Recommendation points
- Required materials and tools
- Mounting the fastening system
- Panel tension
- Fastener masking
- Why do we need all this
Why are many of us attracted by the opportunity to make repairs, or at least part of it, on our own? There are probably several reasons. This is both a pleasant satisfaction from the quality work done by your own hands, which can be shown to guests with special pride, and the opportunity to get exactly such an interior design and quality of finishing that the invited specialists cannot do for some reason.
And most often it is a desire to achieve the desired result with the lowest financial costs. Look at the ceiling – isn’t it time to put it in order?
If such work seems difficult to you because of the large level differences, the need for dirty washing and puttying processes, do not despair: there is a much simpler, faster and cheaper way to make the ceiling absolutely even and clean with your own hands..
The idea is to make high-quality repair materials available to all, using them in a non-trivial way..
Required materials and tools
No, until we need a construction supermarket – we go to a fabric store. That’s right, because we will make the ceiling from curtain material. There are several important points here:
- Curtain fabrics are standard heights of 2.8 or 3 meters. Most rooms are somewhat larger. Hence the conclusion – the panels will have to be sewn. If you have a sewing machine – it’s a matter of a couple of minutes, if not, any atelier will certainly help you. It is better to add two narrow stripes around the edges so that it is symmetrical, but in general, the seams are practically invisible on the finished ceiling.
- The fabric can be any – matte or with a slight sheen, colored, with patterns. This is especially true for the nursery. But, if you have to make seams, choose a solid material..
- If you want to avoid seams, you will have to build a drywall construction around the perimeter of the room so that the width of the material is enough to cover the remaining area. If you dreamed of a two-level ceiling, this is a great chance to make your dream come true.
- The length and width of the finished panel should be about 20 cm larger than the corresponding dimensions of the room.
The tensioning material has been purchased – now it’s time to take care of the fasteners. We need very little:
- Plastic cable channels with a single lock, which are sold in any electrical store. There are also plastic tubes to protect the cables. We select cable channels and tubes of the same caliber, for example, 16 mm. The total length of each material is equal to the perimeter of the room.
- A bar with a section of 25×30 or 25×40 mm. They can be of a different size, which depends on how many centimeters you need to lower the ceiling plane. The footage is also equal to the perimeter of the room.
- Self-tapping screws for wood, small, for example, 16 or 19 mm, at the rate of 1 pc. for every 0.5 m of the perimeter.
- Plastic dowels and self-tapping screws for them, the length of which depends on the section of the bar. Quantity – 1 pc. per linear meter of timber.
- To give the finished ceiling a finished look, ordinary polyurethane foam baguettes are used. Their number is easy to calculate based on the footage of the remaining running materials..
- Masking tape (paper).
- Threaded hook for hanging the luminaire.
Of the tools you will need: a drill, a screwdriver or screwdriver, a hacksaw for wood, a building level, a tape measure and a punching cord.
Mounting the fastening system
First you need to determine the location of the future ceiling. To do this, we use a building level and a dyeing line to beat straight lines..
To understand what the lowering of the ceiling level will be, you need to make simple calculations: a + b = c, Where and – section of a bar, b – caliber of cable channels and tubes, from – the height of the entire structure. For example, if we took a 25×30 timber and 16 mm cable channels, the ceiling level will decrease by 46 mm.
Almost always, the geometry of our premises is far from ideal, and the walls may differ from each other in height. In order for our ceiling to be horizontal, we will have to measure the height of the walls, for this we measure each one in several places. We find the point where the wall is the lowest – at this point we retreat 30 mm from the ceiling and beat off a horizontal line through this point with the help of a dyeing cord. Checking the horizon with a building level.
To be sure that the markings are correct, we check: crosswise we connect the corners of the room with cords attached to the line. If the cords touch in the center, everything is in order. If they are at a distance or bent over each other – mistakes were made in the markup.
Cooking the timber: it must be attached along the broken line to the walls. We drill holes for self-tapping screws with a step of about 1 m, mark points for drilling holes for dowels on the walls.
We remove the covers from the cable channels – we do not need them. We fasten the boxes to the timber from below in the longitudinal direction, stepping back from the edge 0.5–1 cm. In the corners we join them in a T-shape, with a gap of 2–3 mm. The fasteners are made with small self-tapping screws with a pitch of about 50 cm. The self-tapping screws are screwed into the “crossbar” of the U-shaped box.
Don’t forget about the lamp. Near the outlet of the electric cable on the ceiling, we attach a piece of timber into which we screw the hook. Its bend should be approximately 2 cm below the level of the future ceiling. We pull two cords diagonally across the center of the room – we find the required level.
