Stratford Vinyl Ceiling Tile - Merlot

• Tape Measure
• Pencil
• Straight edge (optional)
• Scissors or Aviation (Tin) Snips
• Gloves
• Eye Protection

Have old tiles still in good condition? Reuse them to add heat and sound insulation as well as support regular insulation above your new tiles by pushing your existing tiles up out of place and turning them slightly to rest on top of the grid system. Watch our video
NOTE: this is likely not compliant with commercial building codes, so verify if this is an option.

Due to the Stratford's thin construction, regular fiberglass insulation is too heavy be laid on top. If your space requires insulation above the tiles you have a few options:

• Use SoniGuard insulation: the only insulation that can safely sit directly on top of the Stratford tile.
• Support on your old tiles (see above).
• Place 1x1 or 1x2 wood furring strips across the top of the grid to use as support for insulation.
• Secure the insulation to the "real ceiling" of your space, leaving the tops of the tiles clear of any need to support weight.

Make sure your grid system is clean, using rubbing alcohol or 409 to remove dirt and oils.

For best results, make sure the temperature in the room is 60-80F and low humidity.

Grid Strips
Should be butted up to one another. Do not overlap! Always start at the same end with each consecutive strip. Always dry-fit first, before peeling off the backing, to see if any trimming is needed.

Take your first strip. The dot at the end should be directly over the intersection of 4 tiles. Once you have the strip lined up, peel the backing from the self adhesive. Run all the strips one direction first.

Finish by installing the strips that run perpendicular to the tiles. Each strip will need to be trimmed, so keep a pair of scissors or snips in your pocket and cut off the dotted end.

Grid Tape
Start in a corner and work one direction. Trim the tape to fit when you reach the end of a run. Finish off by covering the remaining cross T's (shorter grid sections). Trim the tape to fit the space exactly (do not overlap).

Place all of the full sized tiles first so you can:

• Verify that your grid is properly aligned/spaced prior to cutting partial tiles.
• Set aside any tiles with damaged corners to use for border/partial tiles. We ALWAYS gladly replace any tiles damaged in shipping, but if you need to cut tiles for border tiles, you'll end up cutting off 2 corners anyways. This can save you time, save the environment, and help you complete your project perfectly without waiting for replacements.

The Stratford ceiling tile is very easy to cut with regular household scissors. Put measurements on the back side of the tile with a pencil or grease pencil, mark a straight line, and cut! For tiles with a decorative design, you have 4 options for the perimeter of your room, choose the one that fits your taste!

• Border tile: If a border tile is recommended above, you can use this to have a flatter design for partial tiles.
• Cut edge against wall: Cut your tile so the cut edge is along the perimeter of the room. You may see some shadowing if your tile recesses above the grid.
• Finished on perimeter: This puts the cut edge on the side opposite the wall. Your repeating pattern from the full tiles will be somewhat interrupted, but shadowing along the cut edge will only be visible if you stand right next to the wall.
• Splice edges: For tiles with a simple, straight design, and a certain size of partial tile, you may be able to cut a strip out the middle of the tile and glue or tape the two halves together to essentially make a custom tile the exact width of your border. If done well, this has the added benefits of continuing the pattern from the full tiles as well as having a finished edge along the wall. However, this method is more time-intensive, can leave a visible overlap line, and doesn't work with all tiles or border widths.

Choose a tile design that has a large enough flat area for the light bezel to lay flush once installed. As with standard mineral fiber tiles, you must choose lights that have grid mounting brackets so that the weight of the light is supported by the grid system and not the tile. The Stratford is not strong enough to support even newer, light-weight clip-in 'puck' style of LED light. Our heavier-duty Signature Series Ceiling Tiles have worked with certain styles of puck lighting.

Place your light fixture and tile in the grid system. Adjust the light to its final position and mark this on the backside of your tile. Use the template to mark the hole in the tile (usually the light bezel itself will be close if no template is available). Cut the opening with scissors or a razor blade.

Caution
Unshielded fixtures, especially those using halogen lighting, present a risk of fire or melting the tiles.

The Stratford tile is designed to operate in temperatures up to 120F. Higher temperatures can happen around heat registers, above stoves and ovens, around high temperature lighting, and in environments that intentionally have higher temperatures, like heat spas and Hot Yoga/Bikram studios. Contact us if your space may be subjected to any of these conditions.

If you are installing tiles outdoors or near a door, you may find that a few of your tiles have a tendency to lift out of the grid. The very simple fix is to use our Uplift Prevention Clips or tape inexpensive, powerful magnets to the back of the tiles in a few spots to hold it to the grid. 30-pack on Amazon