With flexible ducts, you can successfully run air throughout the space above a suspended ceiling.
Supplying air conditioning precisely where it's needed in a home often requires the running of additional air ducts through the walls and ceiling spaces of the home. Flexible duct allows you to do this by working your way through small crowded spaces with ease. When the space is above a suspended drywall ceiling, there's even more ceiling space to work with than usual. All that's necessary is to access the space, attach the new duct and then run the duct through the area to wherever it's needed.
Instructions
1. Locate the screws along the edges of the drywall ceiling panels that secure the panels to the suspended ceiling grid. Remove the screws with a Phillips screwdriver, and then lower the panels and set them aside. The screws may be hidden by a coating of joint compound. Feel along the surface of the drywall until you feel the deformation created by the row of screws running through the panels to locate their placement. Remove the compound with a putty knife to access the screw heads. Removing the panels will give you access to the space above the grid where you can run the ductwork. Depending on the size of the panels, they may be heavy so an assistant may be needed to help you support the panel's weight during removal.
2. Locate the nearest main air duct to the room. The duct is recognizable by its square shape. If you can't find the duct, then locate the nearest air conditioning vent and run a metal detector stud finder over the wall around the vent to locate the direction of the duct connecting the vent to the main line. Use a wide scan setting on the finder to detect the vent location, then a pinpoint scanning mode to follow the duct through the wall.
3. Follow the ductwork as it runs through the wall with the metal detector until you reach a connecting branch. The connection should be the place where the duct feeding the vent connects to the main duct. Follow the main duct with the stud finder toward the room where you wish to run the air duct through the ceiling space. When you get as close to the space as you can, stop following the duct and mark its position in the wall or ceiling. This is where you'll need to cut into the duct to connect the new flexible duct used to run through the space above your suspended drywall ceiling.
4. Access the marked location of the duct by removing the drywall panel covering the duct. Locate the edges of the panel by feeling along the surface of the drywall until you reach the drywall tape beneath the smooth wall or ceiling surface. Cut through the center of the tape with a utility knife along the drywall joints on both sides of the panel. Pry the panel from the surface with a pry bar to pull away the panel and the nails holding it in place as well.
5. Place a starter collar for ducts against the side of the square duct nearest your suspended ceiling area. Trace around the edge of the collar with a grease pencil against the square duct.
6. Drill a hole through the side of the duct just inside your drawn circle to create a starting point for cutting into the duct. Slip the tip of a pair of tin snips into the hole and cut out the traced circle. Use right cut tin snips to cut clockwise along the circle edge, and left cut tin snips if your cut runs counterclockwise. Remove the cutout from the side of the duct.
7. Bend every other small tab along the rim of the collar to the side so that they point away from the collar at a 90-degree angle. Slip the still straight tabs into the hole in the duct so that the bent tabs rest on the duct surface. Reach through the center of the collar and bend the remaining tabs out 90-degrees so that the edge of the duct is caught between the two rows of tabs.
8. Drive three hex-head sheet metal screws into the side of the duct through the lip along the edge of the collar to secure the collar to the duct surface. Use a screw set on the drill to space the screws evenly around the rim of the collar.
9. Slip the end of a length of flexible duct long enough to run through the walls or ceiling of your structure to the target location over the drywall ceiling over the end of the starter collar. Wrap a duct strap around the end of the duct over the collar to hold the duct in place. Tighten the strap with a pair of pliers. Cover the joint between the collar and the duct with a strip of metal duct tape.
10. Run the duct through the wall or ceiling between the wall studs or the ceiling joists toward the suspended ceiling area. Connect the duct every five feet along the path by wrapping a duct strap around the body of the flexible duct and screwing it to a joist or stud with one of the hex-head screws.
11. Continue to run the duct through the space over the suspended ceiling, connecting the duct to the ceiling joists above the gridwork with the duct straps until you reach your destination.
12. Extend the flexible duct to the target area and connect it to whatever you wish to drive the air to with the duct. Cut the flexible duct if necessary using the tin snips.
13. Replace the ceiling panels once your connection is made by screwing them back into place to the grid framework. Cover the screws with a thin layer of joint compound spread over the screw heads with a putty knife to conceal them, and then paint the compound to match the ceiling surface with an interior paint and paintbrush.
14. Replace the drywall panel to the wall by nailing it back into position. Sand off the joint compound placed over the joint between the returned panel and adjacent panels. Redo the joint with a layer of joint compound spread along the joint smoothly with a drywall knife. Cover the compound with drywall tape, and then cover the tape with a second layer of compound. Allow the compound 24 hours drying time and then sand it smooth before repainting the wall its original color to conceal the repair.
Tags: , suspended ceiling, drywall ceiling, joint compound, space above, flexible duct