Old timer showed me how to sweep a drop ceiling without making a mess

I was doing a job last month over at a old bank building downtown and this guy in his 60s was running cable right next to me. He saw me trying to fish line through a drop ceiling and getting dust and insulation all over the place. He walked over and showed me how to use a piece of cardboard as a dust shield under the tile before pulling anything through. Changed how I work in those ceilings forever. Anybody else got tricks for keeping drop ceilings clean during installs?

2 comments

2 Comments

hugo_robinson2511d ago

You mentioned that cardboard trick with the dust shield under the tile. Did that old timer show you exactly how to cut the cardboard so it sits tight against the grid without sliding around? I tried that once but the cardboard kept falling off the lip of the tile before I could get my hand through. Maybe I was using the wrong kind of cardboard or cutting it too small. Just curious if there's a specific size or fold he showed you.

price.gavin8d ago

Used to think that trick was total overkill, just slapped a rag up there. But that old timer showed me to cut the cardboard two inches BIGGER than the hole on all sides. Then fold the edges UP a half inch all the way around, makes a little tray that locks onto the grid edges. Kept falling off until I learned to score the fold lines with a utility knife first, makes it sit tight like a box lid.