How to Keep Heat in With Drop Ceilings

Install the metal perimeter of the drop ceiling at a height that gives you sufficient headroom but is low enough to keep household heat down where you can use it. Seven feet is usually a good height for a drop ceiling. Measure up 84 inches from the floor, and mark the wall with a pencil. Draw a line around the perimeter of the room, being sure that it's level by checking it with the 4-foot level. Cut the perimeter strip of the drop ceiling to fit the length of the walls using a hacksaw. Attach the strip to the walls using the pencil line as a guide, using 1-inch screws.

Lay the cross pieces for the drop ceiling with their ends resting on the perimeter strip. Space the cross pieces so that the drop ceiling panels will fit between them. Support the centers of the cross pieces by attaching wires to them, extending the wires upward and attaching them to a joist.

Install the filler pieces for the drop ceiling. These are the short pieces that are installed in between and perpendicular to the cross pieces, forming even squares or rectangles, depending on the shape of your drop ceiling panels.

Install the panels into the drop ceiling by feeding them up through the spaces at an angle, turning them flat and resting them in the framework that you built. Cut panels to fit odd size openings at the edges of the room using a utility knife.

Lay batts of fiberglass insulation on top of the drop ceiling panels for added heat retention.