Rack aluminum ceiling, its types, composition and purpose of structural elements, advantages and features of installation. Rack ceilings are suspended systems in the form of flat narrow metal panels. They look aesthetically pleasing, have a variety of designs and are often used in various institutions, public places and rooms with high humidity due to the anti-corrosion resistance of their material of manufacture.
Types of slatted aluminum ceilings
According to the location of the panels, rack aluminum suspended ceilings are divided into the following types:
- Open system ceilings … They are installed with small gaps between the slats, which can be open or covered with special inter-lath inserts. The slots left between the slats allow ventilation of the space under the cladding, and the use of inserts allows the ceiling to be colored.
- Closed system ceilings … In such ceilings, the slats are installed close to each other, forming a continuous surface. To avoid monochrome, panels of different textures and colors can be used.
Rack ceilings may vary in design. The Italian design provides for a rounding of the edges of the outer part of the aluminum battens, while the straight, strict edges of the panels are of German design.
When planning the dimensions of the slatted aluminum ceiling and its location, one should take into account the direction of the joints of the panels of the structure, forming straight lines. Usually they are located from the window to the wall opposite it. Narrow rooms visually change proportions when the panels are placed across the ceiling; in square rooms, diagonal lines of joints will look good.
Advantages and disadvantages of a rack aluminum ceiling
The advantages of slatted ceilings are impressive:
- Ease of installation and disassembly of the aluminum slatted ceiling, the ability to access communications.
- Excellent quality, confirmed by international and domestic certificates.
- Moisture resistance. Aluminum is absolutely not afraid of dampness and hot steam, so ceilings made from this material work well in damp rooms and outdoors.
- Durability - the service life of aluminum ceilings is 30-50 years.
- Environmental friendliness: the material for the manufacture of ceilings is absolutely safe for health. There is no mold or pathogens on their surface. If necessary, the ceilings can be washed using water, disinfectants and detergents.
- Fire safety. Aluminum is fire-resistant, for this reason, such slatted ceilings are recommended to be installed in rooms with increased fire safety requirements.
- Possibility of mounting luminaires specially designed for slatted ceilings. This solves the problem of creating optimal lighting.
There are practically no drawbacks to aluminum slatted ceilings, except for one inherent in most suspended systems - a decrease in the height of the room.
Important! The surface of aluminum slatted ceilings is reflective. Therefore, the premises equipped with such structures seem light and do not require additional energy costs.
Design features of a slatted aluminum ceiling
The ceiling has a simple structure, which includes the following elements:
- Stringers … These are support rails for attaching cladding panels to them. They are made in the form of U-shaped profiles with tongues carved on their edges - fasteners. Stringers are made of galvanized steel or aluminum alloys in case of tire mounting in wet areas. Their upper part is equipped with holes for attaching hangers.
- Adjustable suspensions … Serve for fastening stringers and their vertical adjustment for placement in one horizontal plane. The hanger consists of a rod and a bracket. The rod is attached to the base ceiling and the bracket is attached to the stringer.
- Rack panels … These are strips 3-4 m long, 100-200 mm wide, made of aluminum and having edges bent in a special way, with which they cling to the carrier tires. The thickness of the strips is 0.3-0.6 mm. The slats are made with or without perforation. Their outer coating can have any texture and color. Also, the facing material can be in the form of curved strips. This makes it possible to manufacture curvilinear and two-level structures of slatted ceilings.
- Inter-lath inserts … These are narrow panels made of aluminum. They are used in open-grid ceilings to close gaps between front structural members.
- Corner profile … This is a decorative element of a slatted ceiling, which is used to mask its joints with walls.
Thanks to a well thought-out fastening system, the ceiling slats can be easily removed and put back in place if you need access to utilities running behind the slatted ceiling. In addition, it is possible to replace damaged rails without dismantling the entire suspended structure. Moreover, such work can be done without the use of tools.
