Striking, original and interesting. Find out which ceiling will meet your requirements – stretch or suspended? Both are very different from each other.
When designing the interior – whether in your own home or apartment, or in commercial premises or public places – more and more attention is paid to the arrangement of the ceiling. Suspended ceilings enjoy growing popularity not only for aesthetic and decorative reasons, but also because they allow you to hide installation elements, pipes or air conditioners.
In this case the choice is actually limited to two possibilities. We can decide on a stretch ceiling or a traditional false ceiling made of plasterboard. We explain what they are and what the differences are. The final choice must be made by everyone.
It is a modern type of a “tailor-made” false ceiling, which is made of a special membrane created from PVC foil. This membrane stretches between profiles fixed along the perimeter of the walls.
The assembly is quick, in fact it only takes a few hours. What is important, it is better not to do it yourself, because you can easily tear the material. It is better to entrust this task to professionals. In addition, during the installation, you do not need to take furniture out of the room – there is no dust or other mess. In addition, a stretch ceiling does not burden the ceiling.
Traditional suspended ceiling, for the manufacture of which the already mentioned gypsum-cardboard panels are used, is a fairly popular solution. The boards are cut to fit the given room, and then screwed to the frame.
The installation can be carried out independently, but you have to prepare yourself for a big problem with keeping things in order. Why? In problematic places where the boards connect, it is necessary to putty and smoothing, so it is not possible to do these works while keeping all the furniture because of omnipresent dust. All fixed elements of equipment should also be secured.
Suspended ceilings are perfect for lowering the ceiling and reducing the space, among other things, to reduce heating bills.
We think about any lowering of the ceiling primarily for aesthetic reasons. While with a traditionally suspended ceiling there may be a problem with hiding, for example, installation pipes or gas pipes, stretched structures give us much more room for manoeuvre. We can hide everything in them, cover imperfections, cracks or damp patches, and at the same time install any type of lighting, even on the entire surface. In addition, we can also go crazy with color, pattern, and even print or photo and finish (matte, satin, glossy), after all, you can print any image on the membrane.
Aesthetics is very important, but you also have to take into account the issue of exploitation and use of a suspended or stretched ceiling. Unfortunately gypsum-cardboard panels, of which a suspended ceiling is composed, require repainting after some time (due to the color fading). There may also appear deformations caused by changing temperature, which is not lacking in our climate.
However, when it comes to stretch ceiling, there is no need for maintenance or renovation works. Possible stains can be washed off at any time, and no dust settles on the surface or moisture forms. In addition, it can be repeatedly installed and dismantled without having to buy new material.
On the question of which ceiling arrangement to choose, it is difficult to answer unequivocally. Each solution has its pros and cons. For example, stretch ceiling is more expensive, but at the same time it is characterized by much greater durability.
Main photo: Henry & Co./unsplash.com