T-Grid Ceilings in Train Room, Why?

[zgardner18]

I've notice a lot of you that have posted pictures have false, drop-down ceilings in your layout room. Is there some kind of science to having it over a regular hard lid? Does it cut down on dust or something? Why?

[Anonymous]

If your layout is in a basement, you sure don't want to seal in water, drain, gas (I also have steam) pipes. One day you'll have to get to them for some reason.
Also drop ceilings are much easier to install and to add or change light fixtures.

[letsgored]

We just finished our basement and have drop ceilings in most of the space (not in the bathroom) including my new, small (but small is better than none, so I'm happy) hobby room for the reasons Gary gave. I didn't choose it with any model railroading benefit in mind, although I think it would make installing additional track light strips easier.

[zgardner18]

Here is why I ask, Once my house is don't being built, I will take the single stall of the 3 car garage, wall it off and make it my layout room. The ceiling in there will be about 12 high, I want to do the shadow box effect for the layout but I don't want to run my fascia board all the way up. (my layout will be 2 levels but still that would be a lot of facia board).

[grayfox1119]

As Gsetter said, if you ever need to get to the area above the layout in the ceiling, be it wiring, plumbing, or other services like phone, cable, speaker wires, etc. you have to tear open the ceiling...BAD NEWS...BIG MESS and RIGHT OVER your nice layout. If there are NO services over your layout, nor ever will be ( as in a bay of the garage possibly ), then use any type of ceiling you want. Personally, I would spend the little extra money and use a grid ceiling because I have learned after 67 years, NEVER say NEVER...end of story !

[zgardner18]

QUOTE: Originally posted by grayfox1119

As Gsetter said, if you ever need to get to the area above the layout in the ceiling, be it wiring, plumbing, or other services like phone, cable, speaker wires, etc. you have to tear open the ceiling...BAD NEWS...BIG MESS and RIGHT OVER your nice layout. If there are NO services over your layout, nor ever will be ( as in a bay of the garage possibly ), then use any type of ceiling you want. Personally, I would spend the little extra money and use a grid ceiling because I have learned after 67 years, NEVER say NEVER...end of story !

Good point about if I ever had to get up there and change some lighting or something. Gee, I never thought of that. Now I'm really leaning towards doing my ceiling in T-Grid.

[Fergmiester]

QUOTE: Originally posted by grayfox1119

As Gsetter said, if you ever need to get to the area above the layout in the ceiling, be it wiring, plumbing, or other services like phone, cable, speaker wires, etc. you have to tear open the ceiling...BAD NEWS...BIG MESS and RIGHT OVER your nice layout. If there are NO services over your layout, nor ever will be ( as in a bay of the garage possibly ), then use any type of ceiling you want. Personally, I would spend the little extra money and use a grid ceiling because I have learned after 67 years, NEVER say NEVER...end of story !

*** there you go again using my Road's name in vain...[:(!]Tsk, tsk, tsk

But you hit the nail on the head except you can add to it No additional hassle of painting ceilings or or having to sand drywall corners[^]

Fergie

[grayfox1119]

Ohhh No, I forgot to get permission to use the name MESS...it is protected by the Maritime Provincial Governor of Canada,,I hope I don't get sued for copyright enfringement.

[Fergmiester]

QUOTE: Originally posted by grayfox1119

Ohhh No, I forgot to get permission to use the name MESS...it is protected by the Maritime Provincial Governor of Canada,,I hope I don't get sued for copyright enfringement.

S-U-E?[(-D]

Don't be so silly man! That involves bottom feeders

Heck No Floggings my game

Oh right... off topic ... ahem[:-^] another advantage of ceiling tiles is if you need more lighting or want to change existing lighting it's very easy to do. I'm in the process of renovating and will have to run additional wiring over the layout. Thank goodness for Ceiling tiles!

Fergie

[spidge]

I wanted dust control and I will eventually have the shadow box effect.

