Since it isn't a very big room I don't have to worry about a lot of weight hanging from the joists. What I did was after adding the last couple pieces of drywall near the ceiling I hung two 2x4s flat by toe nailing them into the top plate in the back and the header above the door. To get support next to the walls I screwed 2x2 cleats to the wall. Since I hadn't been planning on doing this I didn't have spare new 2x4s so I reclaimed some of the wall studs that I'd ripped out of the previously existing wall. They are garbage and the ceiling is probably going to look bad as a result but hey... It is a closet in the basement meant to hold a dust collector.
To get my drywall home in one piece in the back of a short bed pickup I purchased a random piece of plywood. It wasn't a very good piece of plywood but I was in too much of a hurry to dig through the stack for a less bowed piece. I ended up using a chunk of it across the back of the closet. Since I screwed it into the joists it's going to give them a fair bit more support. It'll also keep things from whacking the back side of the ceiling drywall.
I suppose I could have come up with some braces to hold the drywall to the ceiling while I screwed it in place... or ... I could get my friend to stop over on the way home from work and give me hand. John stopped over this afternoon and we cut out the drywall for the ceiling and put it in place. It was quick and easy.
I've still got to put some small pieces around the inside of the door but otherwise it is all done or at least the blue board/drywall is done enough for now. I think the next steps for me are:
- Move the dust collector into the closet
- Move my table saw outlet
- Ducting
- Doors
- Venting
I'm going to leave the closet without joint compound and paint for a while. I'm going to see how the noise works out. If the noise carries through the central air duct work and is significantly louder I'll take the top down and add some insulation to try and dampen the noise.
