How to Hang a Tin Ceiling

By: Harry Sawyers, This Old House magazine

Shopping List

Supplies You Will Need

1. Pressed-metal ceiling panels
come in 2x2- or 2x4-foot sizes

2. Press-metal cornice
come in 4-foot-long sections

3. 3/8-inch plywood
creates solid nailing surface for ceiling panels

4. 2 1/2-inch decking screws
for attaching the plywood underlayment

5. 2x4s
used to build T-braces for supporting plywood during installation

6. 11/4-inch-long, 18-gauge finishing nails
for brad nailer to fasten ceiling panels; or use special cone-headed nails

7. Latex caulk
used to fill gaps at the seams

8. Metallic touch-up paint
for concealing caulked gaps and mistakes on an unpainted ceiling

9. 1x4 tapping block
used to seal panel seams

10. Fine-point indelible marker
for marking cut lines on ceiling panels

11. 1/8-inch drill bit
used to locate ceiling joists

12. 3/8-inch drill bit
for boring tin-snip starting holes in ceiling panels

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Tools List
Tools You Will Need
- Circular saw,
  for cutting plywood sheets
- Jigsaw,
  for cutting holes in plywood
- Drill/driver
- Chalk line,
  for snapping layout lines
- Gloves,
  used to protect hands from sharp-edged ceiling panels
- Brad nailer and compressor,
  rent for about $40 a day
- Compass,
  used to mark round cutout holes
- Framing square,
  used to mark square or rectangular cutout holes
- Tin snips,
  for cutting ceiling panels
- Hammer
- 4-foot level,
  used to mark cornice layout lines on wall
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Product selections for this project
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Photo: Kolin Smith

1. Create a plywood underlayment

Turn off the room's power at the circuit breaker and remove ceiling fixtures.

Use a drill/driver with a ⅛-inch bit to make exploratory holes to find a joist. Mark its center. Measure across the ceiling in 16-inch increments to locate other joists.

Snap chalk lines along the center of every joist, and mark their locations onto the walls.

Use the chalk lines as guides for securing the plywood to the joists with 2 ½-inch decking screws spaced every 8 inches.