I bought a 2x4 ceiling tile at Home Depot (Lowes only sells by the box).

I was surprised how fragile these are. In the store, I picked up one end and ended up with two chucks in my hands....

Anyway, I notice that if I applied pressure with my thumb, the material will give way a bit and you can get an indentation. This is especially true for the bottom. Obviously, this is bad if you put weights on the build and end up having it sink a little and lose level.

I have the tile on a 2x4 sheet of MDF to keep it flat and hopefully protected.

My questions:

1. Build on top or bottom? The top is harder but has holes while the bottom is smooth but softer.
2. If top, should I fill the holes?
3. If bottom, should I put a coat or two of latex paint to stiffen it up? After all, ceiling tiles top is already coated with a latex. In fact, either way I think I will paint the bottom just to stiffen it up.


Thanks.