how to hang boards in attic

15 years ago

I need to hang some plywood in my attic floor, the space above the stair case does not have any drywall, just a cardboard stapled to the joist sides. with the weight of additional insulation, the cardboard tore and gave away.

where can i buy the hangers to hang boards off the joist in the attic and what are they called.

Thanks,

Comments (5)

davidandkasie
15 years ago
they are called nails or screws and avaiable at just about any store. there is no need for specialized hanger to put some thin ply up on the walls just to hold insulation.
mike_kaiser_gw
15 years ago
Quite frankly, your message is bit confusing, perhaps because you are not using the correct terminology??? A "joist" runs horizontally so the floor joists of the attic are the ceiling joists of the room below. A "rafter" runs on an angle, directly below the roof sheathing, towards the peak of the roof.

I'm also confused by "hang some plywood in my attic floor." Is it possible you are trying to insulate the underside of the roof? Perhaps the cardboard you reference are air baffles designed to keep the insulation from impeding the flow of air through your attic??
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rjoh878646
15 years ago
What the builder did, which seemed to be common practice in the 80's and probably still is was to put cardboard over bulkheads and the sloped ceiling of stairwells to block it off and then blow cellulose over it. this was done in my house where they dropped the ceiling in a closet to put cold air returns in. they carboarded it off, so they saved some cellulose when they blew it into the attic. I believe they also carboarded the sloped area of the stairwell also.

The easiest fix is to screw some 2x4's on the sides of the joists and lay some plywood in and screw it to the 2 x4's.

I found the cardboard by sticking my foot through it. Over the closet I just pulled it out and shoveled it full of cellulose.
stockrex
Original Author
15 years ago
mike: rjoh explained it much better than moi.

well in my case, the space above the stair to the basement (raised ranch from mid 50s) entire space caved it. yes the same is there for the dropped ceilings, around the fireplace and kitchen niche. arrrr. the lack of insulation and all the hot air (pocket door at the mouth of the stair case) is causing ice dams above that space (another problem for another thread).

Yes 2x4 option I though of but then I lose 3 inches of insulating depth, I could get 1x1 and glue and nail them and put couple of L brackets, so next owner does not go through it.

david, :-) could not bring myself to staple the cardboard back on to the joist. I am big and heavy, and scared of heights....so I want to make only trip to fix the issues.

Q: so is it ok to rip out the cardboard above the drop ceiling? and put in blown in insulation incontact with the plaster/drywall?

Thanks everyone!!!
rjoh878646
15 years ago
Yep you can rip out the cardboard and fill it in with insulation. all attics have insulation on top of the plaster/drywall. Just don't fill it up if it is a drop ceiling with removable panels.