How to attach to plaster ceiling?

[entranced]

Hello!

In the living room, we plan to lower the ceiling around the walls and 40 cm in - creating a recessed frame around the ceiling. The idea is to then install spotlights in this frame.

I plan to mount 45x95 studs with a length of 40 cm where I intend to attach the frame itself (which I plan to use 12mm chipboard for). The ceiling is made of gypsum, so I hoped to find some studs underneath to provide a good surface for attachment. The part of the ceiling closest to the wall is framed all around, so there are no issues attaching with long wood screws. But 40 cm in, I can't find any studs at all (I've been around with a drill looking). How should I go about attaching my 45x95 studs to the existing gypsum ceiling so that it will/be able to hold fastening the chipboard? Expanders??(!), PL400? ;D

I've made a picture so it might be easier to understand what I mean:



Tips are welcome! Thanks...

 

[Stefan_h]

My spontaneous thought is molly.. drill through the beam with the right size depending on the screw, mark in the ceiling, molly, then when it goes up, pl 400 on the beam and then screw it up.. Or am I completely wrong???

 

[entranced]

That sounds good. I suspected something similar but wanted it confirmed

Follow-up question; What distance between the studs should there be to support the chipboards that are up to 2.5m long?

 

[Immobil]

c/c 600 mm should be good.

 

[zankan]

oh my spontaneous reaction is why mount the studs on the short side? longitudinal is so much easier but maybe I'm alone in thinking that..

 

[zephir]

I think mr z hit the nail on the head this time (too).

Zephir

 

[entranced]

Thank you for all the answers and opinions. Appreciated by a novice in this subject.

and my spontaneous reaction is why install the studs on the short side? lengthwise is so much easier but maybe I'm alone in thinking that..

I had that thought too, but since I will be doing this myself, I thought it would be easier and save on some swear words by going with the short pieces rather than full lengths. Maybe I'm wrong... I really don't know what to do now. :-?

 

[entranced]

Came to think of one more thing. Can you replace the actual screw that is on the molly considering it is supposed to go through a 95mm stud and then single drywall in the ceiling? The standard screw that usually comes with the molly wouldn't even reach halfway through the stud.

 

[elof]

Came to think of yet another thing. Can you replace the actual screw on the molly considering that it needs to go through a 95mm stud and then the single plasterboard in the ceiling? The standard screw that usually comes with the molly wouldn't even reach halfway through the stud.

Sure, you can replace the screw in the molly, they should be standard dimensions unless I'm totally off track I think the initial idea in this thread was to countersink the screw into the stud, but it's certainly easy to acquire a longer screw.

Regarding how you should place the studs, I believe in longitudinal, it's less fiddly

Good luck!

 

[entranced]

Good luck!

Thanks, it seems like it's going to be needed. Oh well, you have to try to get to know your limitations. I will be going with longitudinal as advised here.

Thanks again for all the help with my newbie questions.  

 

[entranced]

Okay, what I've done now is mounted a rule on the boards where the ends of the chipboards meet to have something to attach the ends to and to reduce the risk of movement at the joint.

How do I best minimize the appearance of the joint between the chipboards and reduce the risk of cracking once everything is painted and finished? Simply filling and painting over the joint is hardly sufficient, right? Should one use fabric, latex caulk, or something else?