Drop Ceiling Project

Determine the height at which you want to install the drop ceiling. Mark the wall at that height with a pencil. Extend this mark to a line that runs all the way around the room. Keep the line straight and level by using a 4-foot level guiding the pencil.

Install the perimeter rail for the drop ceiling so that the rail’s bottom is level with the line you drew. The central rails for the drop ceiling are T-shaped supporting the panels on both sides, but the perimeter rail is L-shaped so it sits flat against the wall providing support for the panels along the edge. Secure the perimeter rail by screwing it into the wall using 1 1/2-inch-long screws. Be sure that the screws go into the wall studs and not just the drywall.

Install the cross rails by setting their ends onto the perimeter rail’s lip. Separate the cross rails by a distance equal to the ceiling panels’ width. Support the cross rails through the room’s center by attaching wires to them, running the wires upward and attaching them to screws that you drive into the ceiling joists. Use the 4-foot level to ensure that the cross rails are straight and level. Secure the wires to the cross rails and the screws by twisting it around them with a pair of pliers.

Install the divider rails that support the panels’ ends by setting them onto the cross rails’ lip, so that the divider rails are perpendicular to the cross rails. Separate the divider rails by a distance that is equal to the ceiling panels’ length. You should now have a suspended grid that consists of rectangles that are the same size as your ceiling panels.

Install the ceiling panels by feeding them up through the holes at an angle, turning them flat and resting them on the rails’ lips. If you have differently sized openings at the edges of the rooms, cut the ceiling panels to fit those openings using a sharp utility knife.