Polystyrene Tiles over Popcorn Ceiling

My house has popcorn ceilings, which I do not like. One of the few options for covering popcorn ceilings is polystyrene (Styrofoam) tiles. They're not expensive and are supposed to be easy to install, so I decided to try them in my bedroom.

I ordered style R-32 tiles online from DecorativeCeilingTiles.

style R-32

Though this style looks great with painted accents...

I ultimately decided to leave my tiles plain white. The room is small and I feared painted tiles would be too busy.

Before beginning installation, I measured my ceiling and determined how the tiles would need to be arranged. The tiles are 19.5" square; my ceiling measures 120" x 139". Thus my layout would be 6 tiles (plus 3" needed) by 7 tiles (plus 2.5" needed). I split the difference, leaving 1.5" on either side of the 6-tile run and 1.25" on either side of the 7-tile run. These small areas would be covered by crown molding. I wouldn't have to cut any tiles! How lucky is that?!

Next, I measured out 1.5" and 1.25" so I'd know where to start my rows of tiles, and marked the ceiling with chalk lines.

Then, I began gluing up the tiles. I put small dollops of adhesive in a few places around the tile...

positioned the tile on the ceiling, and pressed firmly.

I used Loctite Power Grab construction adhesive, and it worked GREAT. It grabbed quickly and I only had to press each tile in place for a few seconds.

Installation Tips:

• Press firmly on the tiles with the palm of your hand.  Don't press too hard or press with just your finger because you might crush the raised pattern on the tile.
• Don't spread or flatten the adhesive on the tile if you're gluing to a popcorn ceiling. Dollops or globs of adhesive grab the texture better.
• Use white or clear adhesive if you're using unpainted tiles. The tiles are very thin, and colored adhesive will show through!

The installation was extremely easy and surprisingly fast. I had three rows of tiles up at 1:27 p.m.

At 1:50 p.m., I had four rows up.

Including prep and cleanup, the whole process took me less than four hours. I am very happy with the result! And it should look even better once the crown molding is installed. :)

Total cost of the project was less than $200:

• 42 tiles at 3.99 each + shipping = about $180
• 4 tubes adhesive at 3.50 each = $14