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Are they really that much more economical when it comes to building a new home?
For just a very rudimental example:
A standard 8ft pressure treated 2x4 is $3.87 per board. If you buit a 10x10 ft room with a ceiling of 8 ft. You will need 33 8ft 2x4's studs (this doesn't include cross bracings bases or crowns). Increase the wall height to 12ft and you add $3.45 per board. Sheet rock on the other hand only comes in 8x4ft sheets which means that you have to pay an extra sheet for every 2 sheets (depending on how they are hung of course) to cover your 12ft ceiling ($11.50 or so per sheet). You will also need to increase the structural support for load bearing walls with the higher ceilings so that has to be taken into account as well. Of course that doesn't in include more paint, or increased cost of heating and cooling. It may seem like nickels and dimes but they start to add up. The estimates that I've heard are that just going from 10 to 12ft ceilings will add 10% to the total cost of the home. It that, "that, expensive? I suppose that is in the eye of your bank account.
Sheetrock is a brand of Gypsum Drywall. Gypsum Drywall comes in standard 8, 9, 10 & 12 foot lengths. They are all 4 foot in width. Typically they are screwed (or nailed) to the wall, in a .... um it's hard to describe so here's a picture below.
Having the long part of the board cover as many studs as possible (using 12 foot long boards where you can) helps to brace the wall. If the wall is longer then 12 foot you want to stagger the butt ends. In such an arrangement 4 foot wide + 4 foot wide equals an 8 foot tall wall. If you go taller then 8 foot you end up cutting up a lot of board on site adding labor and waste. And the fewer joints there are the less mudding that needs to be done.
Edit: I have found that they make 4'-6" wide gypsum drywall. It's not a standard size, but will get you 9 foot high without needing to cut up a lot of 4 foot wide board.
If the rooms are small, 8 ft ceilings are in better proportion. Larger rooms can 'tolerate' a higher ceiling. If your rooms are large, it seems that 10 ft ceilings would have less wastage of materials. Just a thought.
As a former drywall contractor if you want 12' walls I would just stand the 4x12 board up. Make a much smother finish also as the factory edge joints finish smother. Butt joints that have no factory edge can always be spotted if you look for them.
It's really not all that much a big deal. Home builders resist though because the drywall contractor usually bids the house by the total board count. Thus the contractor(drywall) would want a perineum to change the plans. Never mind every other sub contractor involved.
Cookie cutter builders will fight you tooth and nail.
Indi builders are way more flexible, providing you are willing to pay.
The thing I'd be concerned about would be the cost of heading or a/c that extra space but that depends upon where you live. In the north lower ceilings are popular because the heat will rise and you have to pay extra to keep it warm down at the level where people are sitting. I guess you could have ceiling fans to blow the heat back down but there goes the electric bill.
that's the difference in cost to go form 8 to 9', in this scenario.
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