Ron's next visit took him to the city of Bellingham, Washington, just a short trip from the Canadian border. Gina and Ray Moore had written to Ron explaining that they had been working toward giving their home a classic Victorian look. They felt that the ceiling in the foyer needed a special touch and they were hoping to create the look of an old Victorian tin ceiling. Ron had a great idea of using embossed ceiling tiles to achieve this look, and the three of them got straight to work.
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1. Layout work:
- The first thing they needed to do was measure the area where the tiles would go. They climbed a couple ladders and took careful measurements of the ceiling's length and width.
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- There were two different ways to attach the embossed ceiling tiles the Moores had selected. They could be attached to strips of wood called firing strips on the ceiling with the tabs of the interlocking tiles simply stapled to the wood…
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- Or, they could use a metal track system that would attach directly to the ceiling. The tiles would go right on top, interlocking the same way they would before but, instead of staples, the tiles would be attached by small metal clips that attach to the tracks and then slide over the tab on the edge of the tile. This is the method they decided to use.
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2. Locate ceiling joists:
- Gina and Ray worked on taking down the light fixture while Ron used an electronic stud finder to locate the wooden ceiling joists. They needed to know exactly where the joists were because that was where they would be attaching the metal tracks with wood screws.
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- They marked the position of the joists by striking a chalk line along the length of each one.
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- They snapped a second series of lines, each one 12 inches apart, at right angles to the first. This second set of lines marked the locations for the mounting tracks.
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3. Mounting track:
- The track pieces came in four-foot lengths so it took only two screws for the first section of track to be installed. The second section had to be cut to length.
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- Ron used a pair of aviation snips to cut through the metal track. It worked best to use the tip of the cutters and nibble through the track with a series of small bites.
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- More often than not, ceilings are not perfectly flat. By placing a straight edge across the tracks, Ron was able to check for any areas that were high and then adjust them downward by loosening the screws. This is a real advantage to this metal track system.
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- In a lot of homes, especially older homes, the walls are not perfectly straight, and yet it is important to begin with a perfectly straight line when installing any type of tiles. To make sure they had a straight line, Ron attached a piece of string to the wall while Ray held and adjusted the other end. Ron then used a carpenter's square to make certain that the string was exactly perpendicular to the mounting strip that they put up earlier. When it was straight, Ray marked his end of the string and then drove a screw into the wall and attached the string to it. The distance between the string and the wall would be the width of their first row of tiles.
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4. Cut and install tiles:
- They measured the width from the string to the wall (which varied slightly along the distance of the wall) and then began cutting the tiles.
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- They did not start the first row with full tiles because if they did, based on the measurement of the ceiling, they would end up with a very skinny row on the other side of the ceiling. By trimming the first row of tiles, they would end up with rows of equal width on both sides of the room.
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- While Gina cut tiles with a utility knife, Jeff began snapping the first set of clips onto the track and then slid the first tile into place.
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- Jeff installed another clip on the outer edge of the tiles. The tongue and groove design on the edge of the tiles allowed them to interlock with each other making alignment easy.
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5. Finishing touches:
- To give this Victorian ceiling an added bit of detail, they installed crown molding where the walls met the ceiling. They used a cordless butane powered finish nail gun to attach the molding.
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RESULTS:
With the crown molding up and the light fixture reinstalled, the Moore's finally had the beautiful Victorian ceiling they had always wanted. Now that they were expert ceiling tile installers, they were thinking about using their new skills to extend the ceiling to the kitchen area. They would never even consider such a thing, if Ron hadn't come to help and show them what to do!
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