[selector]

It is quick, flexible, relatively cheap, and makes access to whatever lies beyond it possible without destruction and costly repairs. The acoustic tiles, the yellow ones with the white dimpled plastic facing, are tricky to cut, and are easily damaged....beware.

[mlehman]

For those whose houses were built in the last half-century, most flooring above an unfinished basement is usually sheet goods, either plywood or particle board of some kind. Howver, those of us with older houses typically have board-by-board constructed floors abouve the basement. The result is that the first floor above is not quite sealed, which yields a limited but steady rain of dust that works it way between the boards and falls into the basement as people walk around above it. A suspended ceiling keeps this from ending up on the layout, in addition to giving the easy access to utilities that comes in very handy when needed.
Mike Lehman
Urbana, IL

[SSW9389]

With the ceiling tile scrap you have the added bonus of scenery material. I've done a couple of basements for customers and the ceiling tile extras go to my train club for "recycling".

[Anonymous]

Let me play devils advocate here! As a trades person (plumber), I have gone into thousands of basements. Yes drop ceilings are important as far as getting to utilities
(pipes,wires etc...) BUT please guys think about these things before you choose the placement of your layout! Is it under a water line in the ceiling? What happens if the pipe breaks? I do not know how many times I & other trades people have spent hours just trying to get to the problem! Try to imagine some electrician or plumber who could care less about your trains, having to set up a ladder and work over your layout.
I did an estimate yesterday to instal a bathroom in the basement. I could not even get good measurements because of all the junk stored in there!
Anyway, just something to think about.
David

[orsonroy]

I priced out a just the materials for a drop ceiling in my new 30x30 basement, and almost gagged! I've come up with a MUCH cheaper, easier to install, and almost as user-friendly alternative. Instead of either a drop or hard ceiling, I've created a 2'x4' section gridwork in the ceiling (made of 2x2s), to support 2x4 chunks of 1/2" drywall. I'll seal the raw edges of the drywall, paint the panels ceiling white, and screw them to the grid. I'll end up with removeable panels for a dressed ceiling, at a fraction of the cost of a drop ceiling. It may look a little unconventional with all the screw heads exposed, but I'm willing to make that compromise to save myself well over $1000!

[zgardner18]

QUOTE: Originally posted by stripes2

Let me play devils advocate here! As a trades person (plumber), I have gone into thousands of basements. Yes drop ceilings are important as far as getting to utilities
(pipes,wires etc...) BUT please guys think about these things before you choose the placement of your layout! Is it under a water line in the ceiling? What happens if the pipe breaks? I do not know how many times I & other trades people have spent hours just trying to get to the problem! Try to imagine some electrician or plumber who could care less about your trains, having to set up a ladder and work over your layout.
I did an estimate yesterday to instal a bathroom in the basement. I could not even get good measurements because of all the junk stored in there!
Anyway, just something to think about.
David

Great point Dave, I used to work for a water damage clean up company, and I tell you what, some of the crap that I saw after the damage was done was horific. Most of them were when families would go on vacation and a pipe would brake and flood the house. Some that had basements woud ruin everything is site. So I couldn't imagine what it would do to someones layout. Makes me what to cry. Good thing for me that my layout will be in the garage where there isn't any piping. Plus I will have a hard lid of drywall already installed.

My biggest question is: If I do a fascia board around the top of my layout for the box effect, how would I attach it to the drop ceiling? The only thing that I can think of is to frame the fascia wall all the way to the ceiling and run my T-grid up to it.

[grayfox1119]

STRIPES2 You make a great point. When people have the "option" of using one basement space or another, utilities location overhead, ESPECIALLY drains and feed water lines are a PRIME consideration. ALWAYS use the free space overhead WHEN you can. If this is NOT an option, and you must use a space where there are overhead utilities, take every precaution to protect the layout from leaks, etc. Sometimes, it is possible to re-route the plumbing using plastic drain pipes, but if you need to do this, make sure you have someone do this that is experienced so that regulations and codes are followed.