Panel tension
To make the fasteners more reliable, it is worth holding one more preparatory event. Plastic tubes are pasted over with paper tape. You don’t need to try to do it very carefully – the more folds and creases there are, the better.
At the moment, we can say that the bulk of the work has been done – the simplest and most enjoyable remains. Before stretching, it is recommended to well remove dust from the floor, walls and ceiling of the room so as not to stain the cloth. It needs to be ironed with an iron to remove wrinkles. It will also be useful to lightly spray the fabric with an antistatic agent so that in the future the dust that appears in each room does not settle on the ceiling..
Stretching is easiest with two or three people, although one person can do this job quite well. The edge of the panel is thrown onto a plastic tube, which, together with the fabric, is lightly pressed into the groove of the cable channel and pinched in it. Thus, all edges of the ceiling material are raised and fixed..
Now the fabric needs to be pulled – you need to start from the middle of the wall and move gradually to the corners. One hand holds the tube in the groove, the other hand pulls the edge of the panel down and towards the corner in order to gradually drive all the folds there. It will go faster if you pull on two opposite sides of the perimeter at the same time. You need to pull hard, but so that the tubes do not jump out of the grooves.
Before you can finally secure the fabric, you need to make a hole for the electrical cable and hook. It is clearly visible from below, as it stands out on the plane of the stretched fabric. The hole is made using any available device, such as a lighter. So we “kill” two birds with one stone – we make a hole and fix its edges so that the “arrow” does not run on the fabric.
When the hole is ready, remove the fabric from the fasteners from one side of the room to the hook, carefully pass the cable and hook through the hole, and then fasten the fabric back. Later, the hole will be closed with a decorative lamp cover. If the hole is made in advance, before stretching, there is a danger of “overshooting”, and it will be more difficult to fit the hole to the hook. In addition, if you singe the edges of the hole in an unstretched state, when stretching, there is a possibility that the “arrow” on the fabric will nevertheless appear.
Only the details remain. Once again, carefully stretch the panel to remove all the folds. It would be a good idea to moisten the cloth with a spray bottle so that it stretches even more when it dries. To be sure that the fastening is secure, you can screw the screws directly through the tube to prevent it from rotating under the tension of the fabric. Self-tapping step – about 0.5 m.
Fastener masking
It remains to hide the fasteners with polyurethane baguettes. They are cut and glued to the wall in the same way as it is done during regular repairs, with the difference that they are not attached to the ceiling..
Before gluing, the hanging edge of the fabric must be rolled up and fixed to the bar, for example, with tape or a stapler. It is better to use baguettes with symmetrical shoulders, that is, having an angle in section with equal sides.
Baguettes can be painted in advance, or after installation. Then the ceiling panel must be protected with a long spatula..
Why do we need all this
The ceiling is ready! Perfectly flat, beautiful and … very inexpensive. The lion’s share of its cost is fabric. If you have had repairs before, it is quite possible that you have extra scraps of building materials – you can use them and not spend money on buying a bar. Self-tapping screws and dowels, too, for sure, every owner will find.
Let’s try to calculate how much a stretch ceiling will cost in one room. Let’s take a room measuring 2.5×3 m:
- The most inexpensive fabric for curtains costs about 200-300 rubles. We take 3.2 m, we spend 960 rubles.
- Cable channels and tubes cost about 10–12 rubles / running meter. 11 meters will cost 132 rubles.
- Beam 25×30 is offered at a price of about 20 rubles. for a three-meter section. Thus, lumber will cost us 80 rubles.
- Self-tapping screws can be bought by weight, a handful of these fasteners will not cost more than 100 rubles. The same applies to dowels..
- An ordinary baguette for ceilings costs about 100 rubles. for a segment of 2 m. Accordingly, 6 shoulder straps – 600 rubles.
Let’s count? We spent several hours and 1972 rubles on bringing the ceiling to perfect condition. As they say, comments are unnecessary …
Of course, like most other ceiling repair methods, this method also has its weaknesses. The main one is the inability to wash the cloth without removing it. However, as you have already seen, this process is not very difficult. If the neighbors upstairs behave peacefully, nothing threatens your ceiling.!
I would like to know more about the process of creating a stretch ceiling using fabric. Do you have any recommended materials or step-by-step instructions that can help me achieve this project successfully? Additionally, are there any specific tools or techniques that I should be aware of before attempting this DIY project? Any tips or advice from your personal experience would be greatly appreciated!
Can anyone provide step-by-step instructions or a guide on how to create a stretch ceiling from fabric? I would like to learn how to do it myself and would appreciate any advice or tips from those who have experience in this area. Thank you!