{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.
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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
I would use the gift card to add some molding around the doorways in my dining room. Got to change this house from boring builder basic to one with character!
We need to update our outside lighting.
We’re slowing adding chair rail around the house so this would help us get at least one more room completed.
Paint! We desperately need to paint indoors. Thanks!
I can always use things from Lowes. Our “office” is on the list for some updating and it could use a new rug, new blinds and some paint. So I would definitely get one of those taken care of!
Rhoda-
What doesn’t need fixing? We own in a 160 year old Greek Revival in New England and we practically live at our local Lowes. At least once a week we are there picking up some essential. This week end, it will be a new light fixture for the bathroom to replace the 60’s lovely that has been there since we moved in 30 years ago.
Just briefly, I love your blog. Recently found it and have enjoyed reading about your renovation from the day you closed on your home to last weeks big move and reveal. Good Stuff!!
MJ
Rhoda, I love watching your house progress. I think you do a great job of explaining all of your projects. My hubby is preparing to drywall our livingroom/ dining area. Your blog is so informative. Thanks for all of the tips. We would love a gift card from Lowe’s. We shop there all the time and it certainly would come in handy!
We are building. I plan to by lighting and plumbing fixtures from Lowe’s. Thank you!!
I have been trying and trying to get my husband to build me a windowbox outside our office window. I think this gift card would get him in gear to get it done!
We need to put down new flooring over the concrete in our atrium! What a nice giveaway!!!
We have a family room that is in need of a new drop ceiling like yours, I keep saying I’ve got to do this. You finally made up my mind, not to hard. That’s for the post, sure does help
I probably would have just tried rolling or spraying some paint on them, but now I see how saggy they were. This was probably no more work in the long run and makes a HUGE difference. Instead of a converted basement, it looks like a real room. Plus, imagine having an old gunky tile falling on your head! It’s big detail and it made all the difference…just like the shelves in your kitchen. Great before, but now it’s uniquely you!
I actually need some ceiling tiles for a small basement room. The plaster ceiling came down and it’s been a mess for years. This might help motivate me to get ‘er done. CTD
My husband is redoing the bar in our family room, so I would use the money to buy the “bun” feet and stain for it.
I’m in the process of slowly updating my kitchen. I would love a new light fixture to hang over my sink replacing the not so cute fluorescent light. Its got to go.
Your house is looking great…I’m really happy for you.
I’m getting ready to start a kitchen redo. Soooo many things I could purchase from Lowes for this project!
Hi Rhoda,
Your ceiling looks great and thank the Lord for Lowes. LOL Since I live in a 150 year old house, I c ertainly could use a gift card. My list is endless but right now I could use it for a new faucet for one of my bathrooms. So happy you are in your new home.
Hugs,
Connie
We lost all our retirement money to a crook.
A gift card would help us to purchase a new sink and faucet for our bathroom. We had to turn off the water to the sink because it ran all the time (washerless) so for the last two years we just use bath tub for water.
Would love to be able to surprise my husband with a new faucet.
Never thought we would be in this place at this point in life.
Your ceiling does look soooooo much better. Your house has turned out to be a real jewel and I am so happy for your movein.
I need a garage door opener. The builder never installed one, and it is a real pain to have to get out of the car and go unlock the garage door and then pull it open. I would love the gift card to help me buy one.
Hugs, Marty
The hubs and I moved into our fixer upper this year. It’s been one big project. lol. Right now we are building a privacy fence. Our next project is a custom desk. I would use the money to get us started on the desk project. Thanks Rhoda and Lowes for the opportunity!
Amazing how much better the new tiles work! Too bad they don’t make tiles with a faux tin or metal look finish to them – how cool would that be to have a tin ceiling in there?
There’s so much around here that Lowe’s could help with but painting would be at the top of my list!!