Useful Tips On How To Remove Stains From A Ceiling

It’s not unusual to have a leaky roof. Though the leakage can be plugged in, the ceiling inherits a big water stain due leakage. Ceilings with water stains look unpleasant. Fortunately, it’s not very difficult to get rid of stains on the ceiling due leakage.

You can’t really do away with that stain on the ceiling, leaving you with the next best option of covering it up. Use of stain blocking paint does the trick. The most recognized brand for this purpose is Kilz.



Having had a lot many years of experience in home construction and its renovation, I wouldn’t claim to know everything there is to that, but I do have wide ranging knowledge in the field of remodeling. It’s not too difficult to paint a ceiling provided you prepare the surface well.

At the outset you should cover any surface not needing paint. Make use of painter’s tape at the junction of ceiling and wall or the joint of cornice molding and the ceiling. If you are going to paint your kitchen make sure that you cover all your cabinets. Floor and walls can be covered using throwaway drop cloths.

In case of ceilings with acoustic ceiling tiles, often referred to as drop ceiling, the best option is to replace the stained tiles with new tiles. That way you’ll save a lot of time.

There is bound to be some splattering of paint when you paint using a roller. It may not be visible, but it certainly is there. That makes it necessary to use safety glasses to keep your eyes safe from falling paint while painting. Likewise, you need to use a headgear like a cap or some other cover to prevent paint from falling directly on your head. It’s important to keep kids and pets away while painting.



Different Types Of Paints

It’s very easy to use flat paint. In whatever manner you may use it, it looks the same. There is no need for you to maintain a wet edge while you paint along the ceiling or wall. Even if you miss any spot, it can be touched up later.

It’s quite tough to use glossy paints. You need to maintain a wet edge all the time. Finish the entire ceiling or wall without stopping. Any point needing touching with new paint after the paint has dried will be easily spotted as it will become more glossy than the rest of the surface.

In Conclusion

As already pointed out, painting of suspended ceiling isn’t a very tough job. The hardest part of painting is preparation of the surface. Make sure to cover everything before you really get stated with painting or you’ll end up covering items that needed no paint. Walls can also be painted the same way. It’s not difficult to see that painting of wall is easier as you are not over the entire room as in case of a ceiling.

Suspended Ceiling And Lighting

Ceiling lights and other accessories needed for suspended ceilings are bit different than the ones required for a normal ceiling. So, before you go to buy lights for your ceiling you should know if the ceiling at home or office is a normal one or a suspended type. Suspended ceilings are also known as false or drop ceilings.



There are many types of dropped ceilings and different reasons encouraging their installation. For instance one design of suspended ceiling called the ‘plenum space’ is installed for HVAC return to facilitate cooling or heating using a duct system. Another reason prompting installation of such ceilings is that they conceal items like wires and cables, pipes and ducts, which could otherwise remain visible if you had a normal ceiling.

Originally, these were developed to cover the bottom of the floor for aesthetic reasons and for achieving 'acoustic' balance because the softer tiles underneath could deliver better sound reduction and absorption. For the first time Donald A. Brown created this design in 1958.



Generally, a dropped ceiling is made of a grid or network of T shaped metallic channels that are snapped together to get a pattern on the ceiling. Each square so created is known as a cell and light tiles that fall in the network go to cover all the cells. Because the surface area of the tile is slightly more than the gap available in the grid, it stays in place due gravitational force. The ultimate look of the ceiling is as if made from squares, usually 2X2 or 2X4 square feet in area. If you tap on any of the tiles from below, it will lift up and only to fall back in place on its own. So, that’s an easy way to know if it’s a suspended ceiling, but they do come in different designs also.

When buying accessories like ceiling lights for such a suspended ceiling, you can get light that will just fit in the cells of the tile. Generally, it’s fine to use incandescent lights with suspended ceilings as bulbs may be too bright and become very hot. Likewise, you can have other items like fire sprinklers and speakers etc. for such ceilings. However, you need to ensure their correct size.



There are other benefits to this kind of ceiling than just the convenience of installation and fitment of the ceiling itself and the lighting or other accessories. For instance, the tiles made from fire resistance materials, like mineral fibers, make them preferable. Further, this kind of ceiling provides easy access to maintenance of plumbing or wiring as compared to a concrete or plaster ceiling.

It is definitely helpful to have suspended ceilings at home or in office. You can also have suspended ceiling lights and such fittings as per your specifications.

Install Suspended Ceiling

Installation of a suspended ceiling on your own takes quite sometime. Generally, such an installation for a room of 9’X12’ would require about 16 hours of working. It could take longer in the event of any unusual happening. Moreover, it will be too cumbersome for one man to do it and needs at least two people; preferably those who like to carry on small domestic projects. Other than that it needs no great technical skills, nor would it require any special or expensive tools and equipments, the techniques of installation being very basic pose no problem to an average householder.

