Hanging Ceiling Clouds as close as possible to the ceiling

RecordingMaster

RecordingMaster

A Sarcastic Statement
I have constructed x8 ceiling clouds for my new studio and they are all 2" OC703 2x4 panels inside wood frames, wrapped in burlap. I have purchased some eyebolts to screw into the back of the frame at all four corners. I was going to buy some j-hooks and put them in the ceiling (using anchors or toggle bolts) and then simply hang the panel that way.

Then I got thinking...Sure, getting the two first j hooks (in ceiling) into two of the eyebolts on the panels will be easy, but then when I go to lift the other end of the panel up, how would the hooks go in?! It wouldn't work. I'd have to get maybe some keyrings so there is some flexibility and I could just swing those key rings around the hooks so I don't need to angle the panel temporarily in order to get the hooks to go through the eyebolts. Or I could use chains, BUT...

I have 7' ceilings and don't want them to get much lower than that! I know the air gap is good and all, but I can;t sacrifice the space, especially for drum oh's! But there will still be SOME gap behind them as there is no way to affix them directly to the ceiling.

So how should I do this???
 
I used fish line to hang my cloud panel, but I did not build a frame for it, so pretty lightweight.
 
I would use wire rope (or picture hanging wire would work too). That way you can trim it to the length you need, but will be very strong.
 
Ripthorn said:
I would use wire rope (or picture hanging wire would work too). That way you can trim it to the length you need, but will be very strong.
Click to expand...

Actually, that gives me an idea! Why not zip ties?!?!? Can put em on real loose (all four), and then pull them tight one by one until as high as she can go. It's not like these pups are too heavy by any stretch.
 
I used lightweight plastic coated chain to hang my clouds, that way you can adjust them for height and level.

Alan.
 
fuzzsniffvoyage said:
How about these?

Rotofast Insulation Cloud Anchors
Click to expand...

Yep I had bought a couple of those back when I had frameless panels with no fabric on the back (which btw is a terrible thing to not have covered). But my panels are inside wood frames with fabric all around them (front, back, sides), so there would be no way. And even if there was no fabric on the back, if I hung only the insulation with these rotofast things, the surrounding wood fabric-faced panels would fall due to gravity and nothing supporting it.
 
I had the Fiberglas anchors and used 6 per panel. Talk about fun to hang! Wish I'd of thought of zip ties. Used J-hooks, used the wife's nail polish on the top of the anchors and pressed that carefully against the ceiling to locate the pilot holes. Then it was just a matter of patience getting all 6 lined up at once and sliding.
If you had backs on the frames, you could use the standard rail mounts in opposite directions to slide them in on the rails and have about 1/4" gap above. Would need to be VERY accurate with your measurements (within 3/8" or so) to make it work though. Two sets ofThese slid into these would mount 2 panels for $14
 
BroKen_H said:
I had the Fiberglas anchors and used 6 per panel. Talk about fun to hang! Wish I'd of thought of zip ties. Used J-hooks, used the wife's nail polish on the top of the anchors and pressed that carefully against the ceiling to locate the pilot holes. Then it was just a matter of patience getting all 6 lined up at once and sliding.
If you had backs on the frames, you could use the standard rail mounts in opposite directions to slide them in on the rails and have about 1/4" gap above. Would need to be VERY accurate with your measurements (within 3/8" or so) to make it work though. Two sets ofThese slid into these would mount 2 panels for $14
Click to expand...

Hmm, well then I say the hell with that! lol. The price is also a turn off. After spending 1000's on the room itself, I never budgeted for 100's of dollars just to hang a bunch of panels. Even the stupid J hooks cost so damn much when you add them up! I needed things in qty of 60's and they sell them only in packs of 3-6 tops at like $7 a piece! I even sourced commercial fastener places and they weren't any cheaper.

Anyhow, I guess I will just do the j hook think with eye bolts and zip ties. But I will use the j hooks that have threads all the way down to the hook part so i can get em as high up into the ceiling as possible.

Side note: I love these forums because (well for me), whenever a resolution is discovered, it is usually confirmed by the OP at the end of the thread and it's then become permanent info online for others searching who couldn't find anything before on the subject (like me). I am always amazed at such seemingly common issues that i come across that I can't find anything about online - that goes for more than just recording/acoustics type of stuff.
 
wmalan said:
I second the tie wraps. Easy to align if your eye bolts are off a bit.
Click to expand...

