How Do You Glue Styrofoam Ceiling Tiles?
While you could hire a professional to install styrofoam ceiling tiles, you could also quickly do it yourself on a free weekend and save money! Learning how to put up styrofoam ceiling tiles is simple, and you will have no problem applying what you've learned to your home renovation. What's important is that you take your time and work through the steps at your own pace
Materials You'll Need to Install Styrofoam Ceiling Tiles
- Utility knife
- Caulk
- Caulk gun
- Adhesive
- Straight edge for nicer cuts
- Sponge
- Measuring tape
- Gloves
- Carpenters pencil
How Do You Hang Styrofoam Ceiling Tiles?: Step-by-Step
Step 1: Prepare Your Surface
You can install styrofoam tiles on any ceiling or wall as long as it is in good condition. Styrofoam ceilings should never be added over soft or unstable surfaces! Before you add your ceiling tiles, you must prepare your surface correctly beforehand. Clean off any dust, wax, dirt, or grease that may be present, and if there are any cracks or defects in your surface, they should be corrected before starting your installation process, or they could cause problems with your new tiles.
Step 2: Find the Center of Your Ceiling
Starting in the center of the room provides your tiles' most visually appealing layout. It's often easy to tell because there is a light or a fan in the center, but you can use the string method if you don't have either. Using the string method, you can stretch two pieces of string across the ceiling diagonally from opposite corners. The location they cross over one another is the center, so once you determine the center, note it using your carpenter's pencil.
Step 3: Apply Adhesive to Your Tiles
Apply your adhesive to the back of the styrofoam ceiling tiles in small mounds about 1 to 1 ½ inches in thickness around the edges and anywhere else you think it may need extra adhesive. If you have a popcorn ceiling or another type of porous surface, you'll want to increase the thickness on the adhesive mounts, but for flat surfaces like sheetrock or plaster, you could opt to use less.
Step 4: Install Your Tiles
Start with a test tile to ensure you have enough adhesive on the back of your ceiling tiles, and once you're comfortable with how it looks, slowly but surely add more tiles. Before you install any new ones, take a moment to stand back and inspect what you've already done so you can spot any crooked tiles before the adhesive dries. Make sure you press each tile into place with plenty of force to help spread the glue evenly.
Step 5: Caulking
Once all your tiles are installed, use your calking gun to apply beads of caulk along the tile seams, mainly where gaps exist. Caulk can add a seamless appearance to your decorative ceiling tiles! If you've never done caulking before, you should practice it on some of your spare tiles to feel confident before you start on the ceiling. You should work it down the gaps along the entire length of every tile creating little beads and then smoothing them out with a clean finger. If you have excess caulk after wiping it down, wipe it off with a damp sponge before it can dry.