Good old polystyrene tiles!

Jan 15, 2014 20 Replies

Polystyrene ceiling tiles: I used to love 'em! You could stick them up easily, instantly hide a disastrous ceiling plaster job, they'd look really neat, and you could paint them white (emulsion only of course!) year after year!



So .... it's time to cover our kitchen ceiling, which is these days "a disastrous ceiling plaster job". Also the bathroom ceiling.



I DON'T want to have to call in a plasterer, so is there any sort of solution which is as easy and as effective as the good old p.c.t.s?



Cheers John


Plasterboard. Use PB screws, and fill the gaps with filler. Done. No need for a horrid bodge really.

NT

Americans have vinyl ceiling tiles, which replicate the 'tin' tiles used for fireproof ceilings in the '20s and '30s, which can either be dropped into a suspended grid or glued to the ceiling, and have a smooth finish.

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Unfortunately the only vinyl faced plasterboard tiles I can find in the UK are intended for use in suspended grid, which would look a bit naff in my lounge.

Owain

Actually T & G varnished, is pretty nice...

Why not? Price up the alternatives, get a quite from a good plasterer, and decide whether the difference is worth it for avoiding the faff, and gettin g a proper job. Nothing looks better on a wall or ceiling than a fresh skim .

Cheers Richard

If you are reading this from Google Groups, please be aware this is not a f orum, and you are using a web portal to a USENET group. Many people block p osters coming from web portals, because they haven?t come to terms with t he obsolescence of the phonograph.

I cannot believe that nobody makes ceiling tiles any more. I'm sure I've seen them. I still have the poly ones, erm, but not in a kitchen for obvious reasons. I thought they were slightly heavier, but still around and no doubt would look nice.

Brian

Google agrees

you seem to have mis-spelled naff.

Suspended ceiling .... or pine t&g

not arf as much as polystyrene!

I have in the past used acoustic tiles to cover a ceiling which had previously had polystyrene tiles (with very hard adhesive) on top of artex, but they were quite expensive - actually pretty close to what a skim would have cost.

IIRC they were the same sort of tiles that can be used in suspended ceilings, but sticking them direct was fine, using the nominated (also expensive) adhesive.

The tiles remained for about 10 years until a complete kitchen refit. This time the entire ceiling was brought down (partly to allow an extractor duct to be fitted) and re-plastered.

Chris

Not sure it is if fitted on top of plaster? If used to replace plaster, very likely.

At truly rip-off prices. I had to buy some from them last autumn, as I'd lost the ones from the top of our tortoise box.

SteveW

I'd second that, although it does depend on knowing a good plasterer. Took me years to find one but the work he has done for me over the past couple of years has been the best value (cost/outcome) of any work I have ever paid anyone to do.

a forum, and you are using a web portal to a USENET group. Many people blo ck posters coming from web portals, because they haven?t come to te rms with the obsolescence of the phonograph.

I've still got plenty of vinyl, and a few 78s somewhere, so maybe he's righ t

NT

Because doing so would require destroying the kitchen and refitting it. Life is too short.

And > I'd second that [i.e. whatgeraldthehamster said], although it does depend on knowing a good plasterer.

I agree with both of you: nothing beats a nice plastering job. But the mess is apocalyptic, and only justified by a complete kitchen re-fit. Now if I were 30 again...

John

No it wouldn't. We had our kitchen ceiling replastered without "destroying the kitchen and refitting it."

For some reason, Huge, I see you sitting in a vast farmhouse kitchen, flagged on the floor, AGA muttering away 24/7/52, a table 10'x4', surrounded by a variety of characterful wooden chairs, used regularly by a variety of frequent visitors from the surrounding area, tromping in with their dogs and muddy boots, ancient cupboards lining the walls, over equally venerable (precious) worktops and units, and a moderately high ceiling...

Dunno why I think that, but anyway, our titchy kitchen, with the units coming within 6" of the ceiling would have to be (at least partly) disassembled for a plasterer to get to work.

Much as I am in favour of the Plasterers' Preservation Society. (Not that plasterers will ever be out of a job!)

J.

LOL. I wish ... Except for the AGA. I hate AGAs.

Our kitchen is tiny for the size of the house; it's always been a bone of contention.

6" is a bit tight, I admit.

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