Help with mounting 703 panels to the ceiling

[jval]

I need to put up some 2" 703 panels on the ceiling of my tracking room. It's only 8ft high, so I want to mount them right to the ceiling (no gap) just to cut down on the reflections. Anyone know what the best way to do this is?? I'll be using the Ready Acoustic bags, or maybe just 703 with fabric.

[Colonel Blues]

Wood frames, with only one face covered with fabric, drop your 703 panel inside and screw the frame to the ceiling, no ?

[dero]

screws with washers right through the 703

[Glenn Kuras]

Originally Posted by dero

screws with washers right through the 703

And then just put fabric over that!thumbsup

[Colonel Blues]

Originally Posted by dero

screws with washers right through the 703

Are you sure it will look nice and keep safe from fiber parts ?

Edit for Glenn : OOps sorry ! I was answering Dero !!!

[jval]

screws with washers - good call. thanks!

[666666]

Good info

So here's a question...

Let's say you add 703 to your ceiling and walls with screws / washers and then want a relatively cheap and quick way to make the place look nice without causing any sonic issues? Is there a type of material / blanket that can be hung in front of the 703 that would work? Moving blankets, or perhaps a thick comforter, or....? I guess the goal would be to add a material that does not reflect at all, but it wouldn't really need to "absorb" specifically since the 703 behind it would be doing the absorbing... yes? It just needs to not reflect.

[tubalicious]

Impaling clips. They are like 2" X 3" with a bunch of little spear-ends. Screw one for each corner of the panel to the ceiling then just push your pre fabric-wrapped 703 panels onto them "impaling" them. Vlad would be proud. IF you screw the 703 right to the ceiling it will be rather difficult to fabric wrap once up.

[jval]

yeah, I was trying to come up with a way to get the fabric up there without a huge headache. The impaling thing might indeed be a better option. thanks.

[vegafreak]

I was planning on suspending my 703 panels so there is a 3-4 inch gap, should I just suspend them tight to the ceiling?

[Weasel9992]

Originally Posted by tubalicious

Impaling clips. They are like 2" X 3" with a bunch of little spear-ends. Screw one for each corner of the panel to the ceiling then just push your pre fabric-wrapped 703 panels onto them "impaling" them. Vlad would be proud. IF you screw the 703 right to the ceiling it will be rather difficult to fabric wrap once up.

A.) Nice "Vlad the Impaler" reference.
B.) That's the right answer I think. That'll definitely be the easiest way.

Frank

[Slap Back]

Anyone have a link to which impaling clips would work best? The only ones I can find are for walls rather than ceilings.

[tubalicious]

Originally Posted by Slap Back

Anyone have a link to which impaling clips would work best? The only ones I can find are for walls rather than ceilings.

I do not have a link for them but.... as I am thinking..... the other way to do it, if you can not find ceiling clips, is to do the washer and cable idea (to hang away from the ceiling) FIRST and cover with the fabric on the ground. So... 703 or 705, put fender washers and nuts whatever through the panel with adjustable cable, or hemp (oh ya) on through the other side, set on your fabric,wrap and sticky-mount spray, attach to eye hooks. WALA!

And thanks for the props and noticing the Vlad thing bra. stike

[jval]

I couldn't find any angled impaling clips...
I just covered a bunch of panels (took me about 2 hours to do 6.... now i understand why people buy the pre-made ones!). Now I've got to figure out how to get them on the ceiling. I basically have two options... screws with washers through the fabric (which won't look great) or gluing it right to the ceiling. I'm leaning towards that. What type of stuff would I need to accomplish this?? Been using the 3M stuff for the fabric but I'm not sure it will hold the panel up there...

edit: put the first cloud up (4 panels) with 3M77 and it seems to be holding well... for now... praying I don't find them all on the floor tomorrow morning.

[Glenn Kuras]

edit: put the first cloud up (4 panels) with 3M77 and it seems to be holding well... for now... praying I don't find them all on the floor tomorrow morning.

Or on top of your head.

[Slap Back]

Originally Posted by jval

I couldn't find any angled impaling clips...
I just covered a bunch of panels (took me about 2 hours to do 6.... now i understand why people buy the pre-made ones!). Now I've got to figure out how to get them on the ceiling. I basically have two options... screws with washers through the fabric (which won't look great) or gluing it right to the ceiling. I'm leaning towards that. What type of stuff would I need to accomplish this?? Been using the 3M stuff for the fabric but I'm not sure it will hold the panel up there...

edit: put the first cloud up (4 panels) with 3M77 and it seems to be holding well... for now... praying I don't find them all on the floor tomorrow morning.

If you are going against drywall, you can get some large T pins in the fabric section at Wal Mart and 'Toe Pin' the panels at the edges. Use a pair of large long nose pliers to push the pins in. I've done 4" thick panels this way with no failures. The 77 spray adhesive will keep them up temporarily while you put 6 or 8 pins in. The pins aren't very noticable at all IMO.
Sure wish the overhead impaling clip thing was real...

