How to Remove a Dropped Ceiling With Lighting

Having a dropped ceiling in your home provides some advantages, including reducing your energy costs because there is less livable space that must be heated or cooled. However, using this style of ceiling in your home might be unappealing to you because it can give the room the feel of an office or other industrial setting. Removing the drop ceiling and lights can make your home feel larger by uncovering the section of the room that was previously concealed.

Eye protection
Respirator
Voltage tester
Wire cutters
Drill
Pry bar

Instructions

- 1
  Turn off the power to the lights in the drop ceiling at your home's main electrical box. Test the circuit by turning the light switch on and off.
- 2
  Remove the light bulbs from the fixtures and test the circuit again with a voltage tester. If you get a reading, return to the electrical box and turn off the correct circuit.
- 3
  Remove the ceiling tiles that do not have the light fixtures in them by tilting up one side of the tile and pulling it through the brackets that hold it in place.
- 4
  Disconnect the electrical cables from the wiring inside the junction boxes attached to the light fixtures.
- 5
  Remove the light fixtures and the tiles in which they are embedded. To do this, remove the trim from the face of the ceiling tile and detach the brackets that hold the light fixtures in place inside the dropped ceiling. Many times, the brackets for the light fixture are attached to blocks of wood, which are installed in the grid for the dropped ceiling to provide extra support.
- 6
  Cut the wires that hold the brackets in place and lower the brackets to the floor.
- 7
  Remove the perimeter brackets from the walls. If they're screwed to the walls, unscrew them; if they're nailed to the walls, pry them off with a pry bar.
- 8
  Remove the eyelets in the true ceiling to which the wires for the dropped ceiling are attached.

How to Level a Sagging Ceiling Joist

Hiding PVC Plumbing Pipes on a Basement Ceiling

Ceilings