I'm trying to find a panel to finish off the ceiling in my garage that I'm building. It's 32 x 44 w/12' ceiling height. The roof is truss construction 2' on center. what I'd like to use is a 4' x 8' panel that has a foam core and a finished white vinyl surface, around 1/2" thick. Something like that would be easy to install and look good and reflect light as well. Drywall is not something I'm interested in. thanks in advance.
Ceiling Panels - Need recommendations
- Thread starter varunner
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dipper
Well-known member
armstrong drop ceiling tiles in the gridwork is what I'm going to do. Easier than hanging drywall, price would probably be about the same; but I'll also have access to the ceiling for any future wiring/plumbing etc.
They sell the 2'x4' tiles & gridwork at all the homecenters and lumberyards.
They sell the 2'x4' tiles & gridwork at all the homecenters and lumberyards.
ddawg16
Well-known member
I was thinking the same thing. As I sit here in my office, I'm looking at the wall which appears to be made out 2x8 sheets of 'something' covered in vinyl....they look like they would do well on a ceiling...
Kevin54
MEMBER EMERITUS
Dipper.......when are you going to do this? I'm interested in doing the same thing. I now have drywall that is textured from when the house was built. It is now cracking at all the seams. So it is either pull it down and start over, add over the existing, or put in a dropped ceiling. I have seen a few that I like that is dropped, and there is a multitude of different ceiling tiles that look rather nice. I'm having surgery in a couple of months so will not be able to do anything until next year though. This is going to be on a house garage that will see no work in it, so I shouldn't have to worry about too much other than looks. I'll be interested to see what you go with. If any others have a dropped ceiling, post 'em up.
FunfDreisig
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{warning - crazy idea ahead}
I'm planning on using 4x8 sheets of 3/4" foam insulation as my ceiling panels with the silver side facing in. I plan on a "board and batten" style installation with the battens made of thin strips of wood ripped from a 2x4 on edge (e.g. 8ft long by 1.5" wide and maybe 1/4-3/8" thick. The screws will only go in the battens. When handled carefully this stuff looks pretty good.
The stuff is fairly cheap, acts as insulation, light weight to install overhead without help, and easy to replace if damaged. On the ceiling it should be out of harms way most of the time
{/warning}
Funf Dreisig
kartracer23
Well-known member
Here's my work in progress. I'm going to replace them all since they're over 30 years old. Held up pretty well though. Just stained and dirty looking from the age. They run about $38 for a pack of ten. I figure in my whole building (which all need to be replaced) I've got right around 1500 tiles. For some reason, I feel the need to replace the ones in my workshop (80 of them) first though.
boiler7904
Well-known member
Here's my work in progress. I'm going to replace them all since they're over 30 years old. Held up pretty well though. Just stained and dirty looking from the age. They run about $38 for a pack of ten. I figure in my whole building (which all need to be replaced) I've got right around 1500 tiles. For some reason, I feel the need to replace the ones in my workshop (80 of them) first though.
A man's got to have his priorities.
{warning - crazy idea ahead}
I'm planning on using 4x8 sheets of 3/4" foam insulation as my ceiling panels with the silver side facing in. I plan on a "board and batten" style installation with the battens made of thin strips of wood ripped from a 2x4 on edge (e.g. 8ft long by 1.5" wide and maybe 1/4-3/8" thick. The screws will only go in the battens. When handled carefully this stuff looks pretty good.
The stuff is fairly cheap, acts as insulation, light weight to install overhead without help, and easy to replace if damaged. On the ceiling it should be out of harms way most of the time
{/warning}
Funf Dreisig
Not that crazy...I did that to a friend of mine's garage about 8 years or so ago. It worked great! It went up easy and much lighter than dry wall. He had 12 ft ceilings. It reflected the light great. We did not use any battens. We used nails and fender washers. He was not too interested in how it looked as to how it functioned but it came out looking pretty good.
