When renovating an apartment and a house, it is worth considering finishing the ceiling. Only in this way the room will be beautiful and finished. Today, ceilings can be whitewashed, painted, sheathed with PVC boards, drywall or polyurethane. Drywall is in particular demand, which is chosen for its low cost and ease of installation. If you have to make a multi-level ceiling, then you should stop on this material.
Dignity of GKL ceilings
Plasterboard ceilings are good because they can be used to hide uneven finishes, exhaust and air conditioning outlets, plumbing, electrical wiring, etc. At the same time, the resulting box can be beautifully beaten: painted in a contrasting color, installing lamps.
Multi-level GKL ceiling is different:
- the ability to highlight a certain area in the room (for example, make beautiful spirals over a sofa or dining table);
- good strength;
- environmentally friendly (it is absolutely safe for human he alth and the environment);
- ability to absorb sounds;
- hygroscopicity (the ability to absorb and release moisture);
- fire resistance and incombustibility;
- ability to resist fungus (with proper processing);
- possibility of use in different rooms (and in the kitchen, and in the bedroom, and in the bathroom);
- light weight;
- easy to work with (easy to cut and bend).
Varieties of designs
Before you figure out how to make multi-level ceilings, you need to dwell on one of their varieties. Each of them differs in appearance and complexity of installation.
Single-level ceilings - the most common and simple design that hides all the bumps and provides additional sound insulation. First, a frame of metal profiles is mounted, and then it is sheathed with drywall. The ceiling can be equipped with single or sectional luminaires.
Two-level and three-level ceilings are more complex structures, the frame of which is located in two (three) levels. Sheathing is carried out in stages - each level separately. In this case, lighting fixtures can be placed between tiers. Curvilinear designs look very nice.
Depending on the appearance, plasterboard ceilings are divided into:
- zonal (they have one main level and several zones in 2-3 tiers);
- frame (they are an irregular figured box with two steps);
- floating (equipped with an unusual fastening system, which creates the effect of a floatingdesigns);
- diagonal (divide levels in half, exit from opposite corners of the room, while the dividing line is made in the form of a wave);
- abstract (beautiful intricate design, for example, the second level in the form of a spiral);
- curly (their central level is made in the form of an unusual shape: a flower, a circle, a star, a polygon);
- patterned (they have a fine-mesh pattern running along the entire surface of the ceiling).
Design
Such ceilings are not just decoration, but a whole interior solution. In this case, it all depends on the purpose of the room. You can, of course, make multi-level stretch ceilings in the hall, but without drywall you won’t get unusual figures. Here the owners of the house receive their guests, so it is important to make everything beautiful and of high quality. An excellent impression will be made by an ornament in pastel colors and LED lighting. This combination looks very comfortable and does not strain the eyes.
Gypsum plasterboard ceilings can have different shapes and colors, depending on the chosen interior style.
- Empire. The style is characterized by smooth rounded shapes with even clear contours, simple decorations in the corners. The finishing touch will be stucco on the walls. All elements must be neat and symmetrical. And these rules also apply to lamps.
- Baroque. It has restless curves that can only be seen in the halls of the palace. Wide borders are formed along the perimeter of the room, having one or morelevels. Although there are only random lines here, small details need symmetry.
- Minimalism. The style implies a minimal use of elements in the interior of the room, but a multi-level ceiling will also successfully fit into it. In the kitchen (especially the small one) it will look great. Luminaires installed between the levels will give the structure a soft and velvety effect.
- Classic style. It is distinguished by regular, refined, symmetrical and luxurious forms. Lighting should be minimal, but slightly emphasizing the composition. A great option is to make the first level painted and the second tier one-color with intricate shapes around the perimeter.
- Hi-tech. It is characterized by rigor, rationality, lack of smooth forms. Strict, even outlines in two or three levels, as well as bright backlighting, will look good.
