The secret to installing a suspended ceiling lies in the components -- lightweight steel or aluminum channels that you hang from wires and snap together into a grid. Then you finish by simply setting ceiling panels into place.

Most ceiling tile dealers will have planning guides to help you plan the room layout and the materials you will need. It will take 8 to 10 hours to install a 12x15 foot room.

For tools, you will need a tape measure, string or mason line, level or line level, hammer, drill, and pliers. Here are the main structural items:

Main tees run perpendicular to the joists and are suspended from wires.

They come in 10-foot lengths, which you can cut or splice.
Wall angles extend around the room's edges at ceiling's height.
Cross tees clip to the main tees at each panel intersection.

One joy of installing a suspended ceiling is that you need to do little or no preparation work. Just mark the locations of any concealed joists and establish a height for your new suspended ceiling.

Quick overview of a suspended ceiling project:

1. Make measurements on a scaled layout to plot sizes for the border panels and locations of light fixtures.

2. Determine the height needed to clear obstacles above the grid, then snap level chalk lines along the walls.

3. Attach the wall angles, aligning bottom edges with the chalk line. Use adhesive if fastening to concrete.

4. To guide in hanging main tees, stretch taut, level strings across the room at several points along the angles.

5. Measure the width of one border tile out from the wall. Drive screw eyes into every other joist at 4-foot intervals.

6. Loop wire through eyes and holes in the main tees, level the tees, then twist the wire tight.

7. Install the cross tees. Cut them to length wherever necessary and rest their ends on the main tees.

8. Trim border panels with a knife and straight edge, set in place, then fill in the rest of the grid with uncut panels.