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Old timer in Spokane told me to never use a drywall lift for ceilings under 9 feet
Met him at a supply house 15 years ago. Tried it anyway on an 8 foot ceiling last month and spent twice as long wrestling the thing around. Should have listened.
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taylorshah29d ago
Is it really that deep though? A drywall lift is a pain sometimes but I've used one on 8 foot ceilings plenty of times without losing my mind. Maybe your T brace method is fine but not everyone has a buddy standing around to help hold stuff up. The old timer gave his advice based on his own experience but that doesn't make it a universal rule. I've seen guys use lifts in tight bathrooms and make it work just fine with a little patience. Half the battle is just knowing how to position the thing before you start. Sounds like a lot of people here are turning one bad afternoon into a whole life philosophy.
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Oh man, I feel this one in my bones lol. I tried using a lift on an 8 foot ceiling in my basement and ended up just switching to a T brace halfway through. The lift was more of a headache than a helper, constantly bumping into the walls and I had to reset it like five times. I think the old timer was onto something because that thing is just too bulky for tight spaces. For me, having a buddy hold one end while I screw the other side in is way faster and less frustrating.
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nancyj1129d ago
Jumped on this same wagon a few years back and learned the same lesson the hard way. It's like that old saying about the right tool for the job, but sometimes the "right" tool just doesn't fit the real world. I think there's a bigger pattern here in how we all tend to overcomplicate simple tasks because we hear about a new tool or method and assume it's better. It's the same thing with those electric caulking guns or fancy laser levels I see guys buying for basic trim work. The old timer saw that the drywall lift was designed for higher ceilings where you're fighting gravity the whole time, not for a standard 8 foot room where a T-brace and a helper works just fine. We get so caught up in gadgets that we forget the simplest fix is often the fastest and cheapest.
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quinna8929d ago
3 guys I know swear by them for anything under 10 feet but I've only used one once on an 8 foot ceiling and it was a pain in the ass. The legs kept getting in the way of my studs and I had to keep shimmying it around. Maybe the old timer was just talking about his own bad experience, or maybe I'm just too clumsy with it. But honestly for an 8 foot ceiling a good T-brace and a buddy is still way faster for me.
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