How To Lay Our Styrofoam, Royal ,Classic, Modern & Grand Collection of Ceiling TilesYou will need the following tools and materials to install your tiles properly: A wallpaper
knife - (or a box-cutter knife) to cut the tiles
Mastic - to glue the tiles to the ceiling
Caulk - (of matching
color or clear) to fill the existing gaps between the tiles
A couple of gloves - to keep your hands clean, while working
with the caulk
A caulking gun - to apply the caulk
A sponge - to wipe off the excess caulk ALL
THE MATERIALS AND TOOLS LISTED ABOVE CAN BE OBTAINED IN ANY LOCAL HOME DEPOT OR LOWES STORE. PLEASE
USE CAUTION WHEN CUTTING THE TILES FOR TRIM TO AVOID SERIOUS INJURY! Proper Surface
The tiles
may be laid on ceiling and walls covered with lime, lime-cement, gypsum or dry plaster, chipboards, aerated concrete, construction
ceramics (bricks, hollow bricks), silicates, popcorn (if it is dry and stable) etc. The surface should be even, dry, hard,
stable, without any dust or grease. IMPORTANT!!!
Do NOT apply the tiles over soft, unstable
popcorn. If popcorn is soft and unstable, it needs to be removed before applying the tiles. This can be done by soaking it
with water and scrubbing it off the ceiling. Preparing the surface
Clean the surface so as
to remove any dust, grease, wax or other dirt. Remove old, flaky coats of paint. Any cracks or other flaws should be filled
with special fillers, gypsum or mortar.
1. Finding the middle of the ceiling - your starting point. To lay tiles evenly, you should start your work exactly in the middle of the ceiling (Hint: very often your ceiling
lights or fans are located exactly in the center of the ceiling). To find this point, use two strings drawn along the ceiling
diagonals (Figure 1). Ideally, this should be done with another person's assistance. Now, through the middle of the ceiling,
draw two perpendicular lines to divide it into four equal rectangles (Figure 2). 2. Putting mastic on a tile.
On the back of a tile, put a half-inch to one-inch thick
layer of mastic (Figure 3). The thickness of the mastic on the back of the tile should depend on a surface you are putting
the tiles on. If the surface is too porous, for example popcorn ceiling, you might need to add some extra mastic. On the other
hand, if the surface is flat, you may need to reduce the quantity of the mastic. The mastic should be placed close to the
corners of the tile and in the middle of it. If you feel it is necessary, add the mastic in a few more places. Some extra
mastic won't bother. The mastic pieces should be a couple of inches in diameter, and they should have cone-like shapes.
Don't spread the mastic so that it is completely flat. Each piece of mastic you place on the back of a tile should look
like a little hill. When you press the tile against the ceiling, the mastic will spread under the tile, making it adhere properly
to the surface of the ceiling. 3. Laying the first tile.
Lay the first tile at a right angle to the walls, with one of its corners places exactly in the middle of the ceiling that
you found earlier (Figure 4). Make sure its edges follow the perpendicular lines. 4. Proper gluing.
When laying tiles, you should make sure they are pressed hard enough for the mastic to
adhere thoroughly to the surface without damaging the tile. 5.
Parallel rows.
Lay the subsequent tiles in parallel rows (Figure 5). Make sure there are no big gaps left between
their edges. Move the tiles as close to each other as possible. 6.
Applying caulk.
After all the tiles are finally glued to the ceiling, you will need to fill existing gaps between
the tiles with caulk (Figure 7). Even if the seams are almost invisible, it is still recommended to use caulk, for it helps
to make your ceiling look seamless and solid. The caulk is playing the same role here as the grout
when you are putting floor tiles. Use matching color or clear caulk so that it wouldn't be very obvious to a naked eye.
Using a "caulking gun," spread a thin strip of caulk between the joints of the adjacent tiles along the entire length
of the gap. Since the caulk will be staying on the top of the gap, you will need to squeeze it with your finger so that it
gets inside the gap between the two tiles. Some of the caulk will still stay on the top of the
tile after this procedure, so it needs to be removed by wiping it off with a wet sponge. Wash the sponge occasionally and
squeeze out excess water so that it stays clean and wet. Don't let the caulk stay too long
on the surface of the tile because it will dry fast and so will be difficult to remove. |
