One of the most common types of suspended ceilings are slab-and-honeycomb structures. Their installation is considered children's fun compared to the installation of other suspended ceilings. If you are still in doubt, then you should pay attention to the cost, which for these systems breaks all records. But such designs also have their drawbacks, by evaluating which, you can decide whether to purchase a similar ceiling model.
Description
Before assembling the Armstrong ceiling, you must decide what is good and bad. In addition to cheapness and simplicity, this system also has such advantages as sound and heat insulation. The interior space is extensive, it can accommodate communications and fixtures, access to which will be easy and will not require dismantling.
But such a ceiling is not very durable and does not protect against leakage from above. If the plates are fibrous, then the system itself will deteriorate from moisture. Armstrong cannot be curvilinear; complex structures cannot be obtained with it. If the height of the ceilings is important to you, then you must remember that after installation, the walls will become at least 15 cm lower. Therefore, such structures are rarely chosen for urban apartments. But such ceilings are used in supermarkets and offices, as well as entertainment centers and restaurants.
If you wondered how to assemble the Armstrong ceiling, you should familiarize yourself with its device. The design provides for the presence of:
- ceiling plate;
- bearing profile;
- transverse profile;
- longitudinal profile;
- suspension;
- wall profile;
- mounting unit;
- fragment of the ceiling plate.
Plates are made soft, they are based on organic and mineral elements. If the plates are made rigid, then they have more weight, therefore, suspensions and profiles for them require special, reinforced, which increases the cost of the structure.
Profiles are made of painted metal or metal-plastic with holes. A fixing unit is a dowel for a self-tapping screw or a steel grip. The latter is used to strengthen the suspension or with a smooth bar.
Appearance
Quite often, beginner home masters ask themselves how to assemble the Armstrong ceiling. But first you need to find out what it looks like. The design is a ceiling plate, which are laid on a steel frame. For plates, different materials can be used, namely:
- metal;
- wood;
- mineral fiber.
Speaking of metal, these are usually perforated aluminum plates. When it comes to wood, you should imagine that the ceiling consists of veneered ceiling tiles. This material is obtained by sticking thin sheets onto wood panels or fiberboard.
Before assembling the Armstrong ceiling, you must select the material underlying it. It may be mineral fiber. Usually it is fiberglass or glass wool. These plates have one advantage, which is the presence of small pores that provide better air circulation. Top coating is called perforation. Its value shows what percentage of the slab are small holes. Such a ratio between the areas can be a fraction of a percent or reach more than 20%.
Preparation of materials and tools
If you have a question about how to properly assemble the Armstrong ceiling, you should prepare and make sure that such tools are at hand:
- hammer drill;
- hammer;
- construction pencil;
- crosshead screwdriver;
- pliers;
- building level.
As for the materials, these are:
- ceiling canvas or suspension;
- rail;
- dowels;
- profile and carrier rail;
- nails.
Technique: mounting the frame
Installation of ceilings begins with the installation of the perimeter. Beating the height is carried out using a bubble or laser level. In practice, the height of the perimeter is often beaten from the opposite. To do this, check the horizontalness of the floor and make elevations in the corners. With a deliberate cord you need to beat off the contour.
Further, the wall profile is cut to size and fixed to the walls with self-tapping screws in the dowels. If the walls are made of wood, then the perimeter can be fixed with nails, because the main load will be suspended. It is not recommended to hack on them. Dowels must be propylene.
After the marking is made and the holes in the ceiling are drilled, the supporting profiles should be cut off by connecting them in the bar of the desired length. They are laid around the perimeter and spread apart along the length. Then you can proceed with the installation of suspensions and load-bearing strips that are sagging.
At the next stage, you will be engaged in the installation of connections. Usually, two mounting schemes are used, one of them is cross, the other is parallel. The cross pattern is considered more laborious, but durable, so it should be used for the place where it is planned to lay communications. Before mounting the frame, incomplete profiles must be trimmed.
Work on the assembly of the ceiling
If you are interested in the question of how to assemble Armstrong suspended ceiling, then you must raise the contents of the cells and tilt them to enter the ceiling space. If the element stands obliquely, you cannot click on it from above to align it. Below it is pushed in the corners.
First of all, concentrated loads should be laid down, bringing communications to them. Then there are plates with spotlights, to which the wires are connected. You can complete the assembly by laying blind plates. The latter should lie its surface on the palms of both hands. The plate is turned on and lowered evenly. It should be pushed with a finger in the lower corner if the element is not level.
Can I put in an apartment
Even if you live in Khrushchev, you can still try to assemble the Armstrong ceiling with your own hands. Such a system can be installed in an apartment with ceilings of 2.5 m, if you refuse spring-pin suspensions. In this case, the inter-ceiling space can be squeezed up to 80 mm.
The suspension system will be held by fixing units, which will be made of tin or cylinder corners with two holes on the screws. The suspensions will be bundles of several turns of wire. Its thickness can be 0.8 m. The length of the suspension should be greater than the height of the niches of the ceiling space.
The wire should be cut into individual blanks of the desired length, and the running end should be inserted into the holes in the profiles of the mounting unit, bending the wire. Its ends are twisted. If you have the skill, then such an installation will not require too much time.
Work on the installation of supporting rails
Armstrong suspended ceiling assembly provides for the installation of load-bearing rails. Their length can be 3,700, 1,200 and 600 mm. These elements are T-shaped, and their ends have slots for attaching short profiles. Such slats should be installed parallel to a pair of walls. The distance between them is 1,200 mm. Sometimes the length of the rivers is not enough, but they are easily and reliably fastened with special locks.
Armstrong ceiling assembly instructions may include the installation of 200 mm rails, the distance between which is 600 mm. The indentation from the walls should be the same. They are placed perpendicular to the bearing profiles. For suspended ceilings, such rails have locks, with which you can perform independent installation. The same applies to the 600 mm rivers, which are the smallest and are located perpendicular to the rails described above. Each side of the cells should be equal to 600 mm.
Work on the installation of transverse rails
The length of the transverse rails can be 1.2 m. You can proceed with their installation after mounting the load-bearing elements. They are placed perpendicular to the carrier and at a distance of 0.6 m. No special tools are needed for this, because there are slots on the carrier rails, so the element is simply inserted until it clicks.
It is necessary to adhere to the mentioned step as strictly as possible, otherwise the plates may not fit into the cells or fall out of them. Assembling the Armstrong ceiling with your own hands also involves the installation of 0.6-meter transverse rails. To complete the installation of the frame, you will need these elements. They are located parallel to the supporting elements and between the above rails. This will allow you to get square cells with a side of 60 cm.
Finally
When installing in relation to the described ceiling system, it is necessary to adhere to certain rules. For example, slabs should be installed only after completion of installation and construction work in the room. This is especially true for wet finishes, installing doors and windows, as well as laying floors. Installation should only begin with a limited temperature range of 15-30 ° C. Recommended humidity should not exceed 70%.