Metal ceiling tiles look fantastic indoors, but you don’t have to keep yours inside. Your porch is your outdoor living space, an area where you can enjoy your yard, get a bit of fresh air, and spend time in what is essentially an extension of your home. Incorporating metal ceiling tiles outdoors into your porch space allows you to create a beautiful outdoor living area you will always love coming home to. With a number of finishes and patterns to work with, there is a metal ceiling tile for any particular dream design you may have.

Metal ceiling tiles are durable, which makes them excellent in outdoor applications. Many fear what the elements may do to metal ceiling tiles, but the natural patina they develop over time simply adds to their beauty and charm. Not only do the elements not harm your metal ceiling tiles, but they improve them as they age within your porch space. Installing metal ceiling tiles onto your porch is a simple project that one can approach DIY style over the course of a weekend.

Installing Metal Ceiling Tiles Outdoors On Your Porch Ceiling

The first step in installing metal ceiling tiles onto your porch is taking the necessary measurements. You want to measure the ceiling of your porch by taking the width and the length before multiplying the two together to get the porch ceiling area. Divide this measurement by 144 to get your square footage. Once you have the square footage, you are ready to order the metal ceiling tiles you will need to complete your project. When you have your metal ceiling tiles on hand, the installation process involves these steps:

• Prepping Your Porch Ceiling – Before installing your metal ceiling tiles, your porch ceiling will likely need to be prepped. Remove any lighting, fans, or other objects that may be attached to your porch ceiling, leaving you with a bare space to work with. Locate your ceiling joists and mark them with a snap line, attaching the snap line to the ceiling joist with a single nail. Looks don’t matter as any markings will be covered with the ceiling tiles. Take furring strips and attach them to the ceiling markers using 3-inch screws or a nail gun and 3-inch nails.

• Lining Up And Nailing In Your Panels – Take your metal ceiling tile panels and arrange them to line up along the center of two furring strips. Use 2-inch finish nails to attach the ceiling tile to the furring strip securely.

• Accommodating Cutouts – Some porches may include ceiling fans, lights, or other decorative items hanging from the ceiling, but that does not mean metal ceiling tiles aren’t an option for you. Take the panels that will be used to cover those areas and measure the fixtures carefully, marking and cutting the ceiling tiles to accommodate them once installed. If you have light fixtures, take their measurements and, if possible, create a stencil that can be used to precisely cut the same size and shape from the metal ceiling tile meant for the ceiling area.

Choosing Metal Ceiling Tiles For Your Porch

With metal ceiling tiles, the sky is the limit when it comes to the options available. You may choose ornate metal ceiling tiles with a vintage appeal, simpler modern metal ceiling tiles, or anything in between. After choosing your pattern, you will then move on to the various finishes your metal ceiling tiles will have. Not only will those add to the style and beauty of your freshly tiled porch ceiling, but they will also help protect your ceiling tiles, adding to their longevity and durability.

Your porch area is the grand entrance to your home, and when you are not actively enjoying your porch space, it will set the stage for the style you have indoors. Installing metal ceiling tiles on your porch area ceiling will give your guests a grand impression before they ever step foot inside your home. Metal ceiling tiles may be used on already decorated porches or smaller porches in a simple way to frame your front door. Additional metal ceiling tile scraps left over from your ceiling installation process can be used to create porch décor pieces like wall hangings and metal wreaths to complete the look and tie it together.