The kitchen is one of the main rooms in the apartment and house. First of all, attention is paid to it due to its use as a place for cooking, so the stove becomes the main one in the kitchen. But the decorative component of this room also needs to be paid attention, and first of all, we are talking about ceilings, which are not as easy to make in the kitchen as it seems.
If false ceilings can be used in other rooms, then in the kitchen it becomes more difficult to do this, since there is often an extractor hood and moisture accumulates, so stretching the ceilings in the kitchen is not the best solution. The most versatile and, in this case, the best option is the ability to use plasterboard ceilings in the kitchen.
What is this article about
Advantages and disadvantages of plasterboard ceilings
Before starting work, as a result of which a plasterboard ceiling will appear, you need to make sure that you can do such work without resorting to the help of specialists, since then you will spend a lot on paying for their services. And what then would be the point of starting the work with your own hands, so that later it would be completed by specialists?
Plasterboard ceilings have a fair number of advantages. Here are the most prominent ones:
The disadvantages of plasterboard ceilings are not so many. One of the main ones can be called intolerance to high humidity drywall, so for the kitchen you will have to buy a special drywall, which will have waterproof functions. Also, the disadvantages of not the drywall itself, but drywall ceilings in general, include the need to create a frame, which slightly reduces the height of the room and creates additional difficulties. But the frame has much more pluses than minuses.
The most important thing that is needed to create plasterboard ceilings is a desire, and you can learn how to build them according to our instructions. Better designs will, of course, begin to turn out with experience, but you still need to start sometime. If you are ready to get started, you can move on to the next paragraph.
Tools and materials
To create a reliable and beautiful plasterboard ceiling in the kitchen, which will not be subject to moisture absorption and cracking, you must use high-quality tools and materials. Mu also published a complete list of tools . We will write a list of those devices that will be needed specifically to create a plasterboard ceiling.
It would be just perfect if you purchase a drywall lifter for this set of tools, which was created specifically for the construction of plasterboard ceilings. It will help you lift the drywall sheets to the ceiling, or rather, you won't have to hold them, which will free your hands and properly attach the drywall to the frame.
You will have to use waterproof drywall in order to create plasterboard ceilings in the kitchen, because the kitchen is a place where a lot of moisture accumulates, and also, there is a lot of fumes. All these factors have a very bad effect on drywall, so only the use of moisture-resistant drywall will make the design reliable.
We note that if you have a possibility of ignition in your kitchen or even a source of open fire, for example, a gas stove, then it is better to use fire-moisture-resistant drywall (GKLVO) for ceiling cladding. It also has protection against moisture, but can still withstand high temperatures and even exposure to an open flame (for a short time).
Sketching future ceilings
If you responsibly approached the creation of a plasterboard ceiling in the kitchen, then you can’t forget about their design and shape. We advise you to sketch a few options from your head, sketch all your ideas and desires, then look at the images on the Internet and perhaps add some elements to your design. Maybe you want to make a ceiling with lighting or assemble it in a complex shape, with many bends and height differences.
You can make a ceiling model in a special modeling program. This will allow you to see how the ceiling will look in the room. It is possible that the form you have conceived is not suitable for the room at all, so this moment should be taken very responsibly so that the result leaves only pleasant emotions.
The design of plasterboard ceilings in the kitchen can be ordered from a specialist, but if you want to think over the shape of the structure yourself and save money on their creation, then, of course, make sketches of the product yourself. Here there is a place to give free rein to fantasy, but you should not forget about complexity either. You can come up with an incredibly beautiful ceiling, but it will be too difficult to implement for your level of experience, so find a middle ground between your abilities and desire.
markup
Although this is a small, but very important stage, which should not be skipped. You, using a laser level, need to mark the contours of the ceiling. To do this, measure the distance from floor to ceiling in each corner of the room, since very rarely the height of the ceiling is the same for all areas of the room. From the corner where the distance is the least, you need to mark the contours of the ceiling. To do this, in the same corner, only directly at the ceiling itself, step back the required distance from the main ceiling to the contours of the future. On average, it is about 15–20 centimeters, it all depends on the size of the product and the room itself.
From the marked point, and along the entire perimeter of the room, draw a line using a laser level, which will mark the boundary of the ceiling, this will be the location of the guide profile. On the main ceiling, mark the places where the ceiling profile passes and the installation points of the hangers using this data: the ceiling profile is installed every 60 centimeters, and the hangers are mounted on each rail every 55–70 centimeters.
Based on these data, you can mark the first level of the ceiling. If you decide to create a multi-level ceiling in the kitchen, then all subsequent levels are marked in the same order. We advise you not to make the ceiling in the kitchen more than two levels, since a ceiling of three (or more) levels will greatly reduce the space and catch your eye.
Construction of the product frame
Almost any drywall construction is created on a frame, so if you plan to create some drywall products in your apartment or house, then get used to it and learn how to assemble a high-quality, reliable frame. If you just need to make a beautiful ceiling in the kitchen, then follow the tips below.
Using a drill and self-tapping screws, fix the guide profile at the first level of the structure along lines that recognize the boundaries of the product. It is necessary to attach the ceiling to the guide profile, but before that you need to install the hangers according to the marks made. When the hangers are installed, you can attach the ceiling profile to them, but remember that the ends of the ceiling profile rails must go into the grooves of the rail, and the base of the rail should be held on the hangers. Perform all fixings with self-tapping screws or a cutter.
The ends of the hangers that stick out from the ceiling profile must be bent over the profile rails. If you still decide to make a two-level ceiling in the kitchen, then you will have to further strengthen this level, and then create a second one. Depending on the shape of the ceiling, you can create the first level, sheathe it with drywall, and then assemble the second level on it. And you can make a frame of the first level, strengthen it (if necessary) and assemble the frame of the second level directly on it, but this can only be done if the second level is small.
In any case, you will have to strengthen the frame. To do this, make another row of the ceiling profile, but only in a perpendicular direction to the first row. It takes a little longer to assemble two-level ceilings in the kitchen, but if you understand how to make the first level of construction, then creating the second one will not be a problem. Also, we advise you to read the article about the creation of multi-level plasterboard ceilings .
Sheathing the frame with drywall
Cut the moisture-resistant drywall into the necessary parts with a jigsaw, then, if necessary, bend (for this it is better to use arched drywall) and fix it on the frame. For fixing, use a screwdriver and self-tapping screws. You don’t need to know anything special to cover the ceilings in a drywall kitchen, so this is one of the easiest steps. We can only add that it is worth starting to sheathe the frame from those places where you can install solid pieces of drywall, and only then proceed to cutting it and sheathing small sections of the structure.