1.
Plan the Job
Make a plan-view drawing to determine the number of cross runners and ceiling panels you'll need, as well as the lineal feet of the main runners (Fig. 3).
Panels are available in 24 x 24-inch and 24 x 48-inch sizes. The latter works better if you'll use fluorescent lighting; the panels fit the standard fluorescent tube length. Smaller panels require more cross runners, so the job is more time-consuming.
Wall molding and main runners are sold in different lengths up to 12 feet and can be overlapped to reach greater distances. Cross runners are 24 inches long.
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2.
Locate the Benchmarks
The key to success is making sure you install the ceiling level across the entire room.
Existing floor and ceiling surfaces may not be level, so never use them as reference points for measuring. Instead, establish benchmarks on the walls at every corner using a water level to ensure that each benchmark is precisely located (Fig. 4).
Benchmarks can be placed at any height, but a 60-inch height is most convenient. Future measurements will be taken from these benchmarks.
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3.
Determine the Ceiling Height
The standard ceiling height is 96 inches; 90 inches is the minimum height for lighting in a suspended ceiling.
Once you've determined the ceiling height, measure up from the benchmarks to locate the top edge of the wall molding. Snap a chalk line between the new marks on the walls around the perimeter of the room. (Fig. 5)
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4.
Install the Wall Molding
Using the chalk lines as a placement guide for the top edge of the molding, nail molding to the walls using 6d box nails. Make sure each nail penetrates a stud.
Use aviation snips to miter the molding at inside and outside corners (Fig. 6). When cutting the wall molding to length, remember to account for the thickness of the adjacent wall angle. Butt lengths of wall molding where they meet mid-wall.
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5.
Establish the Centerlines
Measure the length and width of the room and divide these measurements in half to get the center point of each wall. Use layout strings, stretching them tightly, to connect opposing midpoints (Fig. 7).
With a framing square, check the intersection of the two strings to make sure they're square to each other. If not, adjust one or the other until they are. It's easier to adjust layout strings when they're attached to nails that can be wedged behind wall molding.
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6.
Adjust the Layout
Plan the layout of ceiling panels to minimize the need for small pieces around the border of the ceiling; this will create a better-looking job. If the border tiles will be less than half the width of a field tile, adjust the layout one way or the other until the border panels on opposite sides of the ceiling are the same size.
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7.
Install the Guidelines
Plan to install the first main runner approximately parallel to the wall and at a distance from the wall equal to the width of the border units. Measure from the centerlines rather than from the wall because the wall might not be square. Stretch a layout string between the lower edges of the wall moldings at these points. (Fig. 8)
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8.
Attach the Hanger Wires
Start with the joists at either end of the ceiling. Install a screw eye or a fastener supplied by the ceiling manufacturer into every fourth joist directly above the layout string.
Twist a piece of hanger wire through each screw eye so that it hangs about 6 inches below the layout line. Cut a main runner to length and hang it from the wires so that it's just barely above the layout string. Twist the wires to secure the runner in position. (Fig. 9)
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9.
Install the Cross Runners
Slip the first cross runner between the main runner and the wall molding, locking it into the main runner's prepunched slots (Fig. 10).
Install the next main runner by using cross runners to gauge its spacing; maintain the proper spacing according to the size of the ceiling panels being used. Continue to work across the room until all the runners have been installed.
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10.
Insert the Ceiling Panels
Set each ceiling panel into place by turning it at an angle and pushing it into the grid of runners. Use a utility knife and a straightedge to cut the panels at the borders as needed.
When handling the panels, wear clean, lightweight gloves so that you don't smudge the finished surfaces. (Fig. 11)
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