Select backlight
To make a multi-level ceiling look beautiful, you need to install the fixtures correctly. Depending on the location, the backlight can be: open and hidden. Open appliances are easy to install - holes are made in drywall or suspended from it. At the same time, they can have any power, because the coating is not deformed and does not burn. Hidden lighting is located in the inter-level space. It is more difficult to mount, but it looks much more effective.
Use as ceiling lighting:
- LEDs (inexpensive, easy to install, allow you to adjust the color). They may have different amounts.diodes per 1 m length. 30-60 diodes allow you to make contour lighting, 120 diodes will provide brighter lighting.
- Neon lighting (durable, economical, low heat dissipation). It will cost more than LEDs.
- Optical fiber (durable and consumes little power). Used infrequently as it is expensive and difficult to install.
Required Materials
Before you figure out how to make a multi-level ceiling, you need to purchase the required amount of certain materials and tools.
From the materials you will need:
- plasterboard sheets (quantity depends on the area of the room and the number of levels);
- starting profiles (attached to the ceiling and walls, hold the profiles for attaching the skin);
- metal profiles (drywall will be attached to them);
- hangers (needed for attaching profiles to the ceiling);
- additional elements for increasing the length of profiles;
- connecting elements - "crabs" (connect the frame elements at a right angle);
- self-tapping screws with a diameter of 4 mm (for connecting profiles to each other, GKL);
- dowels with a diameter of 6 mm (needed for fixing suspensions and profiles to walls, ceiling);
- spotlights and electric cable.
After the installation of the ceiling, finishing work is carried out, which will require a reinforcing mesh, primer, putty and finishing materials.
Preparation of the ceiling and markings
Before editingit is necessary to vacate the premises and approaches to it. After that, surface preparation is carried out: the remnants of the old finish are removed.
In order to properly install multi-level plasterboard ceilings, you need to markup. For this you will need:
- mark the first level: draw the exact location of the structure on the walls and check the evenness of the lines with a building level;
- make notes where reinforcement is needed;
- mark the second level (mounted after installing the first tier).
To make the ceiling as even as possible and not create problems, it is better to draw a sketch. This will simplify the work and save you from mistakes.
Installing the frame
In the process of assembling the frame, the correct sequence of work is important. If this is not done, then the ceiling will turn out to be ugly and uneven. Installation of multi-level ceilings can be performed in different ways, depending on the number of tiers.
In general, a certain sequence of actions is performed.
- Installing the frame of the lower tier. To make it durable, you need to organize supports on the walls and ceiling. In this case, guide profiles are used, which are assembled in the same way as for a drywall box. Elements longer than 1 m are additionally fixed with U-shaped brackets. At this stage, plasterboard sheathing of the first level is performed.
- Installation of the frame of the second tier. Here the guides do not rest on the walls, but onside surface of the frame of the first level. By the same principle, a frame is installed for some additional structure, for example, a figure protruding downward. If the third level is recessed into the second, then the second tier is mounted as a box. It is this sequence of actions that will allow you to get a rigid frame.
Gypsum board sheathing
Before sheathing the ceiling with drywall, you need to let it lie down in a horizontal position for several days (only at room temperature). The next step is chamfering: the edges are cut with a knife (necessary for subsequent finishing with putty). There is a chamfer on glued edges, so you don’t have to do it there.
Mount sheets start from any angle. After that, they are fixed with self-tapping screws that go in increments of 200 mm. On adjacent sheets, fasteners are located at a different level (in a run). Their hats are recessed so that they do not protrude above the surface.
Sheets are offset (at least by one cell). You should not make a tight joint - a gap of 2 mm must be left along the perimeter of the GKL. Self-tapping screws are screwed into the material in those places where the guides pass. If there are external corners on the ceiling, then the sheathing cannot be joined near the corner. You need to retreat at least 100 mm so that cracks do not appear on it.
It may seem to many that a multi-level ceiling is very difficult to do on your own. But it's not. If you draw a sketch in advance, process it with high quality and fix the material, then everything will definitely work out.
