Waiting Area Ceiling Project

The waiting area ceiling project has begun. My friend Kevin is coming up tomorrow to help me with it and find a good buffet of course.   

As mentioned in the Talk it Up post last week or so the ceiling in the waiting area is going to black 3D panels, and 2x2 instead of the 2x4 in there now.  The articulating monster taking up a lot of the room in the back can come to the waiting area now that the double doors are in.  When it starts it runs pretty rich so the ceiling will get uglier than it already is so black panels were the way to go.  Plus the ceiling is going on 28 years old and with lighting changes and such over the years some of the panels are newer and some original.  Many years of carbon monoxide was the main culprit in the ugly non-white look.

I won't be doing any work in the shop till this is done, unless my legs get too sore from going up and down the ladder or wheeled steps, that's why I started on it today to sorta space that out some.  

I have a lot of plans in my head (scary I know) for when the articulating tractor is up front, there has been a grand plan from the beginning that will make things a lot better and easier to do around here.  Another part of this plan is moving the blaster and making a turn table with sealed and covered bearings to take the aluminum shot to put in it.  I just had another idea, maybe I could reinforce the top and hang them in there with a spinning hook, that may be even better and easier, we'll see...  I spend entirely to much time doing engines and transmissions by hand with wire wheels and grinders.  Once the blaster goes where I have planned I will be able to put them in the blaster with the forklift, that's the plan anyway...  I'll be able to do a better job in about 90% less time if this works out, and time is something I never have enough of...    

Anyway,,, I'll put up some pics of the progress on Monday.  

 

OK it's not Monday but Kevin called me a little before 7 this morning and sounded terrible.  He had a fever and was having chills.  He picked up something nasty from somewhere so it was me, myself and I today.  Everything happens for a reason.  

The ceiling I have now is all Armstrong rails + panels Made in USA but they were put up about 28 years ago.  The new rails are made in China of course, and they are made different, of course...    

Every one had to be cut down a little in the top while keeping the stop, and the holes in the main beams up there now all had to be widened like in the pic.  I started where the black panels are in the last pics to make sure everything stayed square, then did the outside and corners last.  No black panels there but I can go by the cut down ones for measurements.  All the original tiles are going back above the new panels to hold them down anyway and provide more insulation.  Only 8 more outer panels to go but the hardest part is done.  The last outer panels just need to be cut to 23-3/4", then all the other interior panels will be the same, 23-3/4" square.  Cutting these sure does make a mess though.  

I bet my calves will be screaming sometime soon from all the constant climbing up and down but I have plenty of Aspirin.  

 

This sure is hard and slow going for 1 person.  Just an extra set up hands handing things up would help a lot but at least it's getting done.  I'm adding a few more lights since the reflection from the white ceiling panels is going away.  I keep plenty of spares in the back so at least they will all be the same.  They were spaced around 7' in front of the counter but now they will be spaced at 4'.  It will actually be brighter on the walls, floor, and tractors when this is done so it will work out good.  The lights have been changed out a few times over the years and there's a small mess of connections and 12 gauge wire that's not needed with LED's so that's all being changed also.   

I'm surprised I almost made it to the halfway mark by myself today and would have if I hadn't done the light additions and rewiring.  Most of the time is spent widening the cross brace holes and cutting down the cross braces so they fit in the existing ceiling.  Cutting all the original panels to go on top isn't so bad, just messy.  

 

Sorry no update yesterday, was talking to Carson about his tractor till after time to leave.  A lot was done yesterday and I should finish up the cross beams and the rest of the center tiles today.  Only a little over 1 row left.  Kevin is coming up this Sat to help me finish the outside edges and light panels where the new 3D panels have to be cut to fit.  

I found a place where a lot of cold air was prob coming in.  It's a 10" flex duct that runs about 100' to the opposite back corner of the shop.  It used to go to a diesel furnace that I put in when the building was built to supply heat to the waiting area.  I put in the heat pumps a few years later and that pipe has been sitting upstairs above the insulation bringing in cold air  for about 27 years.  Being to busy can sure have it's draw backs...     I'm glad I'm not so much that way anymore and am doing things I should have done or wanted to do for a lot of years now.

Second pic shows adding 2 more lights, that turned out really good.  Next pic shows how much has to be cut off of each 2'x4' panel which took a lot of time to do the whole ceiling.  Next pic is the pipe pushed upstairs.  There were already old ceiling tile pieces up there to hold insulation up so they were just moved to close up the hole until I get upstairs to take the flex duct out.  Next pic are the final cross braces that had to be modified and all the little pieces that were trimmed off, also taking a lot of time to do 40 of them.  The last 3 pics are just what was done yesterday.   

 

What I am doing alone was finished up yesterday.  Waiting area and shop is all cleaned up from the mess as well.  My friend Kevin is coming up this Sat to help me finish all the panels that have to be cut around the outside edge and where the lights are.  Adding the 2 lights made a lot of extra light where the tractors will be so that came out nice.  The panels near the lights are just open to get access to the lights when we take them back out to cut the light hole.  All the lights have plugs on them so it will be pretty easy.  The old panels are already cut and put over what black panels are installed, and the last ones are sitting up there to put over the black ones as you can see in the pics.  No more white mess to be made...  As mentioned before they are just for weight to hold the new ones down and extra insulation.

I really like the look of them and the fact they won't show dirt or carbon monoxide discoloring over time although they are washable and paintable.  I had originally planned to paint the beams black but I like the 2 tone look because it shows off the 3D panels off.  I think I may pic a color on the walls to paint the cross beams at some point but things are way to busy to do that now.  The main focus now is getting the articulating tractor up there so there is more room in the shop.  It was uncovered yesterday and ready to go up there.  It still needs some work but finishing it up will come this Summer as more time allows. 

 

Kevin + I worked on the ceiling and got the panels all in by a little after 7PM.  I took a lot longer than we thought of course but the outside edge was actually half of the ceiling by panel count.  Lots of measuring + cutting but it turned out super nice.  The leftover pieces are cleaned + boxed up, and the lights were placed so perfectly that all the cutouts were exactly the same on all 8.  

Like always there was a big mess to clean up today...  It was warm today so everything was opened up and the leaf blower did most of the cleaning in the waiting area and shop.  The plastic panels are the king of static cling so at least it didn't go too far out in the shop.     The shop, waiting area, and all of the tools and equipment are all clean and I got a start on caulking the outside edge today.  There was a lot of phone time today so I caulked while on the phone. 
Another thing that's gonna slow me down a little is my usual daily routine is gonna be all out of whack for a bit.  I hate it when that happens.    The fridge in the house decided to take a vacation yesterday so I moved everything to the shop kitchen fridge yesterday.  Thank the Lord there's a full kitchen minus a stove out here though.  I need to take it apart and find out what's going on with it when I get a minute...