Generally, you don’t need a permit for constructing a suspended ceiling but it’s always better to have a confirmation from the local building department, lest there be complication at a later stage.



Suspended ceilings are hung from the ceiling beam or truss with the aid of a metal grid. The opening thus created between the beam and ceiling is used to house all the wires, pipes and ducts. A tile ceiling can be glued directly to an existing ceiling or on “furring strips” that are glued or nailed to the existing ceiling. This style of ceiling helps the same way by hiding any old and existing ceiling, but proves better than a suspended ceiling where the latter would drop down to an uncomfortable level when the height of the existing ceiling is already low. Depending upon the height of the given room, the requirements would vary but the construction codes demand that the minimum height of a ceiling for a new construction be seven and a half feet.

Execution of any job gets easy if you have the right set of tools. The installation of suspended or tile ceiling needs no special or expensive equipment and you may already be having most of them. These are the tools you’ll require for carrying out the installation of your own: Metal tape 20-25 feet long, a handsaw, a ladder, straightedge, putty knife, safety goggles and face mask, a pencil and chalkline, miter box, screwdriver, drywall pan, cross tees, tiles, ganer wire, and a coping saw. However, it’s not one man’s job and you’ll definitely need a helping hand to install this.

Suspended ceilings not only give a great looking ceiling but have other advantages too. They cover up all the unorganized and unpleasant looking wires and pipes while providing support to lighting arrangement. And, above all they muffle sounds and generally have fire-resisting properties. Acoustical ceilings have small tiny holes that absorb sound and noise. So, they make a good option for kitchens or other noisy places. You also have ceilings made of mineral fiber that retards fire and makes them ideal for fire hazard areas. Otherwise, a suspended ceiling is an excellent choice for having beautiful ceiling that matches the décor of the room. Being lightweight they are easy to install.

Acoustic Ceiling Tiles Facts

In all probability you would have heard of acoustic tiles, but may not be aware of their functioning or their composite materials. I was in the same boat, till one day I decided to get them installed in my basement and decided to research the subject before going ahead with the project. You may like to get enlightened on the subject, so here’s all the useful information that I gathered from the net.



You must be wondering how these tiles originated. Interior designers while looking for ways to reduce the height of ceiling for deadening the noise caused the development of these tiles. Its construction involves suspending a grid of metal strips from the original height of the ceiling. The sections so created in the grid are filled with sound-absorbing acoustic ceiling tiles. Apart from deadening the sound, the ceiling helps you to hide unpleasant wires, fixtures and pipes etc that are often found on most of the ceilings, particularly the old ones.

Acoustic ceilings reached the height of popularity during 60’s to early 80’. Originally they contained asbestos, the use of which was banned in 1978, thereby affecting their production and use. Further, many with that kind of ceiling were required to hire specialists to remove the existing asbestos acoustic ceiling tiles and replace the same with alternate materials or bring the rooms back to their original shape, without anything on the ceiling.

The best part of having acoustic ceiling tiles is that they certainly dampen the noise between floors of your home or building. You can paint them to match the color of your interiors. The only limitation of such a ceiling is that on its getting wet, stains appear on the tiles. Depending upon the volume of water on its top, it may get wet to the extent of crashing down suddenly. It’s no fun to have stained tiles on the ceiling and you have to get them bleached to restore them to their original look. Even replacing a few damaged tiles is not too difficult. Acoustic ceiling tiles enable you renovate a room in the shortest time. They help avoiding a lot of construction work that would otherwise be needed to restore an old ugly ceiling. It is very economical too. You just suspend a grid from the existing ceiling and get a new stunning ceiling to the delight of all.

You assess your requirements of an acoustic ceiling. It’s an excellent medium to have a new good-looking ceiling that dampens noise level and hides all the wires and pipes on the original ceiling. This can be painted in colors to match your interiors. It is easy to install and inexpensive, compared to the cost and time involved for repairing an old ceiling or constructing a new one.

Basement Ceiling Finishing Ideas

We are too familiar with dark, dull, cool and not so inviting basements. But, certain measures can be taken to make them more inhabitable and inviting. One such measure will be to convert your ceiling to a work of art. Yes, it’s possible. You might have already seen such creations. There are different types of finishes to be applied to basement ceilings. At times one finds it difficult to decide on the type that would most suits the given circumstances. Primarily there are two types of basement ceilings: dry walled and the suspended. One the ceiling is in place; you can go ahead with its decoration by an appropriate arrangement for lighting or other decorations, of which there is a large variety available.



