# 3.2 Creating a Tray Ceiling

<figure><img src="/spaces/pGfM5RvazSdnXVojfoP2/files/kVp0Fcxs8Kx9YH7ewtM3" alt=""><figcaption></figcaption></figure>

## Description

This module demonstrates how to create and place Tray Ceilings which define bottom chord geometry.

## Objectives

* Create a Tray Ceiling.
* Describe the different properties for Tray Ceilings.
* Explain the different methods for placing Tray Ceilings.
* Demonstrate how to place Tray Ceilings.

## Additional Resources

* Training Plan 3 accessible from Choose/Create Project > OPEN SAMPLE

## Learning Activity

Watch video and follow along within the Paragon Design App

{% embed url="<https://youtu.be/ncQinY-0HPI>" %}

<details>

<summary>Video Transcript:</summary>

Now that we have completed placing our bearings, we’ll demonstrate adding a tray ceiling.  If the work lines are currently visible you can turn those off from within the options bar.

Let's begin putting in the tray ceiling. Right click and from the menu select ceiling tray. This particular tray ceiling is going to be 12 feet by 13 feet, and we're going to place that at 2 foot 6 off of the walls. Set the horizontal anchor to be Left and our Vertical anchor to be the Upper. The tray height is going to be one foot. So, enter 9 foot 1 and an eighth for the bottom. So starting with this as the bearing height. Then going up 10 foot 1 and an eighth. For the side angles, we will set this at 90 degrees so, to be a vertical pitch. For this particular case, we're working with a 90-degree angle. Our first step is to place the tray correctly. Let's click to place the tray in the upper left corner of the room.

Once positioned we will make our necessary adjustments of the X and Y coordinates. We need to adjust the existing X coordinate of 0, 3, 8. And do the same for the Y coordinate, which will be 59, 3, 0. What we can actually do here is use the coordinate field like a calculator function. So for the X coordinate we are going to add into the box, a plus sign, then add a space, followed by 2 dash 6 dash 0, Representing 2 feet 6 inches. Press enter to accept this X value. There, you see that it moved to the right. And for the Y coordinate, we actually need to move it down. So enter a minus sign, then a space, followed by 2 dash 6 dash 0, again representing 2 feet-6 inches. Press enter or tab to accept. We can see the new location of the tray.

Now let's check our work in 3D.

All right, so everything looks good.

We have the front porch. with a 4 12 pitch, the back room 3 12, and then we've got our tray ceiling we just added.

That concludes our video on tray ceilings! We hope this has given you a clear insight into how you can effectively incorporate these features into your project. Thanks for watching.

</details>


---

# Agent Instructions: Querying This Documentation

If you need additional information that is not directly available in this page, you can query the documentation dynamically by asking a question.

Perform an HTTP GET request on the current page URL with the `ask` query parameter:

```
GET https://training.paragontruss.com/c3-intermediate-layout-and-design/3.0-ceiling-planes-and-tray-ceilings/3.2-creating-a-tray-ceiling.md?ask=<question>
```

The question should be specific, self-contained, and written in natural language.
The response will contain a direct answer to the question and relevant excerpts and sources from the documentation.

Use this mechanism when the answer is not explicitly present in the current page, you need clarification or additional context, or you want to retrieve related documentation sections.