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We bought about a year ago and are gradually doing all of the “must do” projects. One of those is to sister a few joists in the basement that were not properly repaired following some old termite damage. To save some money, I am taking down the basement ceiling (drywall) myself, to make sure we know the scope of the job before we hire a contractor to do the job.

Question: Above the oil furnace/boiler, instead of drywall, there are several pieces of rusty painted sheet metal covering the joists. Can I safely remove the metal too, or is there a reason that I should leave it there? I don’t know the condition of the joists above it, but there is some damage nearby, so if the metal is not serving a purpose, I would like to remove it.

Thank you. Contractor recommendations are welcome as well.