Unless you happen to be totally ignorant on the subject, finishing of a basement ceiling is not too difficult a project. For getting started it would do you good to read about in general on the types of basement ceilings. Let’s get started with the dry- walled ceiling. Now, this kind a ceiling involves a lot of labor and you may have to hire some equipment. It is not easy to install and is quite messy as compared to other kinds of ceilings. Should you get concerned about approaching wires and pipes going thru the ceiling, you can integrate that in the design or provide an inlet. Make use of trimmings or colorful tiles to highlight the ceiling.

You next option for the basement could be a dropped or suspended ceiling. Its construction comprises of grid work of metallic bars in the shape of an inverted “T” which are suspended with wires from the overhead joists. The advantage of such s ceiling is that you are not required to shift pipes; wires or ducts and the ducts may not be straight to give a flat appearance to the ceiling. Thus you continue to have an easy access to cooling, heating and electrical network. Finally, you can conveniently add a few lighting fixtures. Such a ceiling has another advantage of keeping away the unwanted noise from above. But, it has a limitation also. This design of ceiling occupies a lot of your vertical space, thereby reducing the effective height of the ceiling. So you get limited head space and in case the height of your ceiling is already low, it may not be very viable to go for this type of ceiling.

There are a few tricks to conceal an unsightly ceiling and these have proven to be workable. Of course, you have to put in some extra effort to make it look beautiful, but they are worth taking that trouble.

The most convenient way to conceal a not so pleasant looking ceiling is to have a suspended or dropped ceiling. Such a ceiling comprises of a grid work of metal bars in the form of an inverted “T”, suspended from the ceiling by means of overhead joists.

Here are the advantages of a suspended ceiling:

- You don’t have to wires, pipes or ducts
- It doesn’t really matter even if the joists are not straight for the finished ceiling to look flat
- You can approach the heating, cooling and electrical systems or add lighting fixtures by just removing a panel.
- It acts as a barrier to the unwanted noise from above

One big drawback of a suspended ceiling is that it eats into your vertical space, thereby limiting your headspace. If the height of your ceiling is already low, you have to look for some other option.

Another option that you have is to install a drywall basement ceiling. Though it is a difficult project, it gives a very professional look. For getting more of headroom under the ceiling, you can relocate some pipes and wires before installing such a ceiling. Larger obstacles like ducts have to be boxed for a neat look.

The benefits of having a dry wall are:

- It provides an excellent base for paint and other materials, like wood panels
- It has fire-resistant characteristics
- It gives a very professional look
- It is relatively economical

It will be good to spend sometime to study your requirements and then take the best course of action. It all depends upon the kind of items you want to keep away from sight and the amount of labor and money you are willing to invest. Well, each kind has its plus and negative points and you have to decide which would be most helpful for the purpose you have in mind.

Suspended Ceiling Systems

These days there are many different types of suspended ceilings to suit one’s requirements. Here’s an introduction to the available variations enabling you to narrow down your choice, should you be looking for one for your office or home.

Concealed suspended ceilings

After installation it gives a neat appearance being true to its name, it blocks from view all the suspension pieces. Well, within the same category, you get two kinds. One allows you to access the area above, whereas the other type makes it inaccessible to approach that area. Obviously, with the latter design you may have maintenance problems. You need to consider this factor at the time of installation.

Exposed suspended ceilings

That’s the second in line. Its construction involves the incorporation of a grid that goes to house the panels. Here you get a choice of a couple of designs, depending upon the size and style of tile you opt for. A very positive feature of this design is that it facilitates a very quick and fast installation. So, if you are indeed interested in a hurried execution of the project; this is the design for you. Another advantage of this kind of a ceiling is that it permits an easy access to maintenance as this can be carried out within the void created in- between the actual roof and itself.



Then we have suspended ceilings with free span and you need to study your requirements before you go ahead with it. Such ceilings have ceiling planks that are held together in the trim along the perimeter. Suspended ceilings are most often used for corridors. They can be spanned up to 2500 mm and are tiled with planks, thus making them ideal for corridors. They offer flexibility of operation in the sense that they may be dismantled or they could be closed, not allowing any access at all.

If you decide to have demountable, you continue to have full access to the ceiling void that facilitates a quick and easy maintenance. The suspended ceilings present a smooth seamless like structure.

And, finally we get the Bandraster grid suspended ceilings system. Here is an excellent system that can be put into service, depending on the type of building. It is merged to follow the buildings’ design with the parallel suspension sections that make up this great system. If it is a round shaped building, the tiles will follow around the building in a curved shape.

To prevent its lateral movement and save it from vibrations, a horizontal bracing is assembled with the ceiling structure itself.



This lateral bracing in such suspended ceilings may be formed with a choice of sections. You may have an exposed or a concealed section whereby you can have the planks of the ceiling in a dismountable fashion or make them completely inaccessible.

Some of the more often used types of ceilings described above should prove helpful in understanding the subject so that you don’t remain totally ignorant of the available choices.