Are you talking about the foam panels that are used as sheathing on the outside of walls? I think the foam is colored tan? That sounds like a pretty good idea. If it had a white finish, that would be perfect. I suppose it could be painted or maybe some other material could be glued to it. Have you considered bonding the panels to your framing? Maybe something like liquid nails....
what I'm looking for is probably considered a commercial product. I will keep looking, but your idea is a good one.
what I'm looking for is probably considered a commercial product. I will keep looking, but your idea is a good one.
{warning - crazy idea ahead}
I'm planning on using 4x8 sheets of 3/4" foam insulation as my ceiling panels with the silver side facing in. I plan on a "board and batten" style installation with the battens made of thin strips of wood ripped from a 2x4 on edge (e.g. 8ft long by 1.5" wide and maybe 1/4-3/8" thick. The screws will only go in the battens. When handled carefully this stuff looks pretty good.
The stuff is fairly cheap, acts as insulation, light weight to install overhead without help, and easy to replace if damaged. On the ceiling it should be out of harms way most of the time
{/warning}
Funf Dreisig
boiler7904
Well-known member
If you're installing a suspended ceiling in a garage, make sure you buy galvanized grid and panels that have humidity / sag resistance. Vinyl faced tiles will be easy to clean. 2'x2' panels resist sagging more than 2'x4' panels. You can also get the panels and grid in various colors depending on the manufacturer.
FunfDreisig
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I forget the name brand but the stuff I used on the cabin had one side with lots of big lettering (e.g. R-Max or something like that) and the other side was plain mat silver that looks like the less shiny side of tin foil. I order the first batch from a local lumber yard. But I got the last few pieces from either HD or Lowe's.
FWIW I got the idea because I needed to insulate the temp sliding doors on the cabin. I had some of this silver foil faced rigid insulation laying around, so I just cut it to fit into the spaces between the 2x4 framing of the doors. It does a good job of insulating and looks pretty nice -- bare wood 2x4 frames surrounding silver foil "door panels" when seen from the inside. BTW I still haven't built the final doors. I need to build the garage first to get enough work space
Interestingly, a lot of visitors comment about how cool they think it looks.Funf Dreisig
FunfDreisig
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Thanks I'll tell the wife I'm not crazy despite what she thinks
BTW how has it held up? Does it still look pretty good?
Did you guys put bat insulation above it? If so, how was it held in place?
Funf Dreisig
Google P2000 and get there site. Not an endorsement, but I put this on a 2 foot stem wall on the outside. I then tried to coat with a stucco finish and it would not stick to it. I had to cut groove's to get a foothold for the stucco. This stuff is tuff Sh!t!
Gearbanger
Well-known member
Has anyone used Ceiling Max or Grid Max from these guys:
http://www.acpideas.com/index.cfm?XlinkID=13
Saw it at Lowe's and it looks interesting, I'm thinking of using it in my garage.
http://www.acpideas.com/index.cfm?XlinkID=13
Saw it at Lowe's and it looks interesting, I'm thinking of using it in my garage.
dipper
Well-known member
I probably won't do my ceiling until next summer. I'm hanging drywall tomorrow (9/5/08) in the garage and then have to work on getting it
mudded and painted. I want to get my heater set up for this winter so don't want to spend the money on the ceiling tiles. There are a bunch of different styles. I will stick with the 2'x4' since my lights are that size. They do have some that protrude through the grid when you install them, it gives a little better look IMHO. A friend of mine used them in his basement finishing project and they turned out pretty nice.
I've seen the grid mark stuff at Lowes; I will use whatever is cheaper when i do my gridwork. If i can get commercial stuff cheaper I'll just go that route. Installing it shouldn't be too bad, my brother has experience with it too.
mudded and painted. I want to get my heater set up for this winter so don't want to spend the money on the ceiling tiles. There are a bunch of different styles. I will stick with the 2'x4' since my lights are that size. They do have some that protrude through the grid when you install them, it gives a little better look IMHO. A friend of mine used them in his basement finishing project and they turned out pretty nice.