Do-it-yourself rack-and-pinion aluminum ceiling installation technology
After studying the device of a rack aluminum ceiling, choosing its type and design, you can proceed to the installation of the structure. To complete it, you will need a drill and a perforator, a level and a tape measure, a knife, a marker, metal scissors, dowels and self-tapping screws. The work includes several stages.
How to make a frame for a slatted aluminum ceiling
Guide profiles are installed on the walls around the perimeter of the room in this way:
- Using a marker, you need to mark the level of the new ceiling. Its distance from the base structure should be more than 5 cm. At the same time, it is necessary to take into account the height of the space for placing engineering communications behind the rack ceiling: equipment, pipes, cables and others.
- Then this mark must be transferred to the corners of the room and the resulting points must be connected with one line. The transfer of the mark is carried out using a construction water or laser level.
- Using the resulting line, measure the length of the wall and cut off a piece of an angular profile of the appropriate size with metal scissors. Its standard length is 3 m. This procedure must be repeated for all walls to obtain the required number of ceiling guides.
- Then, according to the marking, all profiles must be fixed on the wall using dowels and screws. This will require preliminary preparation of holes in the walls and shelves of the profiles, which can be made with a puncher and a drill. The step of fastening the profiles is 50-60 cm.
- At the inner corners of the room, the profile should be fixed end-to-end, and when fastened at the outer corners, its ends must be cut at an angle of 45 degrees.
Before installing the hangers, it is necessary to mark the attachment points of the stringers. This operation is performed using a tape measure. The first mark must be made, stepping back from the wall 30-40 cm, and all subsequent ones are made after 1 m. The hangers should be fixed to the ceiling in accordance with the location of the mounting holes of the support rails.
Suspension rods are attached to the base surface with pre-drilled anchors. All suspensions must be at the same level. This is easy to achieve as they are height adjustable. The correct position of the hangers is determined by a laser level.
The support rails (stringers) are the basis for the structure of the suspended ceiling slatted ceiling. They must be installed in the same level with the guide profile perpendicular to the aluminum rails with a step not exceeding 1-1, 2 m. The tires are attached to the suspensions using a screwdriver through special holes provided by the stringer design. The quality of the plane of the future ceiling depends on the correct fixation of the tires.
If the stringer is shorter than expected, it can be lengthened. To do this, the suspension is attached to the edge of the next tire, and the second is screwed end-to-end with the first.
How to fix aluminum slats to the ceiling
Installation of aluminum slats in a suspended ceiling has the following sequence:
- The slats need to be cleaned of the protective film and cut in accordance with the size of the room, but their length should be 3-5 mm less than the distance between its opposing walls.
- Then the slats should be carefully inserted into the stringers and snapped along their entire length onto the retaining rails. The slats are installed alternately next to each other. If necessary, the height of the stringers can be adjusted by changing the length of the adjustable hangers.
- If the width of the last plank is too wide, you can cut it. To do this, measure the required distance along the entire length of the rail and draw a line along the ruler with a knife. Then you should alternately bend and unbend the panel until it breaks.
- It is better to cut long slats in parts, making transverse cuts before marking. After installation, the trimmed panel is fixed with wooden spacers or cut off corner profile with the cut side in the wall profile, and its other edge is fixed on the stringer tongues.
- A decorative skirting board is installed last. It gives the slatted ceiling a finished look and masks its gaps against the walls.
Spotlights can be installed in the slatted ceiling. For their installation, holes are made in the ceiling panels. To make them, in the right place on the rail, draw a circle and from its center towards the outer line make radial cuts using metal scissors. The petals obtained in this way must be bent inside the ceiling strip. The narrower the cuts, the better the installation of the luminaire will be.
How to make an aluminum ceiling - watch the video:
We think you've figured out how to assemble a slatted aluminum ceiling. But finally, I would like to say the following. Perhaps metal is not immediately perceived as a material suitable for a house or apartment. But this opinion often changes when evaluating the appearance and characteristics of a slatted aluminum ceiling. Moreover, it is ideal for use in bathrooms or on balconies due to its aesthetics and moisture-resistant properties.
