit pretty accurately. If you were to do the ceiling this way, you could use just the cross metal frame pieces and not install them along the sides of the trusses. Then use a 2" to 2-1/2" lath piece as the trim to hold up the edges. These types of panels would loose a lot of heating and cooling around the edges, but no more than a regular install of a suspended ceiling.

I have also seen lightweight, white, 1/2" 4x8 sound board panels at home depot, that are very similar to mobile home ceiling panels. You would still need some type of cross framing and trim for the 8' edge, but this might be an easier install.

Then there is always the reinforcing of the trusses and installing sheetrock. This may be the cleanest install, but also the hardest to do.

Let us know what you decide to do and pictures of the finished project would be great. I am sure there are other forum visitors that are needing to make this same repair.

JD

[Guest]

I have found a couple of different ways of putting in a new ceiling by attaching it directly to the joists. Here is one:
http://www.ceilinglink.com/how.htm

here are some pictures:
http://www.ceilinglink.com/pics.htm

Then there is CeilingMax which essentially is the same thing, but is available at places like Home Depot and Menards:
http://www.acpideas.com/index.cfm?XlinkID=13
It is available in stores, but from what I read it is more expensive. Both are supposed to be easy to install and can be done by one person alone.

I have decided to simply staple 2x4 foot ceiling panels which closely match the old ceiling directly to the joints and then just use wood trim to cover the seams, which is what the original ceiling used. One of the things is that the insulation that was in the ceiling was about 2" thick which makes it less than R11 and that is as low as Menards goes and it is 3" thick. The ceiling has about 6" of space at the peak, but only 2.5" at the wall. What should I use here, can it be the R11 even if it is too thick at the wall?