I have an I-beam right through the middle of my room, does anyone have some photos detailing the best way to frame these in? Possibly the same as a soffit?

I did mine the same as a soffit. Luckily it wasn't in the middle of the room. In your case I think I saw a home theater setup once and they basically broke the ceiling up into 4 quarters and put rope lighting in each of the quarters and it came out looking good.

Don't give up the headroom to frame under the I beam. Use a ladder construction on both sides and let your drywall straddle between, kissing the bottom of the I beam.

Don't give up the headroom to frame under the I beam. Use a ladder construction on both sides and let your drywall straddle between, kissing the bottom of the I beam.


Due to my lack of any construction knowledge, I was hoping you might be able to elaborate on this. Do you have any pictures, or a possible link to this process, I would definitely not want to lose head room. Thanks much.

I don't have a picture, but try this....

Frame up a section of "wall" that hangs from the ceiling and hangs down only about 1/4" below the I beam. Then do the same thing on the other side of the I-beam. Screw your drywall to both of these sections so that it is only 1/4 of an inch below the i-beam. This saves you space over the other method, which would have framing running below the i beam, which would lose you up to another inch or so of space depending on how you framed it.

If you have the headroom, then just go ahead and frame it in like a soffit.

That is what I did. On either side of my supply duct I built a 2x2 frame. Then connected the 2 sides with drywall. The only challenge is to make sure you keep the frames plumb. Worked great for me.

http://www.reedzone.com/framing4.jpg

That is what I did. On either side of my supply duct I built a 2x2 frame. Then connected the 2 sides with drywall. The only challenge is to make sure you keep the frames plumb. Worked great for me.

http://www.reedzone.com/framing4.jpg

I figure then it would be best to screw that to the ceiling as opposed to using nails. I just figure, since nails might loosen, versus screws which should stay put, is this an accurate assumption?

I figure then it would be best to screw that to the ceiling as opposed to using nails. I just figure, since nails might loosen, versus screws which should stay put, is this an accurate assumption?I use construction screws for everything.

I used deck screws.

what size screw is a good size, not too big, not too small, but instead just right...thanks

3" was by far the most frequently used in my build.

Go to your HD and pick up some 1-5/8" metal track (steel framing)
Screw a run against the ceiling and up agaist the beam
Then screw a strip of drywall to that hangin long enough to just clear the beam
Next hold and screw anothe track to the bottom of the drywall strip
do that on both sides of the beam and then just screw drywall to the bottom

This is what is call "board framing" in the industry. its sneekily accepted commercially but perfectly fine for residential and will take almost no time or money

Hey TJ7, Are you talking about using RC Channels? I think that is a great idea. It would allow you to attach the drywall securely and only cost you an additional 1/2" of headroom.

Hey TJ7, Are you talking about using RC Channels? I think that is a great idea. It would allow you to attach the drywall securely and only cost you an additional 1/2" of headroom.

Nope - RC-1 is not for this application. Basically, ladder framing is overkill and board framing eliminates all the vertical and horizontal framing members. You end up with 2 continuous runners on the ceiling (one on each side of the beam), and 2 continuous runners at the bottom of the beam (one on each side); just enough to get the drywall past.

As long as all the runners are kept against the beam the assembly will stay straight and solid. No vertical or horizontal ladder framing is needed; if the drywall is fastened properly, it is more than strong enough to carry the load of itself and far more if required.

Like this:

http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y265/tjmAurora/BoardFrameBeam.jpg

I like that idea, but would be a bit concerned about rattles in a HT environment. If you do it, I would make sure you use lots of construction adhesive and put insulation in the cavities to prevent resonances.

, but would be a bit concerned about rattles in a HT environment. If you do it, I would make sure you use lots of construction adhesive and put insulation in the cavities to prevent resonances.

I would use silicon caulk between the I beam and metal track. Plus the insulation you mentioned . Caulk between the bottom of the beam and the drywall.

I would use silicon caulk between the I beam and metal track. Plus the insulation you mentioned . Caulk between the bottom of the beam and the drywall.Good point. When the adhesive hardens it may not do the job for the long-term - something that remains flexible is the way to go. The ideal would be Green Glue.

Good ideas here. I had to soffit around an I-beam in my basement (not in the theater room) and went with typical construction. I used sideways 2x4's beneath the beam, so I only lost 1.5" of headroom, but losing no headroom would have been better.

Plus, building those little soffits and getting them plumb/square was a royal pain. It took me longer to frame that soffit than the whole rest of the room.

Great ideas. A bead of adhesive between the drywall and the metal track would also provide additional strength. You could also use felt paper between the beam and the metal track but stuffing the whole assembly with insulation is probably a must.

This can also give you a nice clean raceway for wiring.

If the bottom drywall is extended on on side to overhang and then a short vertical is included using a similar assembly, you end up with a nice light cove; the size would depend on the fixture. Very small for rope lights and larger for florescent tubes.

Here is how I did mine.

I left a little room so that I can insulate around the long duct. I have high celings so I figured why not.

Another fast and economical way to achieve this is to use an "I-Joist" similar to the ILevel product. Snap a chalk line on the ceiling, lift it into place, and screw it into the joists. You don't have to worry about cutting all the small blocks and getting them aligned plumb and straight because the web member of the I-Joist will be a consistent depth, and the soffit will be VERY straight since there is no chance it will ever warp or twist.

If it is just an I-beam, you can Ramset a 2X6 to the bottom of it. There should already be a 2X6 on top of the I-beam, thus giving you a place to screw drywall top and bottom. This is the least amount of work and the least expensive.

Don't give up the headroom to frame under the I beam. Use a ladder construction on both sides and let your drywall straddle between, kissing the bottom of the I beam.

Second on that.

But in my case I left a little gap between the beam and drywall to prevent rattles and avoid vibration transfer.

(now that I read a bit more, me like the caulking or green glue option to avoid those issues as well.)

Gosh

If it is just an I-beam, you can Ramset a 2X6 to the bottom of it. There should already be a 2X6 on top of the I-beam, thus giving you a place to screw drywall top and bottom. This is the least amount of work and the least expensive.

Yep, or even a 1x6. Since it's very visible, it should be easy to be accurate on hitting it in the middle. I'm in the process of ripping apart my basement that was very poorly "finished", and there are 1x6s on the bottom of beams where I'm going to attach the drywall. Some of them are on the sides as well, and instead of ripping them off, I'll just pull drywall on top of them.