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Watch the video on Better Barrel-Vault Ceilings.
Installing a curved or barrel-vault ceiling is an expensive undertaking. It requires a lot of labor and lumber. As a result, not many homeowners are willing to put in such a ceiling in their homes.
With the invention of the drywall suspension system, however, the installation of these dramatic, beautiful ceilings has gotten a lot easier — and a lot more affordable.
The common way of building a vault ceiling involved weeks of labor, since it usually had to support the weight of the building above it, too. But the new system lets contractors hang pre-formed arcs and build the ceiling from there. It might remind you of giant Tinker Toys or an Erector Set. Because installation is relatively easy, it cuts the amount of time and labor dramatically.
The drywall suspension system comprises four main parts:
- Metal angles, which are fastened to the wall and provide a footing for the frame itself
- Custom-curved metal channels, called main tees
- Four-foot cross tees
- Heavy-duty hanger wire
While the system makes life a lot easier for the contractor, it still requires exact measurements when he places the order: the height of the ceiling, the radius of the curve and the location of the barrel-vault.
Once the components arrive, it's a matter of attaching the angle to the wall and building the framework, hanging the main tees with heavy-duty hanger wire as you work on each section:
- Measure and snap level lines at the height and curve where the barrel is going to start on the walls.
- Install the metal rail wall angles along the lines.
- Install the first curved main tee into the wall angles to form the arc of the vault.
- As you work, start tying the hanger wires to hold up the main tees. The hanger wires should be spaced no more than 48" on center along the entire arc of the main tee.
- Install the next main tee 4' from the first one and hanging it with the wire as you go along.
- One the second main tee is up, start installing the cross tees along the entire arc.
- Continue hanging main tees and adding cross tees until you have the "skeleton" of the ceiling.
- Now you're ready for the drywall. One way to curve it is to use two pieces of 1/4" flexible drywall to create a 1/2" ceiling. The more common method is to wet the backside of the panel, which makes it flexible enough to curve into the shape you need.
- Now it's just a matter of finishing the drywall as usual.
With the drywall suspension system, you can provide beautiful vaulted or even domed ceilings for your clients' projects in a lot less time and for a lot less many than the more common methods permit. And you don't need a PhD in engineering to keep the ceiling from caving in.
For more information about drywall suspension systems, visit www.usg.com/Online_Tools/DWSS.
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