{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
Rhoda, so glad you’re finally settling in to your new home. Congratulations! If I were to win the Lowe’s card I would probably use it toward an area rug for our bonus room. 🙂
Wow! you’re house looks amazing! I have been following from day 1! Where would I use a $100 Lowe’s gift card? probably start in my kitchen and buy a new stainless steel sink and faucet!
Thanks for the opportunity to win!
Your den looks great! I’d love to get some paint for my bedroom and bath in a gray shade and also for my kitchen, I’ll be putting the beadboard wallpaper soon on the space between the counters and cabinets but would like to paint first. Thanks for the chance to win!
Rondell
Love following your blog and watching the wonderful transformation of your home. You are inspiring and a good teacher! I would live to have a new kitchen faucet so the $100 would be great.
Thanks for the opportunity!
I am in desperate need of a new kitchen window:)
You are such an inspiration to me, as I sit here with my morning coffee, thinking “I could do that”….rrriiiiggghhht.
Anyway, I have a long honey-do list, as my honey is not so handy, and top of the list is to replace some rotting posts on my sunroom/home office, before I sink into the ground….not really an inspiring task, but a much needed one.
Thanks so much for keeping me motivated!
I would love a gift card for paint! I need to paint the awnings of my house…thanks! Karen
Light fixture over kitchen sink and light/fan over dining table…I know Lowes Fresno has great selections, I droll at them every time I shop there. Thank you for the opportunity to win.
HI Rhoda!! I am a fairly new reader of your blog!! You are my inspiration to take on projects on my own. My husband died suddenly 2 years ago and he was my project man. I have been very intimidated to take on painting and just completed my FIRST painting project !! It was so fun!!
Thanks for your inspiration!!
Mary Jane
Hi,
Those ceiling tiles look great – I love seeing you and your dad working together. I am trying to remodel my downstairs bathroom and a little help from Lowe’s would be perfect! Thanks.
Rhoda-
So fun to watch your progress and happy you’re in your home now. I do much of the work around my house myself, too (but I don’t have family here in Georgia with me, so I am a bit slow!). My list of wants and needs is long, but think I would use a gift card to help with either putting a system in my closet or replacing my kitchen faucet. Can’t wait to see your “finished product” when you are all unpacked. I know it will be beautiful.
Rhoda, Hubby and I are in the middle of a total kitchen gut /redo on a budget. We are both seniors and have decided that maybe this is the last project…until the next of course! I eagerly logged on every day to see your kitchen progress! You and your family have inspired us greatly. You cinched my decision to go with black knobs on my white cabinets and I love it! Can’t wait until my subway tile goes up! I look forward to your blog daily! Sandy
I need to paint my laundry room and add storage, since the flimsy shelf in there has fallen down.
Your home is looking so GOOD!!! Thank you for the chance to win the $100 card from Lowe’s…….a favorite place! We need to tackle a painting project………..that would help get us started!
I have a long list of projects to do, but I think next up will be new countertops and backsplash in the kitchen.
Love that you show pics of you doing the really dirty, not fun work. Your house is looking amazing. Must feel great to know you have done it yourself!
What a difference! It looks great!
Next on my house list is fixing the patio roof and painting the guest bedroom.
I just found out I need to replace my roof, so the gift card would be of great help. thank you. Wenda, [email protected]
Your house is gorgeous!! I look forward to reading your posts daily.
I have just purchased my first home on my own, after a divorce. It’s a fixer upper, so many things that I’m going to do before I move in. PAINT PAINT PAINT, new counter tops, new flooring, new doors, the list goes on and on. The Lowe’s gift card would help alot! I would use for the paint and supplies to get started.
Thanks! Your story is a great inspiration!
Rhoda, the ceiling looks awesome! I could use the gift card for paint as we had a leak in the commode upstairs and it drained down to Living Room and got the paint. We are working on that project and want to paint the kitchen also a new color also.
So glad you are in and getting settled.