height of drywall and finished floor

Hi,

I have been remodeling my kitchen for the past year having stripped it down to the studs. I have completed the plumbing, electrical and gas and have just finished all the insulation and am now ready for the drywall. The kitchen had an 8ft ceiling.

I currently have a 1/2" of subfloor down now. I plan on adding another 5/8" of plywood to the subfloor, a layer of cement board and then tile. I figure about 2 inches higher than what I have now. I had wanted to do the drywall before the tile because of the mess, of course. I am just confused as to the height of the drywall. I just measured from my current subfloor to the ceiling joist and that just happens to measure 96" now before any drywall is on the ceiling or any flooring has been put down. I also know i need to keep the drywall off the floor by about a 1/2".

I am not sure how to go about this? Which should I do first? The drywall or the floor. If I do the drywall first, how do I ensure I cut it to the right height before the flooring goes in? It would seem that I will have to cut down all my drywall to fit the reduced height of my kitchen. Any input would be appreciated.

Thanks,

Mark

marklevinson1 said:

I have been remodeling my kitchen ... am now ready for the drywall. The kitchen had an 8ft ceiling [frame].

I currently have a 1/2" of subfloor down now. I plan on adding another 5/8" of plywood to the subfloor, a layer of cement board and then tile. I figure about 2 inches higher than what I have now.

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First, I would check to be sure whether your existing 1/2" plus another 5/8" is sufficient for a tile floor. One of the tile sites has a floor load/strength calculator, and maybe someone here can direct you to that link.

In any case, you should do the ceiling first (after adding another layer to your floor), then push the wallboard up tight to it before fastening, allowing at least an inch (and no less) at the bottom for your *final* layers of 1/2" concrete board, thinset and tile (3/8" - 1/2").

Also, keep in mind that your baseboard moulding is going to cover about 3" of wall above the finished floor. So then, and for example:

96" - 3/4" flooring - 1/2" ceiling board - 1/2" concrete board - 1/2" tiling space - 1/2" breathing room = 93-1/4" drywall cut length for walls.

Personally, I don't see any reason to keep the drywall up off the floor level except for potentially one - unless above the finished floor, liquids spilled on the floor could wick through the bottom edge of the drywall and mess with it. Depending on how you do the baseboard, that may be a minor point, especially if you end up using a tiled one in that area since the tile likes full support, and you won't have that if you don't run it down far enough. Unless the area is regularly wet, I'm not sure I'd sweat it. One thing you DO want, is to have the drywall low enough so you can fasten it to the wall plate. If you don't, you risk breaking it up as that is a vulnerable area. If you raise it too much, you'd have to put in blocking, and I'm not sure it is worth the effort.

So, maybe this will start an interesting discussion or alternate thoughts!

jadnashua said:

Personally, I don't see any reason to keep the drywall up off the floor level except for potentially one ...

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As I heard it, the issue there was simply that he wants to be able to tile *after* the wallboard is up.

jadnashua said:

... baseboard ... a tiled one ... likes full support ...

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I had not though of that, so maybe the "breathing room" should be eliminated.

jadnashua said:

One thing you DO want, is to have the drywall low enough so you can fasten it to the wall plate.

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Adding even only 5/8" decking plus 1/2" concrete board and 3/8" thinset and tile -- 1-1/2" total -- is going to make that impossible. So, blocking between studs is going to be necessary.

Tile nor a wood floor needs to go under the drywall unless you are going sans baseboard. As long as it is covered by the baseboard, you can stop it anywhere...I vote for actually having a solid surface you can nail to and adding blocking seems like a waste...put it up first, then finish the floor.

jadnashua said:

I vote for actually having a solid surface you can nail to and adding blocking seems like a waste...put it up first, then finish the floor.

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Ah! I hear you there ... as long as the wallboard is not damaged during the installation of additional decking and there is no need for nailing/screwing baseboard or anything else (including cabinets) at floor level.

So then, 96" - ceiling thickness - a little breathing room = about 95", eh?!

Thanks for the advice fellas. It is appreciated. leejosepho's estimate of 93 1/4" for the drywall height seems right on the money. I will definitely be losing my base plate for screwing the drywall into. I will be putting in regular ole baseboard molding where there are no cabinets. If you take a look at my plans, http://www.patmedia.net/marklevinson/plans/plans.html,
you can see that almost all the walls will be covered with cabinets and the left side will have a long run of a hot water baseboard heating unit. For those areas not covered by cabinets or heating units do you think I need to install blocking or can I skip it?

Thanks,

Mark

need blocking, flimsy or strong. Drywall all alone will warp or bow within a few years, as humidity changes season to season.

david

marklevinson1 said:

... 93 1/4" for the drywall height seems right on the money. I will definitely be losing my base plate for screwing the drywall into.

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Did you catch Jim's suggestion? He is saying to hang the drywall *before* adding anything to the floor so you *can* fasten your drywall to the base plate. After that, you could still build the floor and tile as required/desired without causing any problems.

marklevinson1 said:

I will be putting in regular ole baseboard molding where there are no cabinets ... For those areas not covered by cabinets or heating units do you think I need to install blocking or can I skip it?

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If you do the ceiling and walls first, you would only need blocking for those baseboard-moulding areas you have mentioned. But if you proceed as I had first mentioned, you will need blocking all the way around. Either way will work and be fine, I would say, but there is less work to do if you first block only the areas where the baseboard will be and hang your drywall before adding more to the height of your floor.

ok, now I get it. I don't think I quite understood what Jim was suggesting before. It would probably be in my best interest to install the drywall down to where I can screw it into the baseplate. As I already have my insulation in it would be easier than to have to remove it to install blocking. I will probably try to do some sort of "waterproofing" down near the baseboards to deal with any potential flooding issues. Thanks again.