How to Add a Tray Ceiling to a Room
A lot of us are stuck with lower ceilings in our houses. Modifying the structure is often too expensive to consider, or just not possible due to the design of the house.
A tray ceiling offers a simple, low-cost alternative to give your ceiling more interest and make it seem higher in the center.
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Instructions
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How does it work?
When you slightly lower the edges of a room, you tend to see that as the "normal" height of the ceiling, causing the center to feel higher. Also, most rooms just have a long, wide, flat ceiling, giving no architectural interest. Our eyes want to be drawn towards something, and the soffit that make up the tray provide that focal point.
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Decide on your dimensions and design. The next few steps provide some ideas and examples...
As shown in the introduction photo, a wider, thinner tray looks a bit more formal, especially when you add crown moldings and paint it the wall color.
In our kids' bedrooms, we installed tray ceilings to hide the heating vents.
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This photo shows the air vent coming out of the soffit. Previously, there was just a single soffit running across the ceiling with the heater vent in the end - giving a very dated look. We took the dimensions of that, and created a full tray ceiling for a more classic look.
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Once you have decided on your dimensions, you need to design your structure. This is the wood that you will attach to the ceiling to later affix the drywall to.
The structure can be as simple as 2x4 lumber screwed to the ceiling. Of the tray in the master bedroom, I build wood "ladders" that could easily be attached.
As shown in the diagram, basic frame is made of 2x4 lumber, with 1x3 "flanges" added to make it easy to screw it up into the ceiling joists. I also suggest glue to keep everything together over the years.
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Here is a photo of the structure in place. I took the opportunity to add extra insulation.
Note that this must be attached to the joists or trusses above. If there isn't good support where you need it, you need to put blocking in at 24" to 36" intervals.
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Apply sheetrock to the structure, then texture it to match your ceiling and walls. If you don't have good drywall skills, you may want to hire this out.
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Paint and trim it out to match the style of the room.
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Here are the steps for the taller soffits...
Glue and screw ledger boards to the ceiling
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Hang OSB or plywood from the ledgers. Make sure to overlap the OSB across ledger pieces when possible. Again, I suggest glue.
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Build the ladders that will go between the OSB and the wall.
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Insert the ladders and nail them in place. From this point, finish off the soffits as shown above.
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You can also consider adding lighting to the room while you are at it. Here is a photo of a recessed light fixture in the soffit.
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Tips & Warnings
Take the time to pick your style - tour other houses if possible
Being safe is up to you. Make sure any kids in the area stay safe and keep clear of power tools.
