Metal Frame Ceilings for Office or Home
Metal frame ceilings are an alternative to the gypsum and plaster ceilings of the past. They offer easy access to the space above them, and their design provides you the opportunity to choose the height at which they are installed. Fitting a metal frame ceiling can be broken down into three basic phases: measuring the room for layout purposes, putting up the wall angle and supporting wires, and finally installation and leveling.
Measuring and Designing the Layout
The layout is essentially the act of measuring the room to decide where to put your main tee bar so that you will end up with equal borders on both sides of the room. Main tee bars in a metal frame ceiling have connecting holes punched at 6-inch intervals to allow framing for 2-by-2 tiles or for 2-by-4 tiles, depending on your preference. As an example: if you had a 10 x 10-foot room, hang your first main tee bar two feet from the wall and cut it so there is a punch slot 2 feet from the end of the main tee bar. This would give you a 2-foot border all the way around the room when you install the cross tees.
Wall Angle and Wires
Once you have decided on a height for your ceiling, install the wall angle. If you have access to a laser level or a water level, these tools make installing the wall angle easier; if not, in most applications you can get by with a tape measure and a chalk line. If you are using a tape measure, measure from the floor to 1 inch above your desired ceiling height, and mark that height in every corner. Chalk a line around the perimeter of the room at those marks. Install the wall angle using the chalk line as a guide for the top edge of the wall angle. Now hang the supporting wires directly above where the layout shows your first main tee bar to be and the others at 4-foot intervals in both directions. Make sure, when you install your wire, that they are long enough to hang at least 1 foot below your desired ceiling height to allow you to tie up the grid later.
Installing the Grid
The installation process begins by hanging the first main tee in the pre-determined position. Then cut and install your first 4-foot tee in the border slot. When that is complete, cut your 4-foot tees to fit along the remainder of the wall and add the second main tee. Now you can add the 4-foot tees for the second main using the first main for a guide. After you have your first two main tees up, check the openings to be sure they are square. Measure one of the openings diagonally from corner to corner, and then in the other direction--it should read the same in both directions. If this is not the case hold one main tee to the wall while sliding the other back enough to square the opening.
If this does not work, try reversing the process or cutting a little off one of the main tees. Continue installing the rest of the grid. After all the grid has been installed, tie up the ceiling using the supporting wires. Tie a string tightly across the room from wall angle to wall angle along each main tee to guide you in the leveling process. Run the wire through the hole in the main tee, then bend it at a point that will pull the ceiling up to the level position and twist the wire around itself several times to secure it.
Tags: wall angle, first main, your first, supporting wires, your first main