Specialty Tools for Acoustical Ceiling Installation

Studs

• You will first need to find the studs on your ceiling. You must hang your ceiling from wood or metal studs to ensure that the panels won't sag or fall. To find your studs, use a stud finder, which is a handheld tool that emits a high-pitched noise when it locates a stud. It usually has three or four lights on it that turn from red to yellow to green as your get nearer to a stud. Mark your stud with either a pencil or a piece of chalk.

Laser Level

• Once you find your studs, you need to create a straight line that you will follow when you hang your ceiling tiles. Purchase a laser level that attaches to your wall, and shoot out a laser beam at the first stud mark on your ceiling and wall. Then, use a pencil and a regular level or long ruler to draw your line. Use the beam as a guide. You also need a ladder for this work. Have someone steady it below you as you make your line. You also need the level to install the cross and main tees. These are the frames into which you drop your tiles.

Screw Eyes

• Screw eyes have a round head that does not fully meet on one side, and it has a screw body. You can use these to hold up your suspension wires. To drive these into place, you can use a screw eye driver. This tool looks similar to a screwdriver, except that it hooks onto the screw eye, and pushes it into your wall. If you do not have one of these tools, use a drill to create the holes and then just screw the screw eyes into place. You should install screw anchors for these and your tee screws. Drill the holes for the screws, and then use a hammer to drive the anchors into place.

Aviation Snips

• These tools are a type of hand shear that you can use to make straight or curved cuts through metal. Use this tool for cutting your wall angles to size. The wall angles attach to your wall studs and help hold your tees in place. You need to trim these wall angles so that they fit around corners.