Black Ceiling Tiles (1 Viewer)

Jimi C · Sep 11, 2004

Are you guys buying black ones or just painting white ones? Ive checked lowes, home depot and sears hardware, cannot find anything other than white. sorry if its a stupid question but i would have thought that these tiles would soak up tons of paint. My first thought was that you bought them black. If you are indeed painting them yourselves, what sort of prep work are you doing on the tiles?

Leo Kerr · Sep 12, 2004

From what I understand, the easiest way to get black ceiling tiles is with a can of black spray paint.

However, if you're expecting a specific acoustic response from your ceiling tiles, be aware that painting them will alter their acoustic profile, making them less absorptive, and more reflective. (I don't know how it affects their diffusive characteristics off hand.)

I think I've heard of people finding natively colored ceiling tiles, or perhaps ceiling tiles specifically designed to be painted, but I don't trust that recollection.

Leo Kerr

MarkBowles · Sep 12, 2004

Just went through the same thing. I have ordered black from Armstrong but the catch is you can't order from Lowes, Home Depot, Etc. You have to order from a commercial dealer. The black is a commercial product. I paid about .35 /square foot and it comes in 2x4 only. If you need 2x2 pieces you can score and cut them. Don't paint though because they can warp and it will ruin the accoustic aspect.

Mark

Jimi C · Sep 12, 2004

Crap, i already painted.. not a big deal though.. if i see them starting to warp ill just order new ones. I had planned on it anyway since mine were all stained and yellow. My tiles are pure styrofoam, i doubt seriously that they helped at all acousticly. They were very light and rattled alot. 2x4 is what i need so that wouldnt be an issue.. but for now i think the painted ones will work, untill they start to warp at least.

Now i just need to deal with painting the wood paneling.

Mike~Sileck · Sep 12, 2004

hey if you painted the tiles, shoot, just paint the wood too!

Mike

Jimi C · Sep 12, 2004

Im trying to decide on the colors now, im pretty sure that i want to put up a chair rail and use 2 colors. Maybe black on the bottom and a medium blue on the top. I hate trying to choose colors. I want to get it painted before my new used projector gets here.

MarkBowles · Sep 12, 2004

What projector did you get?

Jimi C · Sep 12, 2004

sharp xv-s55u.. never planned on buying one but for $250 with a new bulb i couldnt pass it up. These go on ebay for $550w/shipping. So, i figured if i dont like it, i could always sell it for a profit and buy an x1 or something.

Jonas Pearson · Sep 13, 2004

I bought flat black Armstrong 2x2's about I year ago from a specialty dealer.

They were fairly cheap ~ $40 per 64 sq ft box for 2x2's.

I think that 1728ABL is the code for 2x2's and 1728BL is for 2x4's.

Call Armstrong to see if they are still available.

Jimi C · Sep 13, 2004

Im in the middle of painting the wood paneling and im regreting every second of it. Why the hell did i do this, vacation bordem caused me to ruin my basement.

Jimi C · Sep 13, 2004

the colors i loved on the paint sample 10 hours ago i now loathe as they go up on the wall. argh. damnit.

my wood paneling is gone forever. I miss it.

mark alan · Sep 14, 2004

you should have waited. Wood paneling does not reflect light like wallboard does. My paneling is completely dark when I watch a movie.

Andrew Pratt · Sep 14, 2004

I made the mistake of painting my ceilign tiles and it was a disaster. They absorb paint like sponges so it takes numerous coats and when you're all said and done it would have been about the same cost to just order black ones and whole lot less work.

LaMarcus · Sep 14, 2004

Wow, I'm glad this thread came up, I was going to paint my tiles this weekend.

Andrew did you use spray paint?

Jimi C · Sep 14, 2004

I had no problem with my tiles, i used a flat black water based paint and a roller. Just needed one coat. First i experimented with a can of black spray paint because i happened to have one handy and it melted the tile (no surprise). I just hate the colors i chose for the walls.

Jimi C · Sep 14, 2004

Well.. i had a 3/4 of a gallon of black paint left and in a panic.. it went on the walls.. but guess what.. i really like it. All it cost me was a day of wasted time and $35 in paint. I would still prefer to have my wood paneling back as it was, but ill live. I had origonally bought 2 gallons of blue paint, a dark blue and a grey blue. i was going to put up a chair rail. Im glad i waited to buy the chair rail untill after i painted. Its solid black now.

Jimi C · Sep 15, 2004

pics of the room.. still have some clean-up to do.

Curt Luther · Sep 15, 2004

You can buy flat black ceiling tiles. I just bought mine a few months ago and they are no price difference than white. I also got the black grids as well. I had to go to a specialty builders dealer in my area. They worked out great!

Steve Adams · Sep 16, 2004

I painted mine....and actually it only took one coat....they are still straight and true....I used a roller and latex...don't use spray I guess.

David Noll · Sep 16, 2004

Instead of using tiles, I bought rubber roofing underlayment (Celotex I think is the brand) in 4' X 8' sheets, painted with flat black latex paint (2 coats), cut 8 pieces 2' X 2' out of each sheet. Cost per sheet was between $4.00 and $5.00. Significantly cheaper than regular ceiling tile. Had similar qualities to the tile too.

This ceiling was used in a museum like setting, not my theater.

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