I've seen the grid mark stuff at Lowes; I will use whatever is cheaper when i do my gridwork. If i can get commercial stuff cheaper I'll just go that route. Installing it shouldn't be too bad, my brother has experience with it too.
The Ceiling Max product looks interesting. Do you know what the price per square ft. is? I had a idea on ceiling panels. How about using 4' x 8' foam panels, 3/4" thick and painting them white before installing? The panels I saw at HD also have tongue/groove edges, so they should lay reasonably flat. Not quite sure how I would attach them to the ceiling, maybe an adhesive, and the edges could be covered with a strip of whatever to make it look nice. If this would work, it would satisfy all of my requirements...cheap, easy to install, looks decent. What does everyone think?
Terry Kennedy
Well-known member
Be sure to get a number of extra tiles to use for replacements as needed. Styles come and go and it is very hard to match an existing installation if you don't have spares.
Check this stuff out.
http://www.zipupceiling.com/2.0/ig/zipup_home.aspx
Shameless plug I work with the inventor and owner of the company.
Simple to put up, maximum clearance, washable, and easy to change if there is a mishap.
Great stuff and the owner is a stand up guy.
http://www.zipupceiling.com/2.0/ig/zipup_home.aspx
Shameless plug I work with the inventor and owner of the company.
Simple to put up, maximum clearance, washable, and easy to change if there is a mishap.
Great stuff and the owner is a stand up guy.
Thanks I'll tell the wife I'm not crazy despite what she thinks
BTW how has it held up? Does it still look pretty good?
Did you guys put bat insulation above it? If so, how was it held in place?
Funf Dreisig
To be honest I don't remember and he sold the house about 5 years ago.
nonhog
Well-known member
Bunch of great ideas (wheels are turning) Zipup ? says it doesn't lower ceiling height but the track looks about 2" ??? Am I missing something ?
I know 2" isn't much but .......?
After checking with several distributors on metal roofing/siding panels that could be used inside the garage, the prices are all around $1.00/sq.ft. That's too rich for my blood, I'm not paying over $1000 for the finished ceiling in my garage, and that's me installing it. It looks like my ceiling will be some type of foam panels unless another idea comes up.
Marty256
Well-known member
Has anyone used p2000? What was the cost per square foot if anyone has?
mcdtommy23
Well-known member
I'm in the process of doing the tough-foam with FRP panels over that. So far it's working out great! I was going to just use the foam with the silver side facing in- but... I get a little carried away with the angle grinder and welder sometimes.
I kind of did my own fire test and the foam went up very easily! (sparks from a cut-off wheel) I couldn't get the FRP to burn.
It's just a thought ,but you could do the foam and then FRP as $$$ allows.
I kind of did my own fire test and the foam went up very easily! (sparks from a cut-off wheel) I couldn't get the FRP to burn.
It's just a thought ,but you could do the foam and then FRP as $$$ allows.mcdtommy23
Well-known member
Just had an idea that may be cheaper than the FRP- H.D. sells this hard-board masonite like stuff that has a smooth, white side and is way cheaper than FRP. It's light weight, cheap, fire resistant. should work great!
FunfDreisig
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FRP stands for Fiberglass Reinforced Polyester. Most often seen in public toilet areas for there durability etc.
Funf Dreisig
Motor City
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Varunner, When I built my garage I used white metal pannels that are used on the outside of a pole building construction. They are light weight and all ready painted.
That would be my first choice, but as mentioned above, the cost of steel has driven the price to over $1/sq. ft. I can cover the ceiling with a foam panel for 1/3 - 1/2 the price. Within the next week or so I'm going to buy a few 3/4" foam panels and do a comparison between putting a coat of latex on some of them and bond the thin plastic sheet on the other, mount them both to the ceiling, then make my choice. What I haven't figured out yet is how to deal with the seams. Either leave them exposed, cover them with some type of trim piece, or possibly use the plastic tracks that come with the P2000 panels that someone else has recommended. I'll post some pics when I have my samples ready.