Even if the apartment or house has a perfect renovation, made taking into account all modern trends in interior design, and for some reason the ceiling remains crooked and unevenly painted or whitewashed, the whole aesthetics of the room is reduced to zero. If you make stretch ceilings with your own hands, you can get rid of the need to whiten or paint them. It is also a temporary insurance against flooding from above. It is believed that only professionals should install these ceilings. But it's not. You can do everything yourself.
What you need to install
It's worth starting with the tools and devices that you cannot do without in the process. For work, you will definitely need: a puncher, a gas cylinder, a stepladder, a heat gun. You also need a level. Better if it is laser. Additionally, you need to stock up on dowels. Still in process neededhammer, screwdriver, sharp knife.
When the tool is assembled, the right materials are bought. It is important to carefully measure everything before making stretch ceilings with your own hands. The dimensions needed are the following - the perimeter of the room and the area of \u200b\u200bthe ceiling.
Materials
For installation you need: a baguette, dowels, as well as a canvas. The latter will be stretched over a frame of profiles.
Baguette is a profile bar. It is made of aluminum or plastic. The aluminum profile is more durable. But plastic products are more affordable in terms of price. When buying, it is important to know exactly the size of the room. The profile is acquired around the perimeter of the room. It is better to purchase this material with a small margin.
Further, it is also worth mentioning dowels and self-tapping screws. Ceiling installers recommend purchasing these products with a margin. If more dowels are used in the process of installing stretch ceilings with your own hands, then the design will turn out to be more reliable and strong.
The canvas will be the basis of the ceiling, as already noted. The tension element can be fabric or film. What to choose? Depends on the taste and style of the room.
Recommendations for choosing canvas
As noted above, there are two types of canvases. These are fabric and film solutions. Each material has its own characteristics, disadvantages and advantages.
Polystyrene is the basis of fabric fabrics. This is a great option if cam is chosen as the method of mounting the stretch ceiling with your own hands.method.
The film material is made of polyvinyl chloride. It can be installed using harpoon, bead or wedge technology. Harpoon installation is more reliable, but there is also a minus of this method - this is its complexity. It is supposed to weld special fasteners in the form of hooks to the canvas. Then the latter are mounted in a profile and the canvas is stretched.
A huge variety of canvases for stretch ceilings is presented on the modern construction market. They differ in price, color, structure. It’s not worth saving here - it’s better not to buy the cheapest options. When choosing a canvas, you should make sure that there are no defects on it.
With the help of stretch ceilings with your own hands, you can change the visual perception of the room. So, if you need to make the ceiling higher, then choose products in bright colors. If you need to underestimate the ceilings, then dark shades are suitable. When everything is purchased, it's time to move on to the installation process. Installation consists of several steps.
Installation process
Most of the apartments are characterized by uneven ceilings, as well as distortions of the walls. Therefore, the very first thing to do is to take measurements and mark the future installation site. Using the markup, it will be possible to fix the baguette profiles as evenly as possible.
Markup
The first step is to measure the height of the walls in the room where the ceiling will be installed. It is important to take measurements in all four corners. Marks are applied to the measurement areas. The difference can reach even five centimeters - this is normal. It is important to take into account how far the stretch ceiling will be from the base one. The minimum distance is three centimeters. But if lamps are also to be installed, then more space is needed.
Using a laser level, draw a line around the perimeter along which the baguette will be attached. But here you need to work very carefully. The line should be straight.
Unfortunately, do-it-yourself stretch ceilings cannot be made using a harpoon method. To put this method into practice, you need to have certain skills. It is better to use other options - they are simpler, and the result will be of the same quality.
Fixing the baguette
When the markup is completed, proceed to the process of fastening the profile to the walls. Installation will be carried out using self-tapping screws and dowels. It is necessary that the distance between the fasteners be approximately seven to eight centimeters.
To make it easier and easier to work, first the profile is glued to the wall. It should be noted that the dowel should not be mounted on the edge of the baguette - it is better to retreat a little. If lanterns are to be mounted that fasten the baguette, it is recommended to take into account the width of the lamps, the type and their number. When the canvas is already installed, it will be too late to change something.
Installing the canvas
We continue to learn how to make a stretch ceiling with your own hands. As you can see, there is nothing complicated about this. All you need is precision and accuracy.
In order to qualitatively, correctly install and stretch the stretch ceiling fabric, you must first raise the temperature in the room. This can be done with a heat gun. You can buy it - this is a useful thing even after the ceiling is installed. It can be used to heat a variety of rooms during the cold season.
But it's cheaper to rent it or from friends. Experts recommend starting work with the canvas only after the temperature in the room rises to at least 40 degrees.
Step by step instructions
So, it's time to read the step-by-step instructions. Do-it-yourself stretch ceiling can be installed on it even by those who have never done it. Here is the instruction:
- The first step is to unpack the canvas. It is better to do this with clean hands so as not to leave marks or stains. Next, one corner of the canvas is attached to the baguette. The canvas is preheated with a heat gun.
- Further tightly fixed on the opposite side to the fixed corner. Fastening is carried out using special clamps with a gasket. This is to reduce the risk of damage.
- Then all other corners are fixed. At the same time, the ceiling is heated to higher temperatures. Together with the tension elements, there is always an instruction, which indicates how to install a stretch ceiling with your own hands. It has useful information about the base angle on the canvas. It is better to get acquainted with it so as not to make mistakes.
- The canvas needs a littlewarm up. In the process of warming up, the clamp is removed from one of the corners. With the help of an angled spatula, which is located in the groove of the film shell, the canvas is inserted into the profile. This must be done slowly. Holding the previous part, secure the next one.
- All other corners are fixed in the same way. At the same time, you need to remember that the process will become more complicated as the case comes to an end. Significant efforts will have to be made. It is better to invite an assistant in advance.
- When all the corners are fixed, proceed to the installation of straight sections. For this, straight blades are used. The areas where the seams are located are attached to two or three locks. Then the distance is divided by two and again secured with several locks. When this task is completed, proceed to the installation of other sections.
In the process, it is important to ensure that the panel stretches as evenly as possible and without wrinkles. It must be securely connected to the carrier. Creases are removed by heating the fabric and gently smoothing. Carefully inspect the attachment points. If a defect is noticed, then it must be eliminated before the canvas cools down.
In conclusion
This is how a stretch ceiling is installed with your own hands. Step-by-step instructions will help you do the job right and get a quality result.