[jval]

So far 2 of 8 panels have fallen and another one is half off. I just bought some "extra strength" caulking adhesive and it was even worse. I was just about to go to the hardware store again and get screws and washers, but I tried putting a screw through as a test and it didn't work so well - it started twisting the fabric etc...plus i'm wondering about fibres escaping through the hole.
so it looks like i'm trying the T-Pins! Thanks. This has been a nightmare... ugh.

[Slap Back]

Originally Posted by jval

So far 2 of 8 panels have fallen and another one is half off. I just bought some "extra strength" caulking adhesive and it was even worse. I was just about to go to the hardware store again and get screws and washers, but I tried putting a screw through as a test and it didn't work so well - it started twisting the fabric etc...plus i'm wondering about fibres escaping through the hole.
so it looks like i'm trying the T-Pins! Thanks. This has been a nightmare... ugh.

Yep, all I did was wrap my panels like Christmas presents, put a few T pins in my mouth, held the panel in place and shoved the pins in at a 45 degree angle near where the upper edges of the panel met the ceiling. Then I went back and added a few more pins , like 4 on each side.

[dougb415]

What about z-clips? Monarch Metal >>> PANEL "Z" CLIPS

[jval]

I ended up using the T Pins and it looks like they're finally up there for good. After this experience I think I'll be buying pre-made panels (or at least the fabric bags)... it ate up way more time than I expected. And I suck at anything craft-related (i.e. wrapping panels..)
Here are some pics.

[Weasel9992]

Originally Posted by dougb415

What about z-clips? Monarch Metal >>> PANEL "Z" CLIPS

Ahhh...the horror of Z-clips. I'll never forget trying to get hundreds of panels hung straight using Z-clips.

Frank

[dougb415]

Hmm. I am using the upstairs of our house for our studio, so I have to be careful as to how I attach anything to the ceiling; no glue, for example. Do I 'need' to put panels on the ceiling? It is not smooth at all, has a bumpy surface... and my wife would kill me if I defaced it since we plan on selling in 5 years or so. I would like to put something up, maybe a couple 2" 2x4' panels wrapped and attached via discreet screws.

[jval]

i've noticed a big difference with the panels up there. No weird echos anymore - especially with vocals. You could do exactly what I did with the T Pins. The holes they leave will be pretty small...

[dougb415]

So the t-pins by themselves are holding the panels up? I can't use any adhesive to hold them. tutt And you did it (putting them up) by yourself? I'll order some OC703 this week if it's that easy.

[dougb415]

I have the OC703 now, but I am curious as to how you attached the fabric to the OC703 w/ no frame. T-pins, velcro, something else?

Thanks,
Doug

[johndykstra]

I built a couple clouds in my tracking room. Very happy with the look and acoustic effect. There's a detailed build journal in my signature line under "our studio"

[dougb415]

Very nice looking but we'll be moving out of this house in 6 years, at which time this room will revert back to a bedroom :-) I can probably fill in some holes in the ceiling made by t-pins but that's about it. Nice journal BTW. I used to live in Milwaukee a long time ago, late '76 to early '80. Gotta love Cousins Subs

[Paje]

One option I haven't seen mentioned yet this thread is using wire/string. As opposed to connecting directly to the panel/fabric, you could use wire or string to suspend them. This is what I had to do on the arch of my vaulted ceilings as I needed to level six traps & the mounting points were too distant to use the built-in loops (see attached sketch). For your scenario, a flush/flat mount - you could mount sets of eye hooks on the sides of the panels (at some short distance away) and string some wire fairly taught. Then, wedge/nest the panels in. The tension required would depend on how much length of wire you use, closer to the panels requiring less. The panels aren't very heavy really and, using multiple (at least 2, one at each end) wires should serve well.

Plastering up small holes in dry-wall shouldn't be a biggie. It should barely be noticeable when done and if you've a prospective buyer that is giving you an objection to purchase based on that, you're going to be in for a nightmarish closing process to be sure! ("run Forrest, run!") lol!

Cheers,
Paje

[dougb415]

So how then is the wire fastened to the ceiling? Eyehooks or something else? You'd be surprised at what realtors have sellers fix prior to listing... but we did sell 2 houses last year, both within a week of listing so I listen to my realtor

[Weasel9992]

Originally Posted by dougb415

So how then is the wire fastened to the ceiling? Eyehooks or something else? You'd be surprised at what realtors have sellers fix prior to listing... but we did sell 2 houses last year, both within a week of listing so I listen to my realtor

#10 sheet rock anchors and #10 hooks...four per panel. Works like a charm, takes about 15 minutes per panel to install.

Frank