How to Lay Out a Drop Ceiling

Drop ceilings are a low-cost option for spaces which are unfinished, or which have unsightly pipes or electrical lines that are better off hidden. Drop ceilings hang below the roof or floor above, and provide space in which to run and install lighting. Drop ceilings are necessarily constructed of lightweight materials, and take the form of a grid. The grid consists of rails and crossbars that hold the ceiling in place and foam tiles that fill in the blank squares of the grid. Before installing your drop ceiling, it is important to lay it out on paper to ensure that the proper materials are secured, and the installation goes smoothly.

Tape measure
Graph paper
Pencil

Instructions

- 1
  Use your tape measure to record the size of the room in which you are installing the drop ceiling. Measure the entire perimeter of the room.
- 2
  Lay a piece of graph paper onto your flat work surface. Use the graph paper as a grid into which you will plug your room dimensions and drop-ceiling layout. Transfer the exact measurements of your room onto the graph paper and with a pencil trace an outline so that a scale model of the room emerges. Press down with some force so your pencil lines are dark enough to stand out against the rest of the grid.
- 3
  Keep the drawing in scale by deciding on a reasonable size key. For example, if your room is 20 feet in length, and 15 feet in width, there is more than enough room on a piece of standard graph paper to use two boxes per foot. Your drawing would then cover 40 boxes from top to bottom, and 30 boxes from side to side. Adjust this scale according to the size of your room, and the number of boxes on your graph paper. Make your scale as large as possible so that the layout remains clear enough to be useful.
- 4
  Use a pencil to trace the outline of each element of your drop ceiling onto the graph paper. Draw the main tees from one end of the room to the other. Remember to depict the rail spacing accurately. Drop ceilings are available in 2-by-2-foot or 2-by-4-foot tile sizes. Based on the scale discussed in Step 3, if you are using 2-by-2 tiles, your main tees should be four boxes apart. If you are using 2-by-4 tiles, your main tees should be eight boxes apart.
- 5
  Draw the cross tees into your grid. Cross tees bridge the gaps between your main tees. Based on the size tile you have chosen, one cross tee should be drawn every 2 to 4 feet (four to eight boxes).
- 6
  Calculate the amount of perimeter wall molding, main tees, and cross tees you will require to do the job. Each is measured in linear feet, and your scale graph should make the necessary amounts clear. Add up the number of boxes for each element of the ceiling and divide by 2 to determine the total feet in length. Count the spaces between each main and cross tee to determine how many tiles you will need.
- 7
  Use your graph paper layout as a blueprint when installing the ceiling, so that everything ends up where it should.

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