AESTHETIC
LOOKS and elegance matter a lot in planning the interior decoration
of your home. After spending several lakhs on constructing a house
or buying an apartment, it is no big deal to add a little to the
existing budget, to make your home look better.
And have you thought about the upper part of your rooms? You
may not be able to afford chandeliers and the like but you might
be able to spend few thousands to give your rooms a chic look.
Let us find out about the benefits of covering the upper part
of your room, commonly known as "ceiling" and the kind
of materials available in the market.
The advantage
For those who do not care much about looks, here is one
reason for thinking of doing up the ceiling of your office or
residential building. A ceiling helps cool the room. When the
height of the room is too much, providing a ceiling helps to reduce
the height. "Reducing the height also helps in reducing the
capacity of the air-conditioner," opines V.K Shaji, managing
director, Roop Resmi Private Limited.
Covering the upper area also has the multiple advantages such
concealing the wiring, lighting fixtures, air-conditioning ducts,
security cameras, and other fixtures. The ceiling also acts as
an attractive base for all kinds of decorative electric lights
and fans. These apart, a ceiling helps eliminate echo in the room.
In bathroom, ceilings can be provided to hide the pipes or any
other fittings above.
In the olden days, wooden ceilings were vastly used and the preferred
choice. Today, you can choose from a wide range of ceiling materials
including asbestos sheets, bamboo sheets, jute, coir-ply, Plaster-of-Paris,
plastics, particle boards, decorative aluminium panels, aluminium
and plastic composite materials. Both Aluminium T-sections and
galvanised iron are usually used for the structure.
Channels
There are basically two types of ceilings - Grid and Plain.
Grid ceilings are those in which channels to which the ceiling
materials are fixed can be seen. These are available in the size
of 2' x 2' and 2' x 4'. In the plain ceilings, the grid work remains
hidden.
While choosing ceiling material, understanding its properties
is of primary importance to determine whether it will meet your
requirements.
The cheapest ceiling material available in the market is thermocol.
It costs around Rs.20 to Rs.26 per sq.ft. along with aluminium
channels. Though thermocol with aluminium structures are very
economical, it lacks durability.
E-boards
E-boards are available in small sizes as well as can be
cut from long sheets. Patterns are also available in e-boards.
However, colours are not available and you have to be satisfied
with the default white colour. "To meet your colour tastes,
it is possible to apply primer and over it, paint the E-board.
This is applicable to asbestos sheets too," says George Thomas,
managing partner, Gee Tee Trading Company. E-boards costs around
Rs.30-35 per sq.ft.
Imported ceiling materials like Amstrong are also available in
the market. Though costlier, they give a better finish and come
in attractive designs.
Most materials including wooden particleboard, thermocol, wooden
boards, plastic, fibre and coir are combustible. According to
Mr. Thomas, fire resistance is an important criterion for building
materials.
"Aerolite false ceiling materials, made of calcium silicate
are hundred percent humidity resistant and noncombustible, "
says Mr. Thomas. Available in the size of 2' x 2' and a thickness
of 15 mm, Aerolite false ceiling materials costs Rs.65 to Rs.85
per sq.ft. Different designs exist in Aerolite.
Gypsum boards are lightweight, thermally insulated, sound insulated
and fire resistant. Gypsum ceilings along with GI channels and
with the ceiling matierals of 2' x 2' size cost Rs.45 per sq.ft.
"MR Gypboards for instance are more water resistant,"
says Abdulla Mali, regional manager, India Gypsum Limited. Paints,
laminates, wallpapers, ceramic tiles and texture finishes can
be applied on the Gypboard, to give it an extra finish. Screwing
the gypsum boards to the GI channels prevents it from sagging.
"Ceiling works done properly with a suspended structure never
sags," says Mr. Shaji.
Plaster-of-Paris
In Plaster-of-Paris and gypsum boards, the sides and corners
can be decorated with attractive designs. In Plaster-of-Paris,
ornamental designs can also be moulded. The material is smooth
and aids lighting. The down side is that comparatively they lack
durability and discolour with time.
Anutone, which has acoustic properties, costs Rs. 50 to Rs. 52
per sq.ft. Metal ceilings cost Rs. 100 and upwards, but are not
preferred for residential complexes, mostly because of their high
cost.
