Styrofoam ceiling tiles: pros and cons

Very often, owners of houses and apartments, forced to save on repairs, pay attention to the ceiling tiles made of expanded polystyrene. The material is actually very popular, Our advice site decided to deal with its features, advantages and disadvantages.

We are all very familiar with Styrofoam! It is a lightweight material that consists of a large number of tiny air cells. Many building and finishing materials are made of foam, it is versatile, it retains heat well and serves for a long time. A ceiling tile made of extruded polystyrene foam, or, as it is also called, styrofoam, is a good example of what can be made from regular foam..

Ceiling tiles are traditionally made in a square shape. Standard sizes are 250×250, 300×300 and 500×500 millimeters. The latter option is not very popular; it is chosen for fairly spacious rooms. A rectangular ceiling tile made of polystyrene with a size of 1000×165 millimeters is called panels and is used in public spaces, in residential areas it is extremely rare.

Today, manufacturers also offer ceiling tiles of irregular, original shapes. But it is used much less often than square.

All foam ceiling tiles are divided into two types:

1. Requiring painting. They are white and after mounting on the ceiling, they can be decorated with ordinary water-based paint;
2. Colored. Such a tile initially has its own shade, most often neutral – blue, beige, greenish, gray, pale yellow. And you don’t need to do anything else, just attach it to the ceiling.

In addition, ceiling tiles come in seamless, close-together, it is difficult to see the joints. And there are with slightly sloping edges, the seams remain.

According to the manufacturing technology, foam ceiling tiles are:

• Stamped. The cheapest, no more than 8 millimeters thick. It cannot be washed at all, it absorbs dirt and dust, there may be gaps at the joints;
• Extruded. Only up to 3 millimeters thick, denser, more durable. But the seams are noticeable, you cannot paint;
• Injection. The most expensive, but also the highest quality. Thickness up to 14 millimeters, does not burn, you can wash and paint.

The main advantages of Styrofoam ceiling tiles include:

• Does not contain harmful substances, can be mounted on the ceiling even in the children’s room;
• It is not necessary to carefully level the surface. Although the thickness of the ceiling tile does not exceed 8-14 millimeters, it perfectly hides cracks and irregularities;
• Very inexpensive. One of the most budgetary finishing options;
• It is easily cut with a sharp knife, no special tools are needed;
• Installation can be done by yourself, everything is simple, you do not need to spend money on paying professionals. Believe me, even a homeowner making repairs for the first time will cope;
• There is a choice of drawings, colors, you can paint after installation, repaint, changing the appearance of the ceiling in the room;
• Ceiling height does not change, tiles will not make it lower.

Important! Ceiling tiles can be repainted up to seven times.

Styrofoam ceiling tiles also have disadvantages:

• Very fragile material. If you handle it carelessly, it can be easily broken, and after that the tile remains only to be thrown away, it is very difficult to connect the place of the break without noticeable consequences;
• The tiles can turn yellow over time. You can, of course, paint over this, but still – additional troubles;
• The material is vapor-proof;
• Despite the decor options, painting, finishing will look cheap at its real price. And many homeowners don’t like it.

There is a ceiling tile made of polystyrene from 60 rubles per square meter, which makes it the most budget option for finishing. Taking into account the fact that you do not need to carefully level the ceiling, gluing the tiles is cheaper than simply painting the surface. To choose for you, such a tile as a durable economy option definitely deserves attention. The portal has already written about how to calculate the number of ceiling tiles per room.