Finish a basement remodel project with a suspended ceiling.
Suspended ceiling installation is much quicker and easier than drywall ceiling installation. Suspended ceilings are built using a grid of tiles. Plan to build the grid with all partial tiles around the room's perimeter and full tiles in the remaining grid openings, giving the ceiling a professionally-installed look. Before you begin this project, draw a scaled version of the room on a piece of paper. Configure the ceiling grid on the paper, and use it a blueprint for installing the ceiling.
Instructions
1. Measure 4 to 6 inches down from the ceiling joists' bottom edge and make a light pencil mark on the wall. This indicates the suspended ceiling's height. If you don't plan to install lighting in your ceiling, measuring 4 inches down from the joists is enough. Measure 6 inches down to allow room for lighting fixtures. Move a few feet over and measure 4 to 6 inches down again. Put a laser level in the center of the room and line it up so it intersects the two pencil marks.
2. Run a stud finder along the laser line to locate each of the wall studs and mark them with a pencil. Position a piece of perimeter molding against one wall. Line up the molding's top edge with the laser line. Hammer 6d nails through the molding and into each marked wall stud to secure the perimeter molding in place. Repeat on the three remaining walls.
3. Use the blueprint you created and measure the correct distance away from one of the moldings running perpendicular to the ceiling joists. This will indicate the first main runner's placement and will probably house a partial tile. Measure across the room to locate the next main runner's placement. Continue until you have marked each main runner. Double check that the final main runner is the appropriate distance away from the molding, as you had figured in the blueprint.
4. Snap a chalk line across the ceiling joists to mark each main runner's placement on each joist. Drill a 1/8-inch pilot hole into each third joist along each chalk line. Screw a small eyebolt into each pilot hole. Cut a piece of 16-gauge hanger wire with tin snips for each eyebolt. Make the wire approximately 6 inches longer than the distance between the molding and the ceiling joists
5. Feed one wire 3 inches into the first eyebolt. Bend the wire down and wrap it around itself at least three times. Repeat with the remaining wires and eyebolts. Aim a laser level across the room. Line up the laser with the perimeter molding's bottom edge. Bend each wire where the laser hits it to form an L.
6. Refer to your blueprint to determine the width of the first perimeter grid width against one of the molding's running parallel with the ceiling joists. Hook your tape measure into the first cross tee slot and measure that distance toward the main runner's end. Cut the main runner at this mark with tin snips.
7. Lift a main runner up to the ceiling. Rest its end on the perimeter molding and line it up underneath the first snapped chalk line. Insert each bent wire into the nearest hole in the main runner's top edge. Bend each wire up and wrap it around itself three times. Repeat this step for the remaining chalk lines and hanger wires.
8. Space cross tees every two feet between the main runners. The cross tees' end tabs fit into the main runner's side slots. Push until they snap into place. If you have partial tiles around the perimeter, cut the cross tees to fit between the main runner and the molding. Rest the cut end on the molding's lip and insert the other end into the main runner's side slot.
9. Lift the ceiling tiles above the ceiling grid and lower them into place. Tilt the tiles slightly to fit them through the grid openings. Cut the perimeter tiles to fit into the smaller with a utility knife. Use a level as a straight edge to achieve a straight cut. If you want to install recessed lighting above the suspended ceiling, determine which tiles will have a light above them. Trace the light fixture's opening onto a piece of cardboard. Cut the template out with scissors and use it to cut circles out of the tiles using a utility knife.
Tags: main runner, ceiling joists, inches down, perimeter molding, chalk line, cross tees, grid openings