In case you're staring up at a chilly slab of stone and wondering exactly how to hang a ceiling, choosing the right suspente plancher beton is basically the very first real decision you've got to make. It's one associated with those parts associated with a renovation that will doesn't look such as much—just a little piece of metal—but it's literally holding the whole aesthetic of your own room above your head. If you clutter it up, you're looking at a wavy ceiling or even, worse, something that's not structurally sound.
Most people tackling a basement or perhaps a ground-floor renovation realize pretty quickly that tangible isn't as forgiving as wood. A person can't just slap a screw anyplace and expect the best. You need a system that will bites in to the brickwork and gives a solid anchor point for your metallic furring strips or even "fourrures. " That's in which the specialized concrete floor hanger arrives into play.
Why you even need these hangers
Let's become real: concrete floors (especially those "hourdis" styles with the hollow blocks plus concrete beams) are usually great for noise insulation between flooring, but they're a nightmare to finish. They're rarely properly level, and they're definitely not quite. You need the way to drop the ceiling straight down a bit—create a "plenum" as the pros call it—so you can run your electrical wires, maybe some plumbing, plus definitely some padding.
The suspente plancher beton is the link between that rough structural slab as well as your nice, smooth drywall. It allows a person to develop a cavity. This cavity is usually your best friend for 2 reasons: tone and thermal convenience. Without that difference, every footstep through the floor over is going in order to sound like a carol solo inside your lifestyle room. By using these hangers, you're making a mechanical break up that stops vibration from traveling straight through the structure.
Selecting the most appropriate type for your slab
Not all concrete floors are built the same way. If you've got the solid reinforced slab, your approach is definitely going to be different than when you have a beam-and-block (poutrelles/hourdis) system.
For solid slabs, you're usually looking at hangers that involve a wedge anchor or a metal expansion plug. You drill your gap, tap the core in, and after that screw your hanger into that. It's rock solid. But if you're working along with hollow blocks, you have to become more careful. A person don't want in order to just blast the hole into a thin piece of clay-based or concrete wedge and expect this to hold a heavy ceiling. In those cases, a person often use hangers that "clip" onto the concrete supports (poutrelles) or specific toggle bolts that spread the weight within the hollow part of the block.
I've seen guys try to use standard wooden hangers by twisting them or making them into brickwork nails. Honestly, don't do that. It's a recipe intended for a sagging ceiling six months down the road. Get the hardware specifically designed for the particular suspente plancher beton application. This saves a lot frustration.
The importance of the particular plenum height
One thing people often overlook is usually how much room they actually need between the cement and the drywall. If you're just hiding some wires, you are able to keep it tight. When you're planning on installing recessed LED lights (spots), you require to leave enough room for the particular housing and intended for the heat to dissipate.
Most suspente plancher beton techniques are designed to work with threaded rods (tiges filetées). This is a game-changer since it gives you infinite adjustability. If one part of your concrete floor slab is 2 inches lower compared to the other—which occurs more often compared to you'd think—you simply cut your threaded rods to different lengths or adjust the nuts in order to level everything out there perfectly.
Let's talk regarding the installation process
Before you start drilling like a madman, you need a plan. I usually tell people to grab a laser degree. Trying to perform this using a bubble level plus a line line is officially possible, but you'll probably find yourself wanting to throw your tools out the window.
- Mark your main grid: A person need to understand where your furring strips are heading. Usually, that's every single 40 to sixty centimeters. Mark your lines within the concrete so you understand where the hangers need to go.
- The drilling phase: This is the loudest and dustiest part. You'll want a good SDS drill for this. A standard sludge hammer drill might obtain through, but a good SDS will consume through concrete like butter. Make sure you're drilling deep good enough for your anchors but not so deep that you're popping through in order to the floor over (if it's the thin slab).
- Setting the particular anchors: Once your holes are clean, pop in your anchors. When you're using the clip-on style with regard to beams, it's very much faster—just a several taps with a hammer and they're locked on.
- Attaching the suspente plancher beton: Screw your own hangers in. If you're utilizing the threaded rod system, get those rods cut and ready.
- Leveling: This is where the magic happens. Modify the height of each hanger until they all flawlessly hit your laser line. It's the bit tedious, yet this is exactly what the professional-looking roof.
Acoustic performance and decoupling
If you're really serious about soundproofing—maybe you're creating a home theater or the bedroom under a noisy kitchen—you need to look into "acoustic" versions of the suspente plancher beton . These usually possess a rubber grommet or a spring built into the particular hanger.
It sounds like overkill, but concrete will be incredibly efficient with carrying "impact sound. " If somebody drops a spoon upstairs, the gerüttel travels through the particular concrete, into your hangers, and directly into your own drywall, which functions like a giant speaker. An traditional acoustic hanger breaks that will connection. It's a little more expensive, but when silence is your own goal, it's the only way to go.
Common pitfalls to prevent
I've seen a lot of DO-IT-YOURSELF jobs go side by side due to a few basic mistakes. The biggest one? Overloading the particular hangers. Each suspente plancher beton has a pounds rating. Drywall is usually surprisingly heavy, especially if you're using "fire-rated" or "acoustic" planks which are very much denser. Make certain your spacing is usually tight enough to back up the weight with no the metal pieces bowing.
One more classic mistake will be not account regarding the perimeter. A person can't just rely on the walls angle to hold the particular edges. You need your hangers to be fairly close to the particular walls so the particular ceiling doesn't experience "bouncy" at the sides.
And make sure you, use the correct screws. When you're connecting the metal furring to the particular hanger, use the little self-tapping screws (often called "tex" screws) created for the particular job. Don't try to use drywall screws; they aren't designed for metal-to-metal structural connections and the heads can snap away.
Wrapping it all up
At the finish of the day time, installing a suspente plancher beton isn't exactly rocket science, but it does need a bit of patience and the right gear. It's the skeleton of your ceiling. If the skeleton is twisted or weak, everything you put on top of it will probably look bad.
Take your time with the design and don't skimp on the quality of the hangers. Once the drywall is up plus painted, you'll by no means see those small metal brackets once again, but you'll certainly notice if you did a good job. A flat, solid ceiling makes a room feel completed and professional. In addition, knowing you've obtained a secure program holding everything upward provides you with a bit of peace of mind when you're sitting within the sofa downstairs.
So, grab your SDS drill, place on some safety glasses (concrete dust in the eyes is not any joke), plus get those hangers leveled. The future self—who isn't looking at the cracked or loose ceiling—will thanks to this.