ORSONROY Ray has a great idea for cost savings. If money to do a large overhead suspended ceiling is a show stopper, his idea is great and will will work just fine. Overhead lighting is easier to move around on a metal grid ceiling as FERGIE stated, so please keep that in mind when you make your decision.

[Texas Zepher]

Our club just installed one about two years back. There were three reasons.
1. Cut the amount of dirt and dust sifting through the floor above (in this case unsealed concrete). Some thought this would help our dirty track problem - Ha!
2. Air conditioning plenum <sp?>. The space between the real ceiling and the drop ceiling is where the in-room portable air conditioners vent hot air, which is drawn then off by another fan and exhausted to the outside of the building. In our case this also separates the layout from the heating steam pipes which were running through our ceiling space. In the winter those pipes (even though they were insulated) really put out some heat. It was always hotter in the layout room in the winter than it was in the summer time.
3. We used the t-grid frame work to install better lighting. We now have work lights, show lights, and effect lights.

[Anonymous]

QUOTE: Originally posted by orsonroy

I priced out a just the materials for a drop ceiling in my new 30x30 basement, and almost gagged! I've come up with a MUCH cheaper, easier to install, and almost as user-friendly alternative. Instead of either a drop or hard ceiling, I've created a 2'x4' section gridwork in the ceiling (made of 2x2s), to support 2x4 chunks of 1/2" drywall. I'll seal the raw edges of the drywall, paint the panels ceiling white, and screw them to the grid. I'll end up with removeable panels for a dressed ceiling, at a fraction of the cost of a drop ceiling. It may look a little unconventional with all the screw heads exposed, but I'm willing to make that compromise to save myself well over $1000!

It might be cheaper if you use 1"X3" strapping and make the same type of T grid as you would use on drop ceilings! then all you have to do is stain or paint the grid and you will not have screws showing.

[Anonymous]

I just recently finished my drop ceiling in my 15X27 layout room. I used CeilingMax'es drop ceiling. The plastic tracks screw right to the joists and the tiles snap in the tracks. Using this method I did not loose the three inches or so I would on a conventional metal frame suspension that is wired up. I installed 24 75W daylight halogen in recessed cans on three dimmer circuits. The ceiling looks awesome. Easy access to everything such as wiring and plumbing. I also used the recessed 2X2 tiles. Cost for ceiling about $800-1000. Yes drywall would have been cheaper, but more work, not accesible and if you ever have a leak or need access it could be a big pain in the butt and a mess. I also insulated the ceiling to cut down on noise too. I also waited for these items to come on sale before purchasing. The only drawback would be the heat from the 75W halogens if you stood directly underneath one and your height was about 6' 3" or more. The basement is always cooler here in the midwest so heat from the lamps is not an issue. Although 1800W on the meter might be an issue.

[clif_nmra]

Another reason:
Half of my basement has drop in grid, the other half is a finished recreation room with a finished ceiling.

The problem is that I have squeeks in the flooring above. I can get under the drop in to fix this problem but there is no way I can get to the other half of the floor....other than to try and drill through the finished upper finished wood floor and hoping I hit a joist underneath.-

[douginut]

T-Grid!
your fascia can also be suspended with the same ceiling wires as the grid work. the wires blackened. They will tend to dissappear.
In place of Halogens and their high heat and power consumption. Try the compact flourescents in pots or in the interior spotlight form.
also if you wreck one if the panels it is about 5 bucks for another.

Doug, in Utah

[Anonymous]

QUOTE: Originally posted by clif_nmra

Another reason:
Half of my basement has drop in grid, the other half is a finished recreation room with a finished ceiling.

The problem is that I have squeeks in the flooring above. I can get under the drop in to fix this problem but there is no way I can get to the other half of the floor....other than to try and drill through the finished upper finished wood floor and hoping I hit a joist underneath.-

use a stud finder!

