# Spacing of ceiling joists



## Pineconeman (May 8, 2005)

Drywalling my garage for conversion into recording/rehearsal studio, however, the ceiling joists are 48" apart. Tried, but found it impossible to add new joists acress the 20' ceiling due to the existing frame. I've read that the joists should be at most 24: apart to hang drywall. My question is, is the 24" guideline for the weight of the drywall on the joists, or more for the support of the drywall itself, (i.e. to keep it from buckling in the middle.) I was thinking we could attach wood between the joists crosswise to add support for the drywall. Will this add too much weight on the joists? Any help in this matter will be greatly appreciated. Thanks!


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## housedocs (Mar 14, 2005)

Hello & welcome aboard!

Sorry for the delayed response, most of us are really busy this time of yr. Without knowing a bit more I can't give you a totally a definitive answer, but you may well be able to deal with this in the manner you've suggested.

What size are the existing joists? The drywall will definitely sag between joists on 48" centers, got to bring that down to 24" max and with that you'll have to use 5/8" board on the ceiling to prevent sagging.


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## Pineconeman (May 8, 2005)

*Existing joists are 2 x 6*

Got some joist hangers, and ready to go at it!
Thanks for the reply.



housedocs said:


> Hello & welcome aboard!
> 
> Sorry for the delayed response, most of us are really busy this time of yr. Without knowing a bit more I can't give you a totally a definitive answer, but you may well be able to deal with this in the manner you've suggested.
> 
> What size are the existing joists? The drywall will definitely sag between joists on 48" centers, got to bring that down to 24" max and with that you'll have to use 5/8" board on the ceiling to prevent sagging.


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## housedocs (Mar 14, 2005)

Or here's another thought, if you've got the head space to spare. You could attach 2"x4" furring across the existing joists on 16" centers, lay them flat & you'll have plenty of room to attach the ends of the board and you'll only loose about an 1-1/2" of headroom in the garage, probably not even noticable. Also alot less cutting than using the hangers and putting them in between the existing joists. 

Good luck!


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