Stick-On Ceilings for Dummy Redecorators

tin-look ceiling

We spend very little time browsing at the site called Snapguide.com,¹ mostly because it's rather hard to find anything interesting there.² Much of the content seems to be about decorating and fashion, plus a boatload about making stuff from old pallets. Ick. But we did stop by not long ago, at which time we happened across Dave Woods and his 10-step post, "How to Install Faux Tin Ceiling." Although he didn't say so, Dave apparently meant faux tin ceiling tile...

Based on his post, Woods didn't bother to read the installation instructions that came with his tile. Maybe he bought it at a ReStore, or found an open box at a yard sale. Whatever the case, you might not want to follow his instructions. But let's begin at the beginning, with Step 2 (Step 1 is gather your materials):

"Find where you want to start. I decided to start in a square corner. The tiles are 24" wide. I measured from the wall out 24", made a mark and did this down the wall"

When we first looked at this, I read "did this down the wall" as Dave having made marks from ceiling to floor. Apparently, however, he marked every 2 feet along the length of the wall (24" must be the length of the tile).  Wish he'd said that. Now, for Step 3,

"Take the chalk line and stretch it from the first mark to the last, to see if any marks are outside the chalk line. If there is, find out what distance off the line and move chalk line out that much."

We have to be honest, that pair of sentences makes absolutely no sense. Step 4 follows:

"Now snap your chalk line to get a straight edge. This is where to align the tiles."

Here's how we knew that Dave didn't read the instructions: you should find the midpoint of opposite walls and snap a pair of chalk lines, then snap another to make a 90-degree cross in the middle of the ceiling.³ That's where you start mounting tiles, and you work in all directions at once. You don't do what Dave did (Steps 5-9):

"...line up one edge to the chalk line as close to the wall as possible. Start at the chalk line and press tile onto the ceiling... Take the rest and start installing trying to stay as straight as possible on the chalk line. Once the first row is up now start the second... "

Maybe, just maybe, Dave's instructions will work for you. You will, however, encounter problems wherever your corners aren't square (they never are!) or the walls are not simple straight lines. The method that starts at the center of a room is preferred by both ceiling installers and tile installers working on the floor. If you try to put up (or down) a single, full-length row of tiles; you're much more likely to start going crookeder with each row.

If you're lucky, your room will look... okay. If you want it to look right, though, you'll follow the instructions that came with your tile – not those posted by our Dumbass of the Day.

¹ A total of three visits (so far), according to our Dumbasses by Site listing.
² Weird: the site is now called B+C guides and is "owned" by something called "Brit+Co." Go figure.
³ You'll want to make certain that the position of the cross will not leave "overly-narrow strips" at the edges of the room, and adjust the cross's position to make sure.

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DDIY - CEILINGS