[mondotrains]

QUOTE: Originally posted by air4mdc

I just recently finished my drop ceiling in my 15X27 layout room. I used CeilingMax'es drop ceiling. The plastic tracks screw right to the joists and the tiles snap in the tracks. Using this method I did not loose the three inches or so I would on a conventional metal frame suspension that is wired up. I installed 24 75W daylight halogen in recessed cans on three dimmer circuits. The ceiling looks awesome. Easy access to everything such as wiring and plumbing. I also used the recessed 2X2 tiles. Cost for ceiling about $800-1000. Yes drywall would have been cheaper, but more work, not accesible and if you ever have a leak or need access it could be a big pain in the butt and a mess. I also insulated the ceiling to cut down on noise too. I also waited for these items to come on sale before purchasing. The only drawback would be the heat from the 75W halogens if you stood directly underneath one and your height was about 6' 3" or more. The basement is always cooler here in the midwest so heat from the lamps is not an issue. Although 1800W on the meter might be an issue.

Hi,
I was just emailing a forum member who had responded to one of my questions and he suggested that instead of regular light bulbs or halogens, which generate a lot of heat, you can use those "curly" bulbs that look like squigley flourescent lights. They produce the equivilent of 75 watts using only around 25 watts....in other words you would cut your electric bill by two thirds and get the same amount of light and without all that heat. Trust me, you're current arrangement is going to heat your room.

Hope this helps.
Mondo

[Anonymous]

I had been pondering that for about a year. I opted for hard celing because I want a lighting facia that will be almost completely curved and I have no idea how you would attach that to a grid celing. I am lucky that I don't have realy anything, plumbing, etc, in the area.
Jim Petro

[Anonymous]

QUOTE: Originally posted by air4mdc

I just recently finished my drop ceiling in my 15X27 layout room. I used CeilingMax'es drop ceiling. The plastic tracks screw right to the joists and the tiles snap in the tracks. Using this method I did not loose the three inches or so I would on a conventional metal frame suspension that is wired up.

Hello everyone
I'm planning an 11' x 24' layout in my basement which only has an 82" ceiling, so this CeilingMax'es design really appeals to me. I did a google but came up empty, could you let me know where you got it?

[Anonymous]

Hi CWN3, I purchased my CeilingMax at Home Depot and Menards. I waited till Menards had the fill the bag and get 17% off. I saved lots on the plastic ties and cross ties. I purchased my tiles on sale. Even though I used 24 75W daylight halogens in recessed cans,Looks very good. I'm able to control the lght intensity well. Full bright it is like an operating room. Sometimes you need that extra light when working. Room usually is cool year round and have not found any problems with the heat yet. My ceilng height is 8ft.

[Anonymous]

Another thought I have not seen posted is to use insulation in between the joist to reduce sound transfer between floors. It also catches the dust on top of the insulation. Then paint everything from ceiling height up a flat black. You can easily see and work on anything in the ceiling. Cost is minimal. This method is often used in restaurants, etc.

[Anonymous]

I am currently constructing a building for a railroad and it has a grid ceiling. After reading all the above, it looks as though I finally made a good decision!

As to the compact (screw-in) fluorescents, I love them and have them throughout my house. When an old hot-wire bulb dies, a CF replaces it due to the long life, good color rendering, brightness, low heating, low current consumption, and several other advantages. They are temperature sensitive and require some air circulation around the base where the electronics are to avoid shortened life, so make sure your light cans are vented. Note well that you will pay considerable extra to get dimmable units.

[Anonymous]

Unless you have an unfinished ceiling, i am not really sure why anyone would go thru the trouble and expense of adding a drop ceiling. I considered it briefly to try and deaden sound to upstairs (my trainroom is below bedroom). But I think acoustic foam on the ceiling would work better as a sound barrier.

Just my 2 cents.