Suspended ceiling grid
#9
Hi all, I'm looking for the name and manufacturer of a particular style ceiling grid. The main feature I'm looking for is the cross members do not "stab" into (through)the main track. The tab ends of the cross members are bent 90*; they slide into an offset receiver punched into the main. The advantage I desire is that the cross members can be installed/removed easily without requiring the removal of additional tiles and extra space that stab-lock grid requires. Application is the lower level of my shop, which has 3-1/2" x 18" trusses 24' O.C. on a single 2 x 6 sill. Top of concrete is finish ceiling. I need to run the mains centered under the trusses so the 2' x 4' recessed lights fit between them to keep the ceiling as high as possible. I plan on using screw hooks only; no wire. Because the lights have to be installed first; with stab lock, I would have to install cross members into the next main before it was attached to the truss.

If anyone has a better idea, I'm open to all suggestions. Future access to ceiling and woodshop floor above is about my only requirement.
Sign at N.E. Vocational School Cabinetmaking Shop 1976, "Free knowledge given daily... Bring your own container"
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#10
Check out Chicago Metallic they used to hook in
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#11
Check Armstrong. They have both snap-in and hook-in cross tees.

https://www.armstrongceilings.com/reside...229946.jpg

https://www.armstrongceilings.com/reside...ation.html
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#12
I have installed many 2x4 fixtures and they are not fun with minimal clearance. I get what you are doing but I see it being a royal pain.

    You can hang your first main then hand a light against it and build your grid around it using regular stuff but it would be difficult. I will sy that suspended ceilings are not a cheap install. The panels are quite expensive. I have seen many commercial ones at $25 for a single 2x2 tile.... Makes for expensive screwups when cutting in can lights etc.

    I would definitely check for a local supplier. They often only sell ceiling grid stuff. Oh and get their string for your string line. It's very thin and extremely strong. Way better than anything at the borg.
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#13
Thanks for all the replies. Fixtureman and Lynden, I agree the hook style is much easier to re-work than the stab lock. They frequently need three hands to get apart.

Robert, the lights are already screwed to the bottom of the trusses. I'm considering screwing 2' strapping on top of them to support them from the top of the bottom chord, that will give me a little movement. I understand this will be tougher than a typical install, like all day with a helper for less than 600 sq. ft.. A minor plus is I don't need wall angle (top of concrete wall is finish ceiling), just a few transitions at the stairway and over the door. I already have the washable, 5/8" F.C. tiles. Just about anything will be better than the insulation that's ready to fall down and the cardboard stapled where it already has.

Some of my suppliers remembered the slide lock grid. Armstrong said they stopped production 15 years ago! They also said their stab lock and hook cross members will both work with the Slide-Loc main, but not vice versa. Non issue since I can't find either.
Sign at N.E. Vocational School Cabinetmaking Shop 1976, "Free knowledge given daily... Bring your own container"
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#14
I had a similar problem in the basement of our old house, not wanting to give up ceiling height. It didn't occur to me that there could be other ways to assemble the grid beyond what Lowes/HD sell with the stab lock dropped ceiling grid. I solved the problem by assembling most of the ceiling and putting the tiles for the last row up into the ceiling setting on the top of the last completed row. I was using 2x2 tiles. the last 2' cross pieces for the grid, I riveted one end in place, then swung the other into place without locking it, then pulled the tile over and dropped it in. between the riveted end and the tiles, the grid members stay in place.
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#15
There is also another type called concealed spline that you use z channel you can mount this right up to the joists as you work one row at a time
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#16
This might be a source for Armstrong slide-lock tees?

https://www.ccdistributors.com/index.jsp...2Cdept-1KP
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