| What I did... I was able to take a strip of drywall down on one end of the room to cross the joints. This was then covered by crown molding which I was going to install anyway. I still patched the drywall as a fire stop but I didn't have to make it look nice. I was very proud of myself..... Know with 100% certainty, that you will have to paint the entire ceiling if you do drywall repair on it. There is something magical about ceiling paint that refuses to match what was already there. Even if the paint is new, it all has to be applied at the same time. Do not even paint half on saturday and paint the other half on sunday.... Also - you will use remodel cans instead of cans for new construction/access to joints. They secure themselves on the drywall rather than the joists. | 
