How to Soundproof a Ceiling with Hat Channels 2

Soundproofing the ceiling is useful, if not essential, in specialized rooms such as home recording studios, home theater rooms, and even workshops where you'll be using power tools. This is pretty easy to do by installing aluminum hat channels.

In the first part of this series, you installed the hat channels in your ceiling. In this part, you'll cover them with drywall to finish off your ceiling.

Enlist a Friend to Help

While you can drywall a ceiling without an extra pair of hands, it's much easier, and quicker, with the help of a friend. Take some time and make some calls to get the help you need.

Clean the Joists

If you had to remove an older ceiling before installing the hat channels, take some extra time to check the joists and make sure you removed all the old screws and nails. If you leave any, they can poke through the drywall.

Start in a Corner

Once your friend arrives to help you with the drywall, get him straight to work. Start in the corner of your room and begin screwing in the drywall sheets. Install them so that they run across the ceiling rather than with the joists. This will allow you to use more full sheets and have fewer seams to tape.

Drive the screws with a drill and stop them just as they break the surface of the drywall fiber. The screw heads should be indented into the drywall board.

Apply Drywall Mud and Tape

After all the drywall sheets have been attached to the ceiling, cover them with the mud and tape. Spread a thin coating of mud over all of the seams in between each sheet, making sure to press the mud into the cracks.

Place the tape over the mud and run your drywall trowel over the tape, pressing it into the mud application. Once you have the tape smoothed out, spread another thin layer of mud over the tape. Work the mud in a wide swath so you can feather it into the surrounding drywall.

Sand Smooth

Once the drywall mud has dried to a hard consistency, run a smooth-grit piece of sandpaper over the ceiling. Your goal is only to smooth out some of the high spots in the mud; try not to rough up the drywall itself.

Prime and Paint

After you have finished sanding the drywall smooth, wash it down with a damp sponge. After that, wait a few minutes and then spray on a coating of primer. After that has dried for a day, go over it with the finish color.