DIY Drop Ceiling Tiles (that aren't ugly!)

[@jacknguyen4438]

OMG .... Thank you so much for this. I've been searching for something like this for weeks... But never thought of this idea.

[@ballinonabudget58]

Glad I could help! It’s been over a year and I’ve had no issues! Not sagging or something

[@RyanBrem0504]

Looks good, but romex isn’t allowed in drop celing, only mc/ bx armored cable.

[@DanielJLawson88]

Genius idea! Love it!

[@ballinonabudget58]

Thank you!

[@juliethompson1143]

It looks great! I've been wanting to do this in my basement. Couple questions: do the boards slide easily in case I need access to the electrical, pipes, etc? Did you need to do any additional prep for the can lights?

[@ballinonabudget58]

Yes, the boards slide in and out easily! Make sure you cut then a little smaller than your grid. No additional prep work needed for the lights besides cutting the holes out!

[@Juanbigp]

Awesome video! Love the comedy 🫠

[@charleshairston4853]

Standard measurement for tiles is 23 3/4" x 47 3/4" = 2x4 tile 23 3/4" x 23 3/4" = 2x2 tile Grid tee's have a rib on top that make them rigid for strength. Grid needs to be as close to perfectly square as possible for tiles to seat correctly. Thats why tiles a 1/4" short both ways, so that you're not struggling to force the tile between the tee's. Yes, I know a thing or two about acoustical grid ceilings, I've been in the trade since 😢 1983.

[@captnsavem]

Great idea. Did all your line just happen to align or was there prep needed to match them up?

[@ballinonabudget58]

Each board made 4 tiles so we numbered them (ex. 1,2,3,4) so we would know those should all go together. But once we started installing them, the lines really just happened to align and only were slightly off some times so we didn’t even bother putting them up in order!

[@melissamason2169]

Was this cheaper than the ugly tiles? It looks so good!

[@ballinonabudget58]

Thank you! It’s a little more expensive. the ugly tile pack that covers 64 sq ft is around $47. 2 panels of these would cover 64 sq ft for $54

[@ev3goddess]

Yes looks nice

[@ballinonabudget58]

Thank you!

[@jayne4790]

The beadboard looks pretty thin. Have you had any issues with sagging or warping?

[@ballinonabudget58]

No problems! It’s been over a year and even the panels holding the lights are fine

[@ggarl12]

Thank you

[@kelseybradford2183]

Would you be able to share the lights you used? Looks like they just plug in together rather than needing to be wired?

[@ballinonabudget58]

@kelseybradford2183 they’re LED recess lights! www.homedepot.com/p/Commercial-Electric-5-6-in-Color-Temperature-Selectable-Integrated-LED-Recessed-Light-Trim-4-Pack-NS01dA09FR2-259/314018779?source=shoppingads&locale=en-US&pla&mtc=SHOPPING-BF-CDP-GGL-D27-027_013_RECESS_LIGHT-NA-NA-NA-PLALIA-NA-NA-NA-NA-NBR-NA-NA-NEW-NA&cm_mmc=SHOPPING-BF-CDP-GGL-D27-027_013_RECESS_LIGHT-NA-NA-NA-PLALIA-NA-NA-NA-NA-NBR-NA-NA-NEW-NA-71700000114920077-58700008548416274-92700077999893809&gbraid=0AAAAADq61UdZkZQSpbUlquNyGCaquV-42&gclid=EAIaIQobChMI2avT3qfEgQMVlOfICh0ekgNfEAQYAiABEgIsxPD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds They do plug in together but you have to wire the box the run from !

[@riztrehan]

What are the metal channels on which the boards are resting? Any video on that?

[@ballinonabudget58]

It’s drop ceiling grid. These were already installed so no video unfortunately

[@ChloeGustafson-n7y]

How much square feet did this cover? I am trying to figure out how to make this work for my basement.

[@ballinonabudget58]

I don’t have an exact number but about 500 sq tf!

[@shawnd7798]

May not be a concern, but how is the accoustics with this kind of setup?

[@ballinonabudget58]

I put sound and fireproof insulation in the ceiling first to help with the acoustics. I think without it, you'd hear what's happening upstairs a lot clearer.

[@renolittle4950]

What was your final cost for bead board only? And room dimension.

[@ballinonabudget58]

At the time the bead board was around $22 a sheet from Home Depot. I believe I bought about 10-12 so around $230-$250

[@JesusOrtiz-ow7zu]

Could you use this in a restroom ceilings

[@ballinonabudget58]

Yeah, I’d think so!

[@MichaelWhillock]

How is it holding up, is there any sagging?

[@ballinonabudget58]

Almost 2 years later and no sagging! Even the boards with the lights are perfectly fine

[@rayejackson6350]

Isn't that wood heavy for the grid?

[@ballinonabudget58]

Nope! The boards are pretty light once you cut it to size. They’re only 3/16 of an inch thick

[@MichaelWhillock]

How is it holding up, is it sagging at all?

[@ballinonabudget58]

Still in the same shape! No sagging at all

[@richsums]

I like how she says “Voila! Easy, your lighting is installed” as she is watching the work being done by someone else like 90% of the video…

[@ballinonabudget58]

I can send you the 3 hrs of footage if where I’m helping more if you’d like 😊

[@andreamitchell4758]

still ugly and those panels are never really flat unless you find a unicorn

[@ballinonabudget58]

Guess I found many of unicorns! All of them lie flat in the grid so not sure what you’re talking about

[@andreamitchell4758]

@@ballinonabudget58 that stuff is made of really cheap chip board and tends to absorb moisture especially in a basement, and then it bows if it isn't already bowed form the store unless you get the expensive non chip board stuff. no drop ceiling will look good ever i want to get tin panels for my small bathroom but they just won't look right, I though about using glue up tin panel sheets and gluing over the grid but them I will lose access to electrical in the drop ceiling ,there just is no good solution.

[@ballinonabudget58]

It’s been over a year and I have no sagging or anything. My basement tends to stay dry because I have AC down there as well as a dehumidifier. I agree this shouldn’t be used in a bathroom. Sheetrock is really the only way to get a bathroom to look nice

[@edwardr5084]

LOL NOPE...that does not look good. Looks 100% DIY and not good at that

[@ballinonabudget58]

256 people disagree with you so 🤷🏼‍♀️

[@chica2020]

Great idea... Im gonna try and pull this off for Thanksgiving. Wish me luck! lol😁

[@ballinonabudget58]

How’d it go??