Suspended Ceilings: Setting Out a CD and UD Grid That Stays Flat

A suspended ceiling hides pipework, wiring and a multitude of structural sins, and gives you a dead flat plane for downlights. It is also unforgiving: every millimetre of sag shows up under a light.

The components

• UD 30 perimeter track fixed around the walls at your finished ceiling level
• CD 60 profiles spanning the room, sitting in the track
• Ceiling brackets fixed to the joists above
• Hangers and levelling connectors joining brackets to profiles, and the means of getting everything flat

Centres that work

Element	Spacing
CD profiles	400 mm centres for ceilings
Hangers along a profile	900 mm maximum
First hanger from a wall	no more than 300 mm
Board joints	staggered, never in line across the ceiling

Ceilings carry their own weight all day, every day, so 400 mm centres rather than the 600 mm used on walls is not fussiness. It is the difference between a flat ceiling and a rippled one.

Order of work

1. Find your level. Mark the finished height on one wall, then carry it right around with a laser or water level. Do not measure down from the existing ceiling, which is unlikely to be level.
2. Fix the perimeter track to that line.
3. Fix the brackets to the joists, following your profile layout.
4. Hang the profiles, tuck the ends into the track and connect to the hangers.
5. Level everything before a single board goes up. Sight along the profiles and adjust the connectors.
6. Board, tape and skim. Use fleece joint tape and a joint filler, then skim.

Plan the services first

Once the boards are on, adding a cable is a destructive job. Run wiring, position downlight cables and pull through anything you might want later while the grid is open. It costs an hour now and saves a day in six months.

Need a hand with your job?

Send us your measurements and we will put together a materials list with prices. Call 085 868 8459, message us on WhatsApp or email sales@all4building.ie. We deliver across Ireland from our Cork warehouse.