Ceiling Options for Clubhouse

Welshman · Aug 18, 2018

I need some ceiling ideas for our sportsmen's clubhouse. This is a project that the membership has been talking about for years, but we now maybe in a financial situation to get it done. The overall goal is to insulate the building to make it easier to heat and cool.

The building is 48' x 28' with roof trusses on 8' centers. We had talked about putting in structure to hang drywall or other material, but I suspect the trusses would not be able to handle the additional weight. The trusses are marked "32lbs. 96 o.c.", and I don't know what the 32lbs. represents. The only other option I can think of is a suspended ceiling, with insulation between the rafters.

Any thoughts and ideas will be appreciated.

GirlWhoWantsTractor · Aug 18, 2018

Metal trusses or wood trusses? What was the building used for before, or is this a new build? A pic would help.

Einthewoods · Aug 18, 2018

Not sure if you care how fancy it is, but I am hanging metal liner panels for the ceiling in my barn. Blow in insulation on top of it. The liner panels I will be using are white which helps add some brightness.

With 8 foot spans you would want to run some purlins to attach it to.

Barnbuilder · Aug 19, 2018

I've used metal roofing in white. Brightens things up. You should be able to span 8'. No paint, no sheetrock to fall apart. You could purchase 16' sections plus a couple inches for overlap. We put 27'pcs with 2 people no problem.

KennyG · Aug 19, 2018

The "32 lbs, 98 OC" probably means rated for 32 lbs/sq ft load on the roof when spaced 98" or less. I'm a big fan of metal liner panel for minimal maintenance. Liner panel is less than 1 lb/sq ft. so load is no problem.

However nothing, including liner panel, is rated for span 8 feet. It should be supported every 4 feet. For your building you would probably want to run 2x4 perpendicular to the trusses at 4 foot spacing. Be sure to put a vapor barrier under the metal and then you can blow in as much insulation as you want above the ceiling.

Welshman · Aug 19, 2018

Thanks for the replies.

They are wooden trusses. The building was built in '76 or so, to be a clubhouse, but at the time apparently, the members were not shooting in the winter, so keeping warm was not a priority.

Metal panels would be fine (I've recently helped a friend do his new shop with them and they look great), but I'm still concerned about the weight. Its taken so long to get a ceiling up, and I don't want it to come back down. It seems like there must be some formula or spec to determine what "hanging load" the trusses will handle.

abunchofidiots · Aug 19, 2018

I'm a huge fan of spray in closed cell insulation. It adheres to the metal and adds rigidity and sound insulation as well. Close cell does not invite moisture either. You can hang about any covering material you want over it.

Welshman · Aug 19, 2018

KennyG said:
The "32 lbs, 98 OC" probably means rated for 32 lbs/sq ft load on the roof when spaced 98" or less. I'm a big fan of metal liner panel for minimal maintenance. Liner panel is less than 1 lb/sq ft. so load is no problem.

However nothing, including liner panel, is rated for span 8 feet. It should be supported every 4 feet. For your building you would probably want to run 2x4 perpendicular to the trusses at 4 foot spacing. Be sure to put a vapor barrier under the metal and then you can blow in as much insulation as you want above the ceiling.

Thanks for that. "98" was a typo - should be 96. I'm not clear on what you mean by liner panel.

KennyG · Aug 19, 2018

Liner panel is just metal panels coated for interior use. Cheaper than siding or roofing panels.

jfh28 · Aug 19, 2018

generally the design of manufactured trusses take into account the span, spacing, live loads (wind/snow), and dead loads (weight of materials used to build trusses, roofing, sheathing, insulation, ductwork, and ceiling).......this is all plugged in and effects the design......if you can find the original shop drawings done this would be printed on it....you might find them in old records at the club or at the building department if a permit was taken out.......outside of that the only other way I know of to answer your question would be to have a structural engineer run the calculations based on the design of the truss.....Jack