Ugly White Cardboard Ceiling Tiles???

[brookside]

We just bought a house built in 1925 and they"updated" it some and have the white (not really anymore) ceiling tiles. In past homes I have tried painting them but was not satisfied with the results. Looking for a low-cost way to cover them. I have searched the internet and found no solutions. Any ideas appreciated and the easier the better. Thanks, Cathy

[gypho]

You can cover them with Kilz........... then paint them any color you want.

http://www.kilz.com/

It's a little pricey, depending on where you buy it, but it even covers nicotene stains.

gypho

[ArmySGT.]

The tiles are suspended in a frame put in mirror panels? Sell them to musicians as the tiles are noise absorbing made of nitro cellulose. Enjoy them as they have a decent R value and keep the heat in the room you are in. Paint them checker board?

[tufhelp]

We have those in our place that we are getting ready to sell and I agree, they don’t paint so well, but since I’m in for a penny, might as well be a pound… My idea was to use drywall mud and cover the whole thing and give it a traditional drywall ceiling texture, thereby hiding the tiles, the groves between and having a more traditional ceiling to boot… any thoughts on this approach?

[rassd71]

That's a LOT of drywall mud! And if it doesn't dry right, it could fall down in clumps.

So first, are these suspended in a drop ceiling grid? Or are they the older style that were glues or nailed in place?

If in the grid, I've seen a few neat ideas with those, painting the grid any colour that strikes your fancy and then replacing the institutional looking tiles with thin plywood (luon(sp?) It adds a really neat effect.

IF they are glued or nailed on, then one option is to try and remove them and see what condition the plaster behind them is in. OR, just cover over them. This can be done with drywall, wood or even tin ceiling or faux tin ceiling tiles.

[brookside]

Thanks to all. Our tiles are the ones that are stapled or nailed. I have seen the tin which is nice but pricey. I have considered making a giant "stamp" with a darker color, probably cooperish or brownish, and stamping a very large design on each one or maybe using fabric but can't figure out how exactly I would connect it so I could easily replace it later. So many projects with this house makes my head spin. Thanks, Cathy

[Gringo]

I used to paint for a living. I would try a sealer, then put on a paint, that when dried, looks like hammered metal. You can buy both at any good paint store. Just tell them what your doing, and most paint stores are pretty good about helping out.

[tufhelp]

Rassd, I don’t think the task would take much mud at all, hit the groves between and skim coat the rest with slightly thinned mud. Then light sanding if necessary. One of the easiest texturing methods is to then take a plaster hawk and put a skim coat on the hawk plate and then press it to the ceiling, hold a few seconds and pull away leaving small to medium "peaks" in the wet mud. Then you let it start to cure and take a trowel and "knock down" the peaks with light pressure. Practice on scrap, easy to master and makes a good looking texture without the need for fancier equipment. My main worry is how the wall to ceiling meeting point would look. I think (in our case) the textured design and the little holes in the tiles will hold the mud just fine. Ours a glued and will come down with a bit of effort, but the dry wall surface has all these clumps of glue that take the drywall paper off when you remove the glue. I would still be faced with the same process of skim coating and texturing the whole ceiling anyway - trying to not do all the extra removal work. But as with most things, I'm probably fooling myself that I can skip the work of removal and do it that way...

[CarolAnn]

Tufhelp,
My thought was that the mud would crack because those kind of ceiling tiles can move a bit. Have you had any problem with that?

We had those tiles in the house I grew up in, and how I hated them! I think the owners after us ripped them all down and put up 1/4" sheet rock to cover the old, cracked plaster under it. At least, it looked like a plaster ceiling the last time I got to go into the house.

Lots of work any way you do it - if you mud it, brookside, wear a hat or your head will be mudded too! ;)

[Walking_Tall]

My first suggestion was already suggested --- mudd --- lightcoating one direction, let dry, then light coating opposite direction, then sand lightly and paint. That is what I did to a house that we have been remodeling, but it did not have tile ceilings. It was dry wall with a coating of cottage cheese looking texture.

Or, how about running furring strips across the ceiling, then install drywall over it and texture / paint it like you want it? Of course, you would have to reset light fixtures, fans, etc. and that would be some added aggravation, but it may be an option for you. Good luck, what ever you decide to do.

Jerry

[Shadow]

The ceiling tiles that were stapled and or glued up in 12" X 12" were sold by the name celitex. They were big about 45 years ago. We are currently redoing a house and having to replace the ceilings. We are putting up OSB in four x eight sheets and then routing the edge of 1 by 4 boards and puting them over the joints to finish it off. A coat of kilz and two coats of ceiling paint. The OSB board gives it a textured look and the boards a formal pattern. You can do more fancer pattens with the boards dividing them up into smaller squares and getting what ever effect you want. OSB currently 5.99 and 1 x 4 eight feet at 2.90 it goes up fast and rater inexpensively. Best part no overhead sheetrock finishing.