Ceiling Tiles Installation Tips from Schmeg.com

  

Ceiling tile you apply directly to the ceiling or to furring strips attached to the ceiling is available in For small holes in wallboard ceilings, fasten mesh with plaster or spackle and then fill the hole from below. Be careful on joists; put down a plywood platform. 12-inch squares or 12x24-inch rectangles either with tongue-and-grooved edges or flush edges. You can buy tiles that provide an acoustical, soundproofing feature and/or decorative patterns with or without the acoustical properties. In the store, make sure that you read the tile labels carefully: not all tile is sound absorbing although is may appear to be at first glance.

As mentioned, ceiling tile can be installed with tile adhesive directly to a clean, smooth, and uniform ceiling. If the ceiling is rough, not uniformly level, or is unfinished, you must patch the ceiling or install furring strips before the tile may be installed. Furring a ceiling is much like furring a wall, although the placement of the furring strips is different. The tile is stapled to the furring. We recommend 1x4s for furring; they are usually straighter and easier to space for the tiles.

REPAIRING THE DAMAGE-
Ceiling repairs are similar to wall repairs. If you will use furring strips, you may not have to repair the ceiling, if the strips span the damaged area and lay fat and level. If you must make repairs, the repairs are easier if you have access to the ceiling through a crawl space or an unfinished attic.

Small holes in wallboard. From above, place a piece of wire mesh or lath overlapping the hole and fix the corners to the wallboard with the same compound you will use to fill the hole-if you have to fill the hole to accommodate the furring strips or ceiling tile. With the mesh fastened, fill the hole from below with plaster or shackling compound, building up the layers. Then smooth the surface with a joint taping knife.

Large holes in wallboard. If you have access from above, cut the damaged wall board back to the edge of the joists on either side of the damage and frame the opening with 1x2 or 1x4, as shown. Secure the wallboard patch and tape the joints.

Small Holes in Plaster.
1) From below, either tack metal lath to the existing lath or stuff the hole with newspaper soaked in a thin, soupy mixture of spackling compound or plaster.
2) Fill the hole with plaster or spackling compound to within about 1/4 inch from the surrounding surface. Let the patching material dry.
3) When the patch is dry, wet the patch with water and apply a final coat of finish plaster or spackling compound. Pack it tight into the hole with a trowel or wide joint taping knife. Then level the patch with a short length of straightedge.

Fixing Bulging Plaster. If you have access from above, prop up the ceiling material as shown, carefully pulling and scraping out the plaster protruding between the laths, forming new ridges over them, with quick-setting plaster. If the bulge is small, you may be able to remove the bulge and then fur over it for the tile. If the tile will be installed directly on the ceiling, you will have to make the patch

TWO OTHER WAYS-
If the ceiling surface is damaged beyond the quick repairs detailed above, you have two options:

1) You can remove the ceiling material down to the bare joists and fasten the furring strips to the joists.
2) You can install a suspended ceiling (dropped ceiling), if there will be enough headroom between the bottom of the ceiling and the floor below it.

To remove the old ceiling, use a crowbar or pry bar and start toward the center of the ceiling or at a hole or break in the ceiling. Simply pry and pull off the old gypsumboard - the larger the pieces the better. But be careful. Gypsumboard is heavy and it can be dusty. Have plenty of ventilation in the room and take fresh air breaks frequently. Also, be sure to remove all furnishings from the room before you start and cover anything you don't want dusty with dropcloths.

If the ceiling is plaster, you can remove it with a crowbar/pry bar, but in small chunks. You will have to remove the lath above the plaster with a claw hammer.

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