Ceiling Panel Sag

[mobrownies]

We began to notice a small gap under the narrow trim (which covers the edges of the 4x8 ceiling panels) a few months ago. It looks like the staples/brads they were put in with have just vibrated loose. You can push up on them but they just sag right back down. The little brads they are installed with have a smooth shank so there is nothing to grip. We looked up the other day and saw that we now have a ceiling panel (the first seam from the rear wall) that is starting to sag. It is still fastened tight at either end, but is sagging in the middle, beginning about 1 foot in from each end. Anybody know how these panels are fastened up? Any ideas on how to resecure them? We bought some white ring-shank paneling nails and tried to nail one of the trim boards back up but couldn't get the nail driven all the way in (possibly hitting a metal rafter?).

We would appreciate any suggestions.

Thanks!

[JimF]

Had the same thing, the panels are "supposed" to be glued to the metal rafters and the 18g brads are shot through the panel into the metal rafter. After studing the situation for a while I came to the conclusion that the brads are there to hold the panel in place till the glue dries, they have no strength or holding power. This assumption was "sorta" verified by the dealer, they told me the glue had failed but I was past the one year warrenty so to bad. I fixed mine by pulling the panel down far enough that I could shoot adhesive between the panel and the rafter (I used high strength hot melt glue). After scratching myseff in numerous places, cutting my knuckles and blessing the project several times I got it togeather. I then put short drywall screws throught for extra staying power and covered that with the little white panel modesty strips which I hot glued in place. Looks good so far and is holding.

[HamRad]

JimF,
Good fix! I'll bet you fixed it better than any dealer could.

HamRad

[jimcol]

JimF,
Anytime I get info on how these things are put together I store it for future reference. If one has the problem I will have it sometime down the road. Thanks for the great info. Now all I have to remember is where I store it.
Jim C.

[JimF]

Jim C., good luck on finding where you store the info, personally, I had to re-read all this to remember I had replied to it.

[mobrownies]

Thanks for the info on how the panels were originally "secured". You are right, the brads are worthless. We hadn't thought about adhesive. That sounds like a good fix for the problem. You were able to get drywall screws through the metal rafter? We figured it would take a self-tapping screw to go through the metal. We will probably have to pull several sections down because we have several areas where the panel is just starting to sag, maybe a 2' section over towards the exterior wall. Of course, some of it is over the kitchen cabinets which adds another challenging element.

Maybe Keystone needs to look into some alternate adhesive suppliers. We had a glue "malfunction" under our rubber roofing also.

Thanks again for the insight!

[jsmitfl]

If push comes to shove, you can pull the cove moulding down on one end. Probably have to cut the panel at the wall with a utility knife. pull the panel down enough to get some liquid nails or PL400 on the rafter with a caulk gun. put the panel up. Have some braces of 2x2 or 2x4 ready to go up against the ceiling. Kind of like a t-jack.Use some old towels to protect the ceiling. After it is up you can do like they said above, screw it up. If you have access to those rosettes like they use to use on the ceiling it will help with the uglies. Hope this helps

[MacDR50]

You can purchase metal wall stud screws from places that sell the studs. Get the fluted self tapping type. They drive easier and are less likely to break when driven with a power driver.