Ahemm.........(cough, cough)............thank you, thank you.........you may all sit down now!!!
Oh, pleeeaze..........stop.........stop already!!! (har har har )
Well, I can't exactly take credit for the *ceiling* itself......only the lighting. I *did*, however, watch the ceiling go in very carefully.
First............
Installers had this really cool laser level that revolved like a siren. This keeps your border brackets perfectly level.........(the red dot keeps going around & around).
Then, after your brackets are on, you can start to work on your center point. Then you work out connecting the grid brackets from there.
(Ours only encompasses 3 walls and 2 of those were drywall and one was concrete. The drywall version got a fancy nail, but the concrete wall got some gnarly lookin' rivets)
The part that's kinda' not so DIY (imho) is they had this way cool installation tool that drove this uber-agressive "loop" type fasteners (kinda' like lag bolts) that went into the warehouse ceiling with a drill motor on the bottom & a looooooong tube going up to the ceiling.
The drop wire is looped thru the fastener, then the fastener was driven into the ceiling by pulling the trigger on the drill, then the pole was dropped ever slightly, then the drill motor squeezed again which causes the wire to twist (ensuring no way to come off the looped-end fastener now) then they remove the tube completely & you have a hanging wire that you later cut to whatever length you need for your grid brackets.
Now, I think you could get away with doin' it the hard way if you don't need to reach 20ft into a warehouse ceiling. Maybe just twist 'em in w/ pliers or make your own kinda' tool?? (Kinda like when you use your floor jack at home, then to lower it you take the handle & twist that little slotted end to lower it)
The brackets themselves are "clasped" together and "pinned" at intersections. (Ends, I noticed the guys just stuck unused rivets thru......kinda' like deadbolting your door). Then the butted connections have this little flat metal clasps that hold ends together.
Out from center, once you get the hang of it, you should be able to move pretty quickly, then when you get to the ends/edges, you'll have to start cutting brackets to length.
Lastly........(and the easiest part).........will be dropping the panels in. I had to remove almost half the panels when I did the lighting job. When your grid's all done, just start dropping ceiling panels in place & it'll start looking complete.
If you do 2 x 4 grid spacing, you'll be able to drop standard 2 x 4 lighting fixtures right in. (Definitely wire them up to the ceiling though, too 'cuz if one fell, it'd hurt somebody like a mother). Then you can leave the lights in like I did for a couple weeks before you find out that electricians want too much money for lighting & do that yourself too & save $$$.
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