How to build a false suspended ceiling?

[Brendon-Brissie]

Hi Team. I have a new (to me) unit with a combined kitchen/dining/living room and I'd like to differentiate the kitchen by putting in a false ceiling over the floor area, plus it'll allow me to add extra lights. The existing ceiling in the kitchen is concrete and about 2.4 high. The kitchen is L shaped and I'd like the false ceiling to be 3.6m long edge, 1.8m short edge and 750mm wide. The drop will be about 60mm. There will be 5 downleds along the centreline of the L shape. I'm going to make a shadow gap for LED edge lighting that seems to be everywhere. The electricity will be coming from the existing kitchen light outlet, which will be covered by the false ceiling. I'm thinking gyrock, attached to furring channel bolted into the concrete. With the gyrock, I'd rather do as much plastering, sanding and painting as possible on the ground and lift the 2 parts of the L and fasten the furring channel to the concrete, maybe only have the (8?) fastening access holes to patch and paint once it's up. Thoughts? Am I crazy to think I can build the frame and do most the plastering & painting on the ground first?

[MitchellMc]

Welcome to the Bunnings Workshop @Brendon-Brissie. I'd sensational to have you join us and many thanks for your question on building a suspended ceiling.

It’s not an entirely crazy idea, and doing as much plastering, sanding, and painting on the ground as possible can save a lot of awkward overhead work. This approach has been done successfully before, but there are a few considerations.

You’ll need at least two helpers and some props to lift and hold the parts in place while fastening them to the ceiling. Lifting panels alone would be very difficult and unsafe. Steel furring channels can flex slightly, so seams or corners of the plaster part might crack during installation, but these are usually easy to patch once in place.

Finally, even with pre-finished panels, expect to do minor touch-ups for screw holes or seams after installation. Overall, your plan is plausible and can save time; just be mindful of support, rigidity, and finishing.

The only thing worth considering might be whether bolting a timber frame to the ceiling first would be a better option. You can then lift your parts into position and screw through the sides of them into the pre-mounted timber frame.

Please let me know if you have any questions.

Mitchell