Suspended ceilings hang from joists, which decreases headroom by at least a few inches. But the loss in ceiling height has two payoffs. It provides room for extra insulation — to deaden sound transmission between a kids’ playroom below and a home office above — and it conceals a maze of mechanicals, such as tub traps and cutoff valves, without restricting access for improvements or repairs.
Materials:
Modern suspended systems can match any style with a wide variety of colors and finishes. Most panels also have improved resistance to mold (handy in some basements) and can be washed clean. The selection from major manufacturers like Armstrong, Certainteed, and USG are extensive, often approaching 200 styles and sizes: glossy surfaces for reflecting more light, edged-tiles, raised-panel tiles, textured tiles, and special accents like a complete baseball field laid out in dirt- and grass-colored panels.
Tracks have become narrower, and even invisible. In that configuration, metal supports tuck into the edges of panels so you see only the panel joints instead of the grid framework supporting them. You can stick with white, or try contrasting colors, and a variety of copper-like and other metallic finishes. Large manufacturers offer virtual showrooms on the Web, and some include material calculators for estimating all the components.
Installations:
The key skills needed are planning and leveling. After that, it’s just a question of connecting the parts: L-shaped guides along the walls, T-shaped main runners hung from joists with hooks and wires, and cross members that clip into the runners to form the final grid. Here are the steps of a typical installation.
•Find the best height. In most cases, that is just below the lowest pipe or duct, preserving the maximum possible headroom. Add enough extra depth for the grid itself, and strike that level line around the room — a good application for a laser level that can project a level beam in any direction.
•Plan the grid. In most rooms the best-looking layout has a main field of full tiles, and equal sizes of partial tiles at the edges. Start by finding the center of the room, stringing two intersecting lines from the corners. Then make a dry layout (on paper or with actual pieces on the floor) that centers the grid in the space.
•Install the edges. Screw the L-shaped edge strips to the wall along the level lines. At inside corners (they fold toward you), one strip can butt against another. At outside corners (they fold away from you), cut the mating strips long enough to make a neat, 45-degree miter.
•Install the runners. Most suspension systems are a series of eye hooks twisted into the joists every 3 or 4 feet, with short loops of wire run between them and holes in the runners below. Hooking them up is the easy part. Following manufacturer’s instructions, loop hanger wire through the eye, wrap it around itself several times, and twist with a pliers to finish. Then do the same thing with the other end through the runners after leveling. That is the more difficult part.
•Level the runners. Without a laser level or long carpenter’s level, you can tie several taught strings across the room from one level edge bracket to another. They act as a guide. But make the first few runner connections with just a twist or two. Then, as you level up the system, adjust the wires if needed and fasten them permanently.
•Install cross pieces. You don’t have to level each cross piece, or use more hooks and wires. Just snap them into slots provided in the runners. To insert the panels, tip each one slightly up and through the grid, then let it down into place on the suspended frame.