How to install a wooden suspended ceiling

armabelle

I am building a suspended ceiling in my basement and need to build it out of wood. I have seen several videos (here is one https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W_QmhB5aDGI&t=624s which is exactly what I want to do) and think I have a fair idea of how to go about it except for one thing. The studs I will be using are 2.4m long and the width of the basement is 4.8m long so I will need 2 X studs going across the width of the room and need to join them somehow using some kind of support from the concrete ceiling. How is this done? Obviously something must be fixed to the ceiling as with a steel frame suspended ceiling but I can't find any info online using wooden framing. I should note that this is not a heavy load bearing ceiling and will only be used to suspend mineral wool.

thanks!

sky6

That's a big span, But why not just use insulated plasterboard slabs fixed either directly to the Concrete ceiling or fix Battens to the concrete and then fix the Insulated slabs to the Battens.
Another option following what your proposing is to fix Steel hanging brackets to the concrete ceiling and fix your Rafters to the Steel Hangers.

Is the Concrete Ceiling a poured Floor or Hollow core.?

armabelle

Hi! I need to create a suspended ceiling spaced 40cm from the concrete ceiling. I need to do this because I will be filling the cavity with acoustic treatment in the form of fiberglass attic insulation (the yellow fluffy stuff). Once the fluffy is in place I need to staple fabric to the wooden beams to hold the insulation in place. This is why I am using wooden studs and not the normal suspended ceiling setup. Your second option "fix Battens to the concrete and then fix the Insulated slabs to the Battens" sounds interesting but I don't really understand what you mean. Your third option sounds like what I had in mind but not sure how it would work with wood. Could you send me a link to the hanging brackets you have in mind?
Oh and not sure about the concrete ceiling. This is a basement/garage with a house above it so, by any chance, does that give some kind of clue?
Here is an arial diagram of the room and required positioning of the wooden studs/battens

Calahonda52

what is the longest piece you can get in to the basement?
Maybe look at pairs of C section purlins and run the joists the other way.
Plenty noggins as well.

In passing, for sound attenuation, best not fix to ceiling, also use a denser insulation and do condor making it all pretty airtight so something better than the fabric

armabelle

Hello! The longest piece available is 2.4 meters. I am not trying to "attenuate" the sound as it is not a soundproofing issue. Acoustic treatment and acoustic isolation are separate topics. I live in a country setting so no need for isolation only acoustic treatment in the recording space. I had a look at C section purlins but don't see how that is relevant because what I need is some kind of support from the ceiling. In a normal suspended ceiling you would have channels which are hung from the ceiling like this https://www.hometips.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/install-suspended-ceiling-03.jpg

Gen.Zhukov

This maybe overkill but some food for thought (if I read the project correctly)
There are fixings available to leave you with a M10 female thread in the ceiling.

CJhaughey

Get a competent engineer to make you as many supports as you need, Square foot on one end with holes to allow rawl bolts to be used to support the frame and then a flange or similar to allow the studs to be fastened to the support.
Like an I shape.

Ceiling

---

__________I___________

armabelle

Gen.Zhukov wrote: »

This maybe overkill but some food for thought (if I read the project correctly)
There are fixings available to leave you with a M10 female thread in the ceiling.

That's EXACTLY what I need. Do you know what those fixings are called? What do you mean by M10?

armabelle

Gen.Zhukov wrote: »

This maybe overkill but some food for thought (if I read the project correctly)
There are fixings available to leave you with a M10 female thread in the ceiling.

Or these....have a look at this video
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pnR4qYOVyKs
Kind of the same thing do you think? go forward to 1:10 in the video. I could run those fixings down the length of the room or even use a channel as if i was doing  steal suspended ceiling then fix the wooden stud to the channel which would be just above it.

Gen.Zhukov

I think they're called 'drop in anchor sleeves'. M10 is the size of the bolt thread.

The sleeves have a tapered piece in them that you hammer in using a punch and this expands the anchor sleeve.

The video is the same idea. Mi Espanol es muy mal:)

BrokenArrows

armabelle wrote: »

That's EXACTLY what I need. Do you know what those fixings are called? What do you mean by M10?

M10 is just the size of the bolt. You can get them in different sizes like M8, M12.
The number means the size in mm of the diameter of the rod.

armabelle

Hi All, Please have a look at this diagram. This is what I think may work but I would really appreciate to hear your thoughts. I thought of having a row of lights (I need lights so might aswell have them here) running down the length of the room. The fixings are what I need to investigate because I don't know what I can get here in spain but they should provide more than enough support for the wooden studs.

Lumen

Are you sure you know what you're doing with this "acoustic treatment"?

It seems like you're just creating another parallel reflector with the suspended ceiling. The interstitial insulation will do nothing.

Why not just directly attach acoustic panels to the existing ceiling and walls at the reflection points?

armabelle

Yes I am sure. I  am not creating another reflector because the ceiling is one giant broadband absorber. When sound waves hit the ceiling they will be absorbed by the fluffy material behind the cloth. Where is a parallel reflector?
The reason why I don't attach acoustic panels to existing ceilings is because I need the ceiling to be a giant acoustic panel. I do plan on treating the 1st reflection points on the side walls but with concrete ceiling 3 meters away you don't want any reflections between the floor and ceiling so it is best to remove those modes as best as possible and for that you need thick low density absorption. 40cm thick panels can be quite protruding.

Lumen

Oh I see, there will be no plasterboard.

Could you use weldmesh attached to vertical anchors? Maybe sheep's wool batts for insulation.

Then you have much less mass to suspend and no large reflecting members.

armabelle

No plasterboard . Please see my post #12. I uploaded a diagram of an idea that I had which will have only a thin plasterboard sheet of around 30cm running down the middle of the room just to house the lights. The rest will insulation with fabric attached to studs. Still looking to see if anyone can come up with something better though because I am not a great DIY'er. Your mesh idea did cross my mind but how would you staple the fabric to the mesh? We need a breathable fabric to hold the insulation in place and also to provide aesthetically pleasing interior.

Calahonda52

armabelle wrote: »

Hi All, Please have a look at this diagram. This is what I think may work but I would really appreciate to hear your thoughts. I thought of having a row of lights (I need lights so might aswell have them here) running down the length of the room. The fixings are what I need to investigate because I don't know what I can get here in spain but they should provide more than enough support for the wooden studs.

Lumen

armabelle wrote: »

Your mesh idea did cross my mind but how would you staple the fabric to the mesh? We need a breathable fabric to hold the insulation in place and also to provide aesthetically pleasing interior.

If you use sheeps wool then you don't need fabric. I was going for an agro-industrial basement chic aesthetic.

Taken to its logical extreme you could run bull wire from wall to wall from eye bolts and stuff the batts above it, with a few loops of wire running up between the batts to ceiling bolts.

This is a Colin Chapman virtuous-circle-of-lightness approach. Since all you're looking to do it hold insulation against the ceiling, you want the absolute minimum of mass required to do that.

armabelle

Not so many sheep around the south of Spain unfortunately but it would be interesting to know how well sheep's wool would absorb sound

Lumen

armabelle wrote: »

Not so many sheep around the south of Spain unfortunately but it would be interesting to know how well sheep's wool would absorb sound

http://www.mdpi.com/1996-1944/10/11/1277

http://www.mdpi.com/1996-1944/10/11/1277/pdf

About the same as mineral wool but safer and handles moisture. Oh, and about ten times the price!