Hey guys that reminds me...I got a cool idea for lining up the eye bolts on your panels to the holes in the ceiling for mounting! Maybe this can help others. Grab a piece of cardboard and cut it to the size of your panel. poke holes in it where you are putting your eye bolts (or whatever mounting hardware you choose to attach to your panels). Then just hold that piece of cardboard up on the ceiling where you will be putting your cloud and mark through the holes with a pencil on the ceiling. Make your ceiling mounting holes there for whatever hardware you are screwing into the ceiling for mounting. You've essentially made a little stencil and don't really ever need to pick up a measuring tape and risk breaking your back falling off a ladder by getting dizzy from looking up at the ceiling and measuring so damn much (sore neck too)! lol

May need a friend or significant other to hold while you mark it and eye it out to make sure it is placed well (if they have the patience to deal with your "stupid" acoustic "thingies") lol!
 
If you're going to zip tie, why not just use cheap eye hooks in the ceiling and frame, you don't need the J-hooks. Save a few $ :D
 
BroKen_H said:
If you're going to zip tie, why not just use cheap eye hooks in the ceiling and frame, you don't need the J-hooks. Save a few $ :D
Click to expand...

I'm scared they wont go deep enough in. A regular eye hook's threaded shaft isn't very long at all. The longer you go, thicker they get. And I don't want some massively thick (say 1/4") eye bolt, because that means I have to drill an even bigger hole in the ceiling to accommodate the drywall anchor and that's more sound transmission through the ceiling that I attempted to "soundproof" with roxul safe and sound and thick firecode drywall (which is doing a pretty decent job for money spent right now).
 
You could always go with eye-screws at both ends, and some spring-loaded carabiners to connect with....get them from Home Depot.

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Just a small eye bolt in your frames, one 's' hook, and one of THESE threaded anchors can get you within 1" of the ceiling. The anchor stays secured in the ceiling and you just replace the 1/4" bolt with a 1/4" threaded hook eye.

Key is to get the anchors in the right spot (love RM's suggestion of template) but you have some play with the 's' hook between the eye bolts.
 

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When ceiling clouds are too close they lose their effectiveness. I would salvage this problem by hanging these on the walls and then drape soft fabric from point to point about four feet between each attach point so they hang down about five inches. I used that in a concrete loft in NYC and it deadened footsteps right away.
Rod Norman
Engineer

RecordingMaster said:
I have constructed x8 ceiling clouds for my new studio and they are all 2" OC703 2x4 panels inside wood frames, wrapped in burlap. I have purchased some eyebolts to screw into the back of the frame at all four corners. I was going to buy some j-hooks and put them in the ceiling (using anchors or toggle bolts) and then simply hang the panel that way.

Then I got thinking...Sure, getting the two first j hooks (in ceiling) into two of the eyebolts on the panels will be easy, but then when I go to lift the other end of the panel up, how would the hooks go in?! It wouldn't work. I'd have to get maybe some keyrings so there is some flexibility and I could just swing those key rings around the hooks so I don't need to angle the panel temporarily in order to get the hooks to go through the eyebolts. Or I could use chains, BUT...

I have 7' ceilings and don't want them to get much lower than that! I know the air gap is good and all, but I can;t sacrifice the space, especially for drum oh's! But there will still be SOME gap behind them as there is no way to affix them directly to the ceiling.

So how should I do this???
Click to expand...
 
Rod Norman said:
When ceiling clouds are too close they lose their effectiveness. I would salvage this problem by hanging these on the walls and then drape soft fabric from point to point about four feet between each attach point so they hang down about five inches. I used that in a concrete loft in NYC and it deadened footsteps right away.
Rod Norman
Engineer
Click to expand...

So you are trying to say that 2" OC703 close to the ceiling is less effective than a thin fabric draped across the ceiling? Plus the idea is to get the best results in such a low height ceiling (7' as OP stated). How is a thin piece of cloth dropped down 5" going to help anything?

I am afraid you are completely wrong and should spend some time learning what actually works and less time giving poor advice to members here--Or you are just a member using an alias for you own silly fun aren't you?

Please stop dood. Please?

Jimmy
 
I've got my cloud stuck TO the ceiling ....there's just not enough room for me to go hanging it several inches down, off the ceiling.
Works just fine.
Also, my cloud is a combination of 2" x 6" x 48" sections of acoustic absorption, mix with sections 1" x 6" x 48" diffusion sections for the main 4' x 4' center portion, then there's an addition 2' outer perimeter on the left, right & back sides of acoustic tile...so it's about 8' wide by 6' deep.
Had to go with the low profile approach, and I don't think I lost much, if anything.

I think the last time sheets on the ceiling worked for anyone was probably back in the late '60s....
...and then only if they were tie-dyed. ;)
 
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