The bathroom is usually the smallest room in a home – so doesn’t it rather matter what the ceiling looks like? As long as it is neat and clean? No, you shouldn’t look at it that way. Today, the bathroom is the wellness room in a home, so the ambience is also important, and you can’t ignore the ceiling. And: It is humid in the bathroom. Not every material can cope with that equally well.
Nevertheless, there are many possibilities. The choice must therefore be well considered. Everyone has to decide for themselves. But we will show you several options here for your consideration.
Is it about the bathroom design in a new building that is yet to be built? Then you are lucky and can choose between most options. For example, a ceiling made of exposed concrete can also be considered – but it must be installed from the very beginning. This is somewhat more expensive than other solutions and is therefore probably only suitable for owner-occupied homes.
In addition, an exposed concrete ceiling must be produced with the highest level of professionalism – so it’s not for do-it-yourselfers. For these, however, there is a consolation – plasters and even wallpapers are offered in the exposed concrete look. But it’s just not quite real.
Let us therefore turn to the more common, because also cheaper options of ceiling design. The simplest is to paint an existing ceiling. This means the greatest choice, especially in terms of color. It becomes more difficult when a ceiling must first be straightened, i.e. sanded down. This is either a lot of work or expensive. When painting, it is always important to prime with a deep primer – so that the paint will last and the color tone will be even.
And then there is the question of the type of paint. There are special damp room paints that contain additives against the formation of mold. If you want to achieve this without chemicals, you can use lime paint, which you can color as you like with pigments. It is not advisable to use sealing latex paints. It is best to get the paint in specialized stores and discuss the choice with the expert.
You can also plaster a ceiling in the bathroom. With color and texture, you have a lot of design options; it’s a good idea to plaster the ceiling just like non-tiled walls in the room. However, plastering overhead is not for beginners. Either get a professional right away, or practice on a basement ceiling in a room that no visitor will ever see. If you really want to do it yourself, you can try roller or brush plaster, which is processed like paint, but looks almost like plaster.
And again it comes down to choosing the right plaster. You should avoid all bags with the word plaster when shopping for the bathroom. Plaster almost magically attracts the mold. Lime plaster has the opposite effect and is recommended, in old buildings also clay plaster. It absorbs moisture well and releases it again, thus helping to balance the atmosphere of the room. In any case, the plaster should be mineral and breathable. In addition, the substrate should be primed so that the plaster adheres equally well everywhere.
If the existing ceiling is not suitable for plastering or painting, or if the bathroom is simply too high, then a suspended ceiling is an option. So you pull in a second ceiling with a certain distance. This has the advantage that you get a nice straight ceiling, in which you can also integrate spotlights as desired.
Today, suspended ceilings are made with plasterboard. Instead of the traditional gray boards are usually used green boards, which are suitable for wet rooms. Quite new on the market are boards that are so resistant to moisture that they can even be installed outside. The higher price tag does not really matter for the few square meters that are usually involved in the bathroom.
Substructures in drywall construction are made of wood or metal. Today, the professionals all work with specially offered systems made of metal, which even the layman can easily handle. In the bathroom, wood also has the disadvantage that it swells with a lot of moisture.
Suspended ceilings can be painted and plastered, but also wallpapered. Sheetrock, which will subsequently be painted or wallpapered, require great care when filling the edges and fastening screws. Here you should definitely find out how to do it correctly.
A suspended ceiling is very functional in the new bathroom. Good looking, it can hide electric wiring, ventilation pipes, and etc. A suspended ceiling can be of different types: metal or moisture-resistant gypsum-plaster.
For the ceiling area increase, suspended ceiling boards should be mounted perpendicularly (a 90-grade angle) to the long wall or diagonally. For creation of the effect of a high ceiling, mirror boards or white mat boards with mirror fillets between them are used.
A moisture-resistant gypsum-plaster ceiling can be made multilevel one of any shape: semicircle, diamond-shaped, oval, circle, zigzag lines with decorative cornice, into which daylight lamps can be installed. Spotlights can also be installed in the gypsum-plaster ceiling.
If you want to cover the ceiling with panels, it is best to build a substructure of roof battens. This not only facilitates the attachment of the panels, but also creates space for the cables of spotlights, which are recessed into the ceiling. In addition, this way the cladding is ventilated and always dry. When installing, be sure to leave a gap all around for air exchange.
Theoretically, you can also attach panels to a suspended ceiling made of sheetrock, but you have to solve the problem of the weight of the panels. If you want to have a suspended ceiling, it is best to build a substructure from roof battens at the desired height and do without the plasterboard.
Important for panels is the choice of the right material. Products that are made entirely of plastic, do not cause problems. If wood is installed, it may have problems with moisture – it depends on the wood. In any case, it must be installed back-ventilated. It is best to use panels that are expressly intended by the manufacturer for use in bathrooms.
Wallpaper today in wall design is no longer a must as it was in the past. But this does not speak against the idea. Wallpaper is available in many designs, but you should already resort to the special products for wet rooms. Especially for apartment tenants, it is a weighty argument that you can use it to customize the ceiling without the plaster surface underneath getting paint or drill holes.
However, wallpaper requires, it should be remembered, a very smooth surface. It may therefore be necessary to fill and sand – these are not very pleasant works on a ceiling. And for uniform adhesion of the wallpaper paste, it is recommended to treat the surface with a primer.
In one respect, wallpaper is like plaster: working overhead is not easy – it’s easy to lose your nerve when the sheets come at you repeatedly. Here, too, it is advisable to practice on an unproblematic basement ceiling if you do not want to hire a craftsman.
If you want it to be particularly smooth and cool, you can have a stretch ceiling installed in your bathroom. The special look speaks for this variant – you just have to decide whether it fits into the overall concept of the bathroom or not. They are available in various surface textures, from matt to glossy, in all colors and many designs.
However, stretch ceilings are not for do-it-yourselfers, but a project for professionals. This is because they are stretched with strips under the ceiling. After installation, they are briefly heated so that they contract and everything looks extremely smooth.
However, stretch ceilings are not able to absorb even the smallest amount of moisture. If all the walls are then also largely tiled, this becomes a problem. Then you need to ventilate sufficiently, otherwise the water will condense on the ceiling and walls.
Let’s turn to the lighting now. A new bathroom should be lit brightly. Bright light arises bright feelings, feelings of protectiveness and joy. A simple wall lamp creates a lot of unnecessary shadows, that is why it is better to replace it with spotlights, built into the suspended ceiling. There exist spotlights of various shapes and colors, with halogen bulbs and incandescent lamps. You should choose the type of light you need before making a renovation of your bathroom. Halogen bulbs produce sharp directed ray of light. If you need to highlight some place in your bathroom, it is reasonable to use a rotary lamp with halogen bulbs. You can get softer light out of halogen bulbs with the help of glass diffuser, preset in the shape of the lamp. Incandescent lamps produce more uniformly diffused, soft and bright light. For a bathroom lighting mirror with the built-in lamps will also fit.
While making bathroom renovations one should also pay attention to the following important points:
Bathroom renovation and decoration give place to unbounded flow of fantasy. Read more in our other blog entries.
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