Polystyrene tiles are made of a rigid, foam-like material, and are often installed on ceilings in bathrooms. The ceiling tiles are likely to be glued into place; they must be removed one at a time, and the process involves manual labor that can be difficult, depending on how strong the adhesive is. The surface of the ceiling needs to be smooth and clean before a new ceiling can be installed.
Instructions
1. Scrape off the polystyrene ceiling tiles, using a dull metal scraper. The scraper will remove the tiles and loosen some of the adhesive.
2. Melt leftover adhesive with a wallpaper steamer. Once the adhesive is hot, continue scraping until all of the residue is gone.
3. Use measuring tape to find the center of the top of each wall. Find and mark the middle of the ceiling on all four walls and and draw straight lines on the ceiling from the middle out to the walls. This creates four squares that intersect in the middle of the ceiling.
4. Apply tile mastic to the back of each new ceiling tile, using a trowel. Press the first tile in place, lining it up with the lines on the ceiling at the inside corner of one of the penciled squares. Continue placing tiles along the straight line out to the wall. Install the remaining tiles in the same manner, lining the tiles up with the first row of tiles. There will likely be a gap along each wall where full tiles don't fit.
5. Hold a tile up to the gap between the last full tile and the wall in one row. Mark the tile with a pencil and draw a straight line across the tile, using a ruler or yardstick. Cut the tile with a utility knife, removing slightly less than you need at first to avoid over-cutting and having to purchase new tiles. Apply mastic and install the tile. Repeat this step for all remaining tiles, until the ceiling is completely covered.
6. Add a bead of caulk between the tile joints. This will improve the look of the polystyrene ceiling and protect your ceiling from water damage.
Tags: ceiling from, ceiling tiles, draw straight, , lines ceiling, middle ceiling