A bright idea

Experts agree that improved lighting should play a key role in every garage makeover.

Mike and Marta Clark skipped the time-consuming mess, fuss, and expense of drywall installation, and covered their shop ceiling with light-reflecting corrugated PVC. "For my woodworking activities, it's a perfect solution—and the panels should work well for other garages and home shops, too." Mike says.

To support the edges of the panels and hide slight gaps of the panels to the walls, attach J-channel to the wall with 11⁄4" drywall screws. One person can install the J-channel, but a second person makes quick work of supporting the 10'-long sections to the ceiling perimeter. The plastic channel trims easily with aviation tin snips.

Lay out and drill 1⁄4" mounting holes (1⁄8" larger than the #12x1" screw shanks, as recommended). To streamline this step, Mike and Marta stacked and drilled eight sheets at a time.

To cut holes for electrical boxes in the ceiling, first drill 1⁄2" starter holes in opposite corners. Then cut the 1⁄32" corrugated PVC sheets with aviation tin snips or a similar tool. Because of the rib height, cutting the material with a standard-length jigsaw blade was challenging (the blade jumped out of the rib and bent).

When attaching panels to the ceiling, a T-bar helps support the thin material. Mike made his T-bar from a 48" 1x6 and 2x4 (slightly longer overall than the floor-to-ceiling height). To prevent damaging the ceiling material, he covered the top of the 1x6 with a scrap of foam sill seal. An old towel or T- shirt could provide similar protection.

While the T-bar helps support the second panel, Marta checks for a smooth overlap (one corrugation) on the long edges. When working down the ceiling, the Clarks followed the recommendation of overlapping the ends 4-8". On an open ceiling, 36" on center is standard for perpendicular spacing.