{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
Your house looks so good! An inspiration for all. If I were to win the gift card, we would start replacing rotting wood on the outside of our home.
Hi Rhoda,
Your home has inspired me! hubby is retiring and our first diy project is chair rail for the dining room I am so excited!! we are big lowes fans and the card would be a great way to kick off our first project, thanks!!!
You are amazing! Great job on your new home.
I would love to insulate the ceiling of our unfinished basement. It is unheated, and the floors on the main level get very cold in the winter. So the Lowes card would help with that!
Thanks for your informative and entertaining blog!
There are so many things I’d like to do. If I had to pick, I’d like to use it on tools…we’re new to diy and love it, but are limited to what we can do because of our lack of certain tools. Our garage also needs some major organization help. This money from Lowe’s would be so helpful! Thanks for the opportunity!
That’s looks AWESOME! We’re getting started on finishing our basement and $100 would go a long way toward materials! THANKS for the opportunity!
Wow. As always, I am so inspired by you, Rhoda. I have a lot of projects I want to tackle over the next year, but first up is installing picture frame moulding and chair rail in my foyer, living room, and dining room. Thanks for the opportunity!
I just wanted to thank you for sharing your amazing journey with us. I anxiously check in every day to be a witness of the amazing transformation. I envy your ability to envision and create your style so effortlessly and I find your taste exquisite. Thank you again….looking forward to your next posts….and Welcome Home!!!
I have certainly enjoyed following your process with updates to your home. I too bought a bank-owned fixer upper. There have been so many things to fix; paint cabinets, new appliances, replace light fixtures. Now I need flooring! I had to leave the previous owners floors (scrubbing them real good!) until the last. I’d like to replace carpet with wood flooring, but haven’t calculated the price difference quite yet. Thank you for letting your readers be a part of your journey!!
I love your newly renovated home. I can’t wait to see all the deocrating you will do. It has been amazing watching you and your parents at their age redo this whole house over this year. You are so fortunate to have them with you and still able to do the work they have done. You all are truly a team to reckon with…..
My home needs an update for the master bathroom. It is stuck in the 80s with the country blue wallpaper and I would like to add beadboard wainscoating to the walls and paint it. That would bring it out of the country 80s era.
I continue to be amazed every time you share your latest house adventures with us. Patiently waiting to see the fun part … all the “pretties.” Thanks for the opportunity to win the Lowe’s gift card, which I would use to purchase insulation for my attic.
Diane
I’ve really enjoyed watching your house transform. My house is the same age as yours, with almost identical bathroom “styling”. I’ve thought off and on about the Rustoleum countertop paint, but have been too chicken to try. But then you very graciously provided me with a tutorial! The gift card would be nice too : )
Your home looks amazing! It makes me smile to check my blog roll and and read about your progress. We are building! A Lowes gift card would be fantastic… I’ve run to Lowes quite often the last few months too!
I need to paint my living/dining room, badly!
Your home is fabulous!! We need to update some lighing fixtures!
Always love your blog! Over eight years, I’ve repainted every surface in this house EXCEPT the entryway, bedroom hallway, and living room ceiling. With Christmas coming, a gift card from Lowe’s would be the only way that will happen soon! I get excited just thinking about the possibilities.
Oh my goodness, where to start! We are painting the kitchen cabinets and getting new granite counter tops. We need to tile the back splash. The gift card would surely go to that, or new blinds for the foyer, or kitchen faucets, the list is endless. Lol. Thanks for the give a way.
Looks way better! I need some wood laminate flooring for my new office!
Rhonda I just love your house looking good! If i won the Lowes gift card I would probably buy a new light fixture for my bathroom I’m trying to update it!
I love reading your blog! If I were to win $100 Lowe’s gift card, I would redo my utility room!
We need a new kitchen faucet 🙂