Removing Drop Ceiling Tiles

[LTVCmedia]

Our church is in the process of moving into a new building that we will be renting and the sanctuary room has uneven drop ceilings. Half of the room is about a foot lower than the other half. I've heard of churches where they've removed the tiles/panels and have all the metal bars and wires showing, they just paint everything black up there and add just lighting. Is this possible? Can anyone show me or direct me to any examples of this? Would that be the way to go? And where can I go to find lighting that is easy to hang or setup for this kind of situation? Much appreciated.

[Steve Vanciel]

Originally Posted by LTVCmedia

renting ....just paint everything black ....easy to hang

While this approach is possible, here are some questions to consider:
-how does the facility owner feel about modifing the building?
-how will this change the acoustics of the room?
-how will this change the temperature in the room?
-what is the structural design of the roof? (Is it capable of supporting additional loads, are the beams located in useful places)
-are other things in the way? (AC ducts, conduit, pipes, sprinklers, light fixtures)

The size of the room (LxWxH) the size of the platform, the amount of power available are also design factors to consider.

SteveV
Orlando, FL

[jameshorsley197]

Might be easier to paint the drop ceiling flat black and the ceiling will probably look more even. What Steve said should seriously be considered. Acoustical ceilings as ugly as thye are actually are pretty descent insulators.

[cmchamp]

More importantly, is it a plenum air space - meaning the air return all comes through the space between the drop ceiling and the roof deck?

[Brad Weber]

Originally Posted by jameshorsley197

Might be easier to paint the drop ceiling flat black and the ceiling will probably look more even.

If you paint the existing ceiling you need to be careful of the paint and painting process otherwise you can significantly change the acoustical properties of the tile.

Steve and Cory already identified the major issue, that you need to consider all the potential impact of removing the ceiling, from aesthetics and acoustics to fire ratings and the HVAC system. Part of the room having a drop ceiling a foot lower than the drop ceiling in the other half does not by itself seem to represent any need for changes, so it might also help to clarify the concerns and goals, knowing what problems you are trying to address and your goals may allow people to offer more specific comments.

[SamG269]

What kind of paint would be needed to paint the ceiling tiles? Spray paint work?

[Richard Tarr]

You could purchase black ceiling tiles. We did that for our youth room

[SamG269]

Both painting and black tiles cost money... Im guessing painting would be cheaper. True?

[jameshorsley197]

The easiest way is to use flat black latex paint and an airless paint sprayer. WHich you cant rent for $70 or so if there is not a painter in your church. I am a paint contractor and renovator and we do this all the time with old ceiling toles. You can just paint grid and all flat black and it will all blend in together. If yyou use an airless just mask the walls off with plastic and tape off any lights and you can paint it in a couple of hours.

[Brad Weber]

You want to use a non-bridging paint which does not form a solid surface that would fill or 'bridge' the fissures in the acoustical tile. Regardless of how it is applied, if the paint forms a solid film or fills the fissures then it will reduce the acoustical absorption the ceiling tile provides.

Painting the existing tiles may be less expensive than black tiles but it can also be more difficult to keep looking good over time. Consider removing the tiles to paint them, a white or light colored ceiling painted black with the tiles in place can look pretty bad when tiles get moved or shift and you end up seeing bits of the original color against the black grid. And you might want to paint a few extra tiles and keep them on hand in order to have some replacements for any tiles that may be broken or get scraped or damaged such that the underlying tile color shows.

[cmchamp]

IF you're going to change their color, I would suggest a solid color stain. Sherwin-Williams Woodscapes Solid Color would work, but not sure how their black will be. I'm pretty sure it will work on cellulose pressed or rockwool fibers as it's the only product that I have found (reasonably priced) that adheres to the Masonite siding on my house.

[[Admin] osborn4]

Could he just put some black tissue paper between the grid and the tiles?

He'd still have to paint the grid black.

And I don't know how that would compare pricewise.