LooYee 75 PCS 24 Inch Cross Tee Drop Ceiling Grid System, 2 Ft Galvanized Steel Rust & Fire Resistance Easy Installation, Ideal for Basement Living Room Garage Kitchen Bathroom White Cover 250 Sq.Ft

I recently used the LooYee cross tees to rebuild a drop ceiling in a basement office and a small bathroom. If you’re familiar with grid ceilings, these are the 24-inch intermediate members that snap between main tees to form 2'x2' openings (or split a 2'x4' bay). My goals were simple: fast installation, clean lines, and components that wouldn’t rust in a damp space. Here’s how they performed.

What you get and where they fit in a grid

This package is a set of 24-inch tees with a white finished face and galvanized steel body. They’re meant to pair with your existing wall angle and main tees; they don’t replace mains or hangers. You’ll use them:

• In a 2'x4' layout: as the center tees to split the 4' bay.
• In a 2'x2' layout: alongside 4' tees to create four 2'x2' openings between mains.

If you’re planning a medium room, having a dedicated box of 24-inch tees on hand is convenient—they’re the pieces you always need “just a few more of” to finish a run cleanly.

Installation experience

The snap-in connectors are the star here. They’re the typical spring-steel latch style you find on many commercial grids, and they seat positively with an audible click. Alignment was straightforward:

• The ends guided themselves into the kerfs on the main or cross tee.
• Once seated, the top bulb and bottom T were flush with adjacent members, which matters for keeping tile edges even.

I didn’t need specialty tools. A tape, snips, a small square, and a laser or level line did the job. For cuts, the steel was friendly to hand snips and didn’t curl excessively. Deburring with a file kept the paint from chipping at fresh cuts.

One note: a few connectors were snug on first engagement, especially when I tried to twist them into place at a slight angle. In tight corners, I had better luck inserting the connector straight-on and then rotating the tee into alignment. Needle-nose pliers helped when I needed to back a connector out without stressing the finish.

Build quality, finish, and durability

The tees are straight out of the carton, with consistent camber and no waves along the face. The white finish is even, with no yellow cast against standard white ceiling tiles. Under work lights, the sheen read as a soft satin—not overly glossy—which disguises minor scuffs nicely.

• Galvanization: The backside coating is uniform. After a few weeks in a bathroom with normal shower humidity, I saw no flash rust, even at cut edges I didn’t paint. Long term, I’d still recommend touching up raw cuts with primer in high-humidity spaces, but the base coating holds its own.
• Fire resistance: These are steel, so you’re not introducing combustible material into the grid. As always, the fire rating of a ceiling is a system property; don’t assume a rated assembly without matching mains, tiles, and installation details to the specified design.

Load-wise, they carry tile weight without protest. I wouldn’t hang a heavy fixture from a cross tee—use mains and independent hangers for that—but for typical tiles and lightweight trims, there’s no sag or twist.

Compatibility and fit

I installed these with a standard 15/16-inch T-bar system. The face width matches well, and the white finish blended with both new tees and older painted grid without a jarring transition. Connector geometry meshed with the knockouts on the main tees I used; the latch retained securely and released cleanly when I needed to re-square a bay.

If you mix brands, test-fit a few pieces before committing. The industry is mostly interoperable, but connector heights and notch shapes vary slightly. In my case, everything played nicely.

Alignment and final appearance

What matters in the finished ceiling is lines: straight, square, and level. These tees helped rather than fought me. I checked for face-step at each joint—the tiny misalignment that telegraphs through tiles—and didn’t find any proud edges. With 2'x2' tiles, the reveals were uniform and the grid read cleanly across the room.

The face paint held up to normal handling. I did manage to scuff a couple pieces with a screwdriver while adjusting a can-light trim; a white paint pen made those disappear. If you’re working around ladders and tools, a quick strip of painter’s tape on vulnerable runs during install is cheap insurance.

Coverage and planning notes

Each 24-inch tee contributes two feet of grid. A box adds up to a good chunk of linear footage, but coverage depends on your layout:

• 2'x2' layout: You’ll use more 24-inch tees because every 4' run is split into two 2' bays.
• 2'x4' layout: You’ll use fewer; these become center splitters only where required.

A basic planning approach:
- Sketch your room to scale and lay out mains at 4' on center.
- Count 4' tees between mains.
- For 2'x2' tiles, count a 24" tee at every 2' interval between mains.
- Add 10–15% for cuts, waste, and late adjustments.

This prevented me from running short mid-install, which is the worst time to find out you need another box.

Installation tips from the job site

• Establish square first. Snap two chalk lines at 90 degrees and build your first bay perfectly; the rest of the grid will follow.
• Don’t fight connectors at an angle. Insert them straight-on into the notch, then twist the tee into alignment.
• Protect the finish. Gloves help with sharp edges and keep skin oils off the face paint; a scuff pad and a paint pen are handy for touch-ups.
• Keep everything level. A self-leveling laser makes faster work of hangers and mains, which pays dividends when you drop in tiles and find every reveal tight and even.
• Cut edges toward the wall. That hides minor imperfections and keeps the clean factory edges in the field.

Where the LooYee cross tees shine

• Fast, confidence-inspiring connections. The snap is positive, and rework doesn’t destroy the latch.
• Clean, consistent appearance. The face width and finish blend with common grids and tiles.
• Sensible balance of weight and stiffness. Light enough to handle all day, stiff enough to stay straight under load.

What could be better

• Connector tolerance. A hair more forgiveness on tight angles would make corner work simpler.
• Edge sharpness. Like most steel tees, freshly cut ends are burr-prone; budget time to deburr, especially for wet-room installs where cut edges benefit from touch-up.
• Finish resilience. The paint is respectable, but it’s still a thin architectural coating; it will mark if you lever a tool against it. Keep a touch-up marker handy.

None of these are deal-breakers; they’re typical considerations for any grid job, but worth noting.

Who this is for

• DIYers tackling a basement, office, or garage ceiling who want predictable parts that don’t complicate the job.
• Contractors looking for compatible tees that integrate with existing 15/16" systems and keep costs reasonable, especially on partial kits or repairs.
• Anyone working in mildly humid environments who wants the peace of mind of galvanized steel.

The bottom line

The LooYee cross tees did exactly what I needed: they installed quickly, aligned cleanly, and held up in both a basement and a bathroom without corrosion or sag. The connectors feel familiar if you’ve worked on any mainstream grid, and the finish looks right once the tiles are in. Minor quibbles about snug connectors and cut-edge burrs are easy to manage with normal best practices.

Recommendation: I recommend these cross tees. They offer solid build quality, reliable snap-in connectors, and a clean white finish at a price that makes sense, especially when you need a dedicated box of 24-inch members to round out a grid. If you pair them with compatible mains and plan your layout, they’ll help you produce a straight, professional-looking ceiling without fuss.