DIY Acoustic Ceilings

Measure and mark a straight, level line 4 inches from the ceiling all the way around the room, using a laser level or a carpenter’s level. Locate all of the studs around this perimeter line with a stud finder and mark them.

Hold a piece of perimeter molding so the bottom of it is against the line on the wall. Attach it to the studs with 6d nails. Take care not to damage the molding as you hammer the nails in place. Continue adding molding along the entire line. Cut pieces of molding, as necessary, with tin snips.

Plan the placement of the ceiling tiles within the grid that suspends them. Locate the ceiling joists if they are enclosed in an existing ceiling. If you are installing the ceiling in a basement, look for the floor joists overhead. Measure the distance — in feet — across the room perpendicular to the ceiling joists. Divide that number by 4, as 4 feet is the length of a standard ceiling tile. If you have a remainder, divide that number by 2. The lesser amount goes on either side of the room to help balance the appearance of the ceiling installation. Repeat this process measuring parallel to the ceiling joists.

Sketch the placement of the main runners and tees based on the numbers from Step 3 onto a piece of graph paper. This can help you visualize the placement and spacing of the ceiling grid.

Measure the narrow amount you determined in Step 3. Mark that distance perpendicular to the joists with a chalk line to indicate where you are going to hang the main runners for the grid. Measure 4-foot increments perpendicular to the ceiling joists across the rest of the room, taking care that each of these lines is parallel to the one next to it.

Insert eye bolts into every third joist along the chalk lines. Cut pieces of 16-gauge wire approximately 12 inches long with wire cutters. Put one end of the wire through the eye bolt and twist it back on itself three times.

Tie a piece of string to the perimeter molding on one side of the room. Stretch it tight and tie it to the perimeter molding on the opposite side of the room. Repeat this process three more times so you have four strings stretched across the room that are more or less parallel to each other. These are your ceiling height guides as you place the main runners in the next step, so make sure they don’t sag in the middle.

Set one end of a main runner in the perimeter molding. Suspend the other end across the ceiling using the string guide to keep it the same height. Loop a wire dangling from an eye bolt through a corresponding hole on the main runner. Twist the wire back around itself three times to secure it. Tie that main runner with other wires hanging above it.

Set the end of another main runner into the end of the first, joining the tabs and slots. Hang this runner with the wires. Continue this process until you get to the other side of the room and can set the end in the perimeter molding on the opposite wall from where you started. Cut the main runner, if necessary, with tin snips, and put the cut end in the perimeter molding.

Continue hanging the rest of the main runners for the suspended ceiling. Take care to keep the runners above the strings you hung in Step 6.

Using your measurements from Step 3, snap the hooks of the cross tees into appropriate tabs on the main runners. When you finish this step, the ceiling grid should be in place.

Tilt an acoustic ceiling tile as you lift it into position in one of the center four openings. Once the tile is in the opening between the grid and the joists, drop it into position in the ceiling. Shake the grid slightly, if necessary, to allow the tile to settle into place. Repeat for the other three center openings. By setting these four tiles first, you finish squaring the ceiling grid.

Place all of the full-size tiles into position. Measure and cut the outer tiles to fit. Use a straight edge tool to help cut the tiles in a straight line with a utility knife.