Since about anything seems to get an intelligent response here, I’d thought I’d run this by the Group:
How to hang rock on a ceiling by yourself?
I have a basement which is long on exposed joists, and short on open floor space - a hoist would take hours just to set up, and, and, as dangerous the footing in it is, I am reluctant to allow anyone else into the area. (plus, I’m broke, and good work doesn’t run cheap)
You should be able to rent a drywall lift from a home improvement store or rental center for relatively cheap (I am guessing around $50) which should make life less painful for you. I wish my husband and his buddies had known about it when they re-drywalled our master bedroom (it was done back before I was on the scene. The joint taping is…lacking). Happy remodeling!
Why would you want a rock dangling from your ceiling? 
Yeah, I know about lifts - the problem being that they require open floor space (ideally, one upbroken range - unfortuantely this project has cabinets, plumbing, electrical fixtures, and plain old lumber all over the place -clearing a 6’x8’ area for a hoist would take about 2 hours - and then 30 minutes to use the hoist, and another 2 hours to clear the next spot…
Anybody know of a hoist then can either hang from the ceiling, or mout to a wall?
(right now the lath and plaster routine has some appeal, and I am horrible with mud, so can’t imagine the disaster I’d create with overhead plaster.
(and, the quick/dirty way to get rid of bad taping is to HIRE somebody with a texture sprayer - that “texture” you see in modern houses is a spray-on material (altyough I once saw a couple of guys with old brooms and 5-gallon buckets of watered-down mus acccomplish much the same effect). I would NOT recommend a DIY use of either method in an occupied dwelling 
Been there, done that, it sucks. You sure you can’t get one other person? That would make things much easier. Then you have it sit on both your heads while one guy screws in a few screws and hands the drill to the other guy. So much fun!
The only way I see to do it with no lift and no other people is use the mess to your advantage. Make a secure pile of stuff that goes up to about a foot from the ceiling rest one end on that while you hold the other end and secure with a few screws. Drywall can bend enough that a foot from the ceiling should be enough. Then you pick that end up and screw it. Of course, this will be an unbelivable nightmare, but it will work.
Just a slight highjack for some advice. Don’t try to go cheap and use 1/2" rock on the ceiling. Use 5/8". 1/2" is not rigid enough to keep from buckling with gravity. I used to work in a home center, and a guy was complaining that we sold him defective sheet rock. After it fell off the ceiling, it was discovered that he had used 1/2" instead of 5/8" (which is code in Cali). His pending lawsuit was withdrawn…
Some people should be forcibly restrained from doing it themselves.
Is “rock” a regional thing? I’ve never heard it called anything besides “drywall.” In fact, isn’t Sheet Rock a brand name? Now it’s being kleenexed…
Best solution is to offer a six-pack or two (or whatever is the standard low-level bribe in your group) to get a buddy to help. Two guys can rock a ceiling without too much problem. I’ve done it more than once. It’s hard work, and your arms feel like they’re going to fall off, but you can do it.
If you can’t get a buddy, there are a couple of possibilities.
(For both of these methods, I’m assuming you can reach the ceiling enough to hold the sheetrock against it. If not, cut up a few 2x4s and either create some stilts, or just make a couple of low boxes you can step up onto.)
First, you could use a few 2x4s to create some T braces. With a brace on one end of the sheet, you can lift the other end into place and get a couple of screws into it, then work your way back toward the brace.
It takes some practice, and you’ll probably break a couple of sheets as you are getting the hang of it, but it’s doable.
Second, if you don’t like the T brace, just cut the sheets in half from 4x8 to 4x4. It’s more work to mud, but one person can usually handle a 4x4 sheet alone. And if you take you time with the mud, you won’t be able to tell.
I’ll second the T Brace, use screws to put it together and you can even reuse them after you are done.
Sheet rock is a pretty generic term here, union carpenters I’ve worked with have been called 'rockers, and their work called 'rocking.
I’ve also done the two guys, balance sheetrock on your head, pass the screw gun back and forth. It works fairly well. Do you have a 6 or 8 foot ladder you can balance one end of the 4x8 sheet on? Maybe rig something with pole-jacks? Quite a challenge for a one man job, good luck!
Common slogans on the sides of their trucks:
“We will we will rock you.”
“More rock, less talk.”
OK - this sounds interesting - as a varient, could I hinge the leg of a T brace to a wall, place the rock on the semi-vertical brace, then (somehow) swing it up, secure the loose end with another brace, and begin screwing?
And on the 1/2 vs. 5/8 - oops… (I mounted a 5’ chunk above the tub, so it’s either pull that and replace it with 5/8", or have a stepped effect. Yes, this is MR rock.
Terminology - I’ve heard it called:
Rock
Sheet rock
Gypsum board
Wallboard
Plasterboard (this one is really old - I don’t think I’ve heard it in 40 years).
Thanks for the tips!
MR board is moisture resistant-available in differing thicknesses-sometimes called greenboard. X rock is the fire-rated 5/8" stuff, mandatory for certain locations as specified by code.
I made slightly modified T-braces for a ceiling job once. The horizontal of the T was 5’ and at the ends, small blocks of 2x were added so the main horizontal section was 1 1/2" below ceiling plane. That way, I fixed one brace in place, laid the sheet against the horizontal, lifted the other end and set the second brace in place. That way the sheet was very close to the ceiling and I could take my time getting the joint tight and making sure all of my screws were into the joists.