Raising My Ceilings
Hi i want to raise my ceilings. there is a drop ceiling now and it is too claustrophobic for my tastes. I would like to do it myself. I did all the demo for my 1st renovation 1-do i need a permit? (i have heard from a few architects that i do not need one)…
Hi i want to raise my ceilings. there is a drop ceiling now and it is too claustrophobic for my tastes. I would like to do it myself. I did all the demo for my 1st renovation
1-do i need a permit? (i have heard from a few architects that i do not need one)
2- any other words of advice?
3-can i leave it bare, loft-style, with just the beams showing after? are there any risks involved with that?
4-would it look strange to do just 1 room? kitchen and living room are open floor plan…but i only want to do the kitchen ceiling
thanks everyone for your help
Is this a plaster or gyp bd dropped ceiling or ceiling tiles installed on a grid? If you are removing the former you would need a permit and asbestos inspection. Do not remove the existing fire protection layer and expose the joists. You do not have a fire sprinklered apartment, correct? If so, that brings even more things into play.
Jock deBoer, AIA
deBoer Architects
thanks…you guys are all so incredibly invaluable!!!
ok so noooo loft style 🙂
i would like to do tin ceilings with insulation then
“Loft style” on the last floor is not merely a fire hazard, it’s also potentially a huge loss of insulation capacity–you could bake in summer and freeze in winter.
i am on the top floor so is the fire protection still a concern
i was also thinking about tin ceilings
“3-can i leave it bare, loft-style, with just the beams showing after? are there any risks involved with that?”
Yes, you lose fire protection btwn the floors if you remove the fireproof plaster/wallboard. Don’t do it.
I don’t believe you need a permit for something like this that doesn’t alter the floorplan.
You will create a lot of trash. Not only the drop-ceiling tiles, but the scaffold that holds them. And dirt. There’s lots of dust up there.
Do you know what you’ll find above? We took out our drops that had been in place from the previous owner – when we ‘peeked,’ everything looked copacetic. Just a paintjob, we figured. Then we did the full removal and what do you know, major renovation was needed on the original plaster ceilings. Depends how old your place is, how long the ceilings have been dropped, etc, but until you take the whole thing down, you don’t really know how much repair your ceilings will need.