QUESTION
I have just put an addition on the cottage, including a kitchen. I was thinking of installing tin ceiling tiles. Will these cause problems with condensation? Will they drip when the cottage is warm when we are there, but then cool down when we leave? The cottage is not heated when we are not there.

ANSWER

No worries. A tin ceiling won’t rain on your new kitchen parade, says tinsmith Brian Greer, who manufactures tin ceiling tiles in his shop in Mannheim, Ont., and sells them all over the world through his website, www.tinceiling.com. He says you won’t have any condensation problems as long as you add a vapour barrier and insulation before installing, as you would with any ceiling construction. 

For spaces not heated in winter, Greer recommends using tiles coated on both sides so they won’t rust. You can buy tiles unfinished and finish them yourself by painting or clear-coating them with polyurethane, varnish, or clear lacquer. Or you can spend a bit more for already finished tiles. Install them directly onto drywall, using any glue that adheres to tin (but avoid contact cement, Greer says, as it’s tough to reposition a tile once it’s been laid), or onto sheets of 1⁄4" plywood, using either nails or staples. 

Installation will be a piece of cake compared with choosing the combination of panel, moulding, and cornice you like. Greer has replicated many of the old designs found in Canadian buildings from the late-nineteenth century, when tin ceilings were the height of fashion. For inspiration, you might stop in at one of the period inns or lodges in cottage country to see original or refurbished tinwork. 

Christine Langlois

* Published in the November/December 2007 issue of Cottage Life