{Giveaway is Closed}
The winner is #164: Lee in Ky! Congrats, Lee!
One of the last things Dad and I did before my move in date, was change out the ceiling tiles in the den. Well, most of them anyway. We still have to fix the ones where the light fixtures are attached and the ceiling vents, so there’s a little more to finish out before they are completely done. But, it’s amazing the transformation of just changing out the saggy old ceiling that was there since probably 1979, when the house was built. It was a mess up there.
Here’s the old, saggy ceiling tiles, which were very yellowed and just plain disgusting. I’m so glad I was able to change them out, they feel so fresh and clean now. Thanks to being part of Lowes Creative Bloggers team this month, we were given a giftcard to do any project we wanted to. Bingo! This was at the top of my list and I’m so grateful that I had enough to cover this. Cost for the ceiling tiles was just under $250.  I think it was worth it to change them out, makes a huge difference.
I did go in and roll white ceiling paint over all the gridlines to freshen them up too.
Then, one by one, I popped out the ceiling tiles. They were very brittle from age and lots of gunk was on top of them. I wore my safety glasses to keep stuff from flying in my eyes.
My dad is a pro at giving directions, as you can imagine. 
I took them down and he toted them out of the house and stacked them up.
Me and my safety glasses.
And pretty soon we had a bare ceiling with all the duct work showing. We left up the light fixtures for now and will get those changed out soon. If the ceiling just had open wood up there, I would have considered painting it, but all the duct work is up there too, so I’d rather keep the drop ceiling for now.
There was so much debris up there that fell out every time I pulled out another one. Lots of vacuuming going on afterward.
And one by one, those ceiling tiles went back up. It’s a matter of just inserting them back into the empty space and letting them settle into place. Not hard, but takes some patience to get them all in place, since there are wires on many of the ends of the grids that you have to work around. And the ceiling tiles are a little bit fragile, so you have to take care of the edges of them.
We went back after all the big tiles went in and cut these smaller pieces. I took out the old ones and drew a template for the new ones from those. We ended up getting out the table saw and it worked well for cutting these partial tiles nice and straight. I popped them all back in one at a time.
And now I have a fresh new ceiling that looks tons better than the old. No more sagging and yellow color.
We will fill in those holes very soon and it will all be finished with clean new tiles. So glad I decided to tackle this one now instead of later. It will feel so much better. You can see the difference in color on that one to the left of the vent where the light fixture is now. Much more drab and dirty.
I love the new clean ceiling that I got with these Armstrong commercial ceiling tiles. These are just regular commercial grade 2×4’ ceiling tiles, #933 if you’re looking at the store. They were $37.00 for 5 boxes or more (contractor pricing). We used 6 boxes to complete this project.
Thanks to Lowes for supplying the giftcard for October for this updating project. It was the perfect finishing touch for my new den furniture. It will feel so much better in there now. I love being a part of Lowe’s Creative Ideas blogger team.
Here’s some great news too! Lowe’s is giving away to ONE of my readers a $100 giftcard, so you can get busy on a project of your own. Just leave a comment telling me what needs doing at your house. I’ll choose one winner at random in a few days.
Thanks for stopping by!
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Giveaway is sponsored by Lowe’s. U.S. resident addresses only, please.  I received a giftcard for my project, but was not compensated for this post and all ideas and opinions are my own.Â
Looks great!!! I would use the gift card to put new tiles in the kid’s bathroom.
Oh my, where should I begin?! It seems my 40 year old house is begging for so many updates! I think I would start by replacing my oh-so-leaky kitchen faucet and then move on to the not-so-lovely bathroom. I took a screenshot of your updated bathrooms as inspiration! So many projects!!
I’d love to build a new vanity for my downstairs 1/2 bath and use beadboard wallpaper in it Also want to build window boxes this winter to install in the Spring for 4 windows!
We are in a rental now but I would love to have some splurge money for soil and flowers for my currently empty pots and hanging baskets in the back yard. Flowers make such a difference and it is gardening season where I live.
Love how beautiful your house is!!! I have really enjoyed watching you make this house your home and can’t wait to see it once you put the finishing touches on it with your gorgeous decorating!!
What a great giveaway!!! There are a lot of updates that I would love to do in our home (new flooring in the kitchen, living room, and dining room, new countertops, new paint in the dining room….the list goes on).
We go to Lowe’s at least every other day! We’ve been working on our house for three years, and one of the last things to do is replace a bit of back hallway linoleum. A gift card would allow that little project to be completed sooner than later, which would make me happy.
Thanks for a great giveaway!
And your house looks fabulous. I love the board-and-batten!
::Jill
Getting ready to paint all the interior!
shelves and paint for our livingroom and master bedroom.
I would use the gift card toward a subway tile backsplash in my kitchen using YOUR wonderful how-to instructions!
I need to get a welcome mat.
So very many things that a gift card would help accomplish, both at home and at our cottage. There is a bedroom at the cottage with the same yellowing stained ceiling tiles, thanks for the installation tips!
I will buy a new kitchen peel and stick tile floor, my old one has had it.
We are remodeling a home too. Right now we are in the drywall stage. Next is painting, so anything from paint to flooring or faucets, lighting…Been reading your blog for a long time really love what you’ve done with your new home. Thank you for sharing.
What a difference those new tiles made, know you will enjoy your new den. If I won the card I would put it towards saving for a new washer and dryer. Ours is quite old and not very efficient. Thanks for this opportunity.
I’m just getting ready to start my front room. I could totally use $100 right now. Oh, I could use it for a new faucet in my boys bathroom….cross my fingers!
I love how your home is coming together. It’s very attractive. I would use the gift card on my food pantry. I need to have wooden shelving installed in it. It currently has wire shelving which is okay, but the closet itself is diagonal so there is a lot of wasted space. Wood shelves would give me more room and the items would be more secure.
I am following lowes on twitter.
I love your new ceiling tiles!
Im a fan of lowes on facebook
Immediate things that need done at my house include touching up the woodwork paint on the first floor. Many more longer-term projects include new flooring on the first floor and kitchen backsplash.
Lots of little projects like re-grouting and caulking the shower and a big job of updating the kitchen with counters, sink, backsplash, lighting. Oh where to begin??