Installing a plasterboard suspended ceiling with neon, LED or fiber optic lighting with your own hands is real. The main thing is to decide on the appropriate type of lighting, adhere to the safety rules when connecting and follow the proposed instructions. Suspended ceiling structures these days can be seen not only in restaurants, clubs and offices. Very often, it is in this way that rooms in residential buildings are decorated. In addition to the fact that the two-tier covering looks stylish and aesthetically pleasing, you can additionally equip it with lighting between the tiers.
Types of plasterboard ceiling lighting
Depending on the place of installation in the suspended plasterboard ceiling, the illumination is distinguished by:
- Open … Easy to install. For luminaires, you need to either make holes or hang them from the structure. In this case, it is important to take into account that the total weight of all luminaires should not exceed 10 kg. In this case, the power of the devices can be any, since the coating does not burn and does not deform, in contrast to the tension cloth.
- Hidden … In this case, the lighting elements are installed in the interlevel space. The editing process is more complicated, but this kind of lighting looks much more impressive.
For the equipment of a plasterboard ceiling with illumination, the following are used:
- LEDs … Economical, easy to install. They are affordable, and their main advantage is undoubtedly the ability to adjust the color and intensity of lighting. There are products for contour lighting (30-60 LEDs per meter) or for brighter lighting (120 LEDs per meter).
- Neons … They are durable (service life - about 10 years), economical, characterized by low heat transfer, produced in a wide range. Will cost significantly more than LEDs.
- Optical fiber … It features a long service life, low energy consumption, the ability to create various lighting effects, and fire safety. Fiber optic lighting is expensive and difficult to mount on a suspended structure.
In terms of functionality, there are several types of lighting for suspended plasterboard structures:
- General … It is carried out using ceiling rails, lamps and hanging lamps.
- Zonal … In this case, the work area is separated with the help of bright lighting, and the recreation area is separated with soft and dim lighting.
- Decorative … Allows you to place the desired accents in the room. Installed for the embodiment of creative design solutions.
Most often, when making a plasterboard ceiling with backlighting with your own hands, they choose the option of hidden, decorative, LED lighting.
Plasterboard ceiling mounting technology with LED lighting
To properly install the LED backlight, you need to choose a suitable tape, calculate its power, arrange the wiring and mount a niche between the levels. Fastening the tape itself is an easy and quick process. To do this, simply remove the protective paper from the back.
Selection of materials for plasterboard ceiling
To carry out the work, we need drywall with a thickness of 8 to 9, 5 mm. If installation is planned in a room with high humidity, then we choose special greenish gypsum boards. You will also need to stock up on ceiling and guide profiles, fasteners and hangers.
As for LED strips, when buying them, you also need to take into account some of the nuances:
- Product type … For contour lighting equipment, SMD-5050 LEDs are suitable.
- Colour … Lighting can be monochrome or color. In the second case, you need to purchase an additional RGB controller. Be sure to consider the appropriate color temperature when doing this. It can be from 2700 to 10000 K.
- Voltage … Most diodes are available for 12 V, but there are models designed for 24 V.
- Moisture resistance … If the installation of a plasterboard ceiling with LED lighting is planned in a room with a high level of humidity, then special models with silicone insulation are installed. The basic set consists of an LED strip and a power supply. Additionally, you can purchase an RGB controller and a remote control for easy adjustment.
Preparatory work before installing a plasterboard ceiling
Before starting the installation, you need to decide on the type of construction, make a drawing and prepare the base ceiling. To do this, we clean the surface of the old finish, remove poorly adhering plaster and stains of mold, mildew, and rust. Sealing large cracks with a cement-based putty. We prime the coating and wait for it to dry completely.
At the same stage, it is worth doing the design. The plan is best done in 3D. Be sure to take into account the step of fixing the ceiling profiles when determining the places of fixing the corrugated pipe with wiring. This is necessary primarily so that the installation site of future chandeliers does not coincide with the intersection of the profiles.
Installation of the first level of plasterboard ceiling
First you need to apply markings to the surface, according to the scheme of a plasterboard ceiling with lighting.
We carry out the work as follows:
- Determine the lowest corner of the room and measure 10 cm down.
- We pull on the chopping paint cord and, using the hydro level, draw a line around the perimeter of the room.
- We mark the boundaries of the levels on the ceiling.
- We apply the starting profile to the wall in such a way that its lower edge is at the level of the line.
- With a pencil, mark the locations of the fasteners through the profile holes.
- We make holes with a puncher and attach a guide profile.
- We fix the ceiling to the guide profile and attach it to the ceiling in increments of 40 cm using hangers (distancers).
- We cut out the lintels from the ceiling profile and mount them using special "crabs".
At this stage, you need to start laying the wiring. Since the LED lighting of the plasterboard ceiling plays rather a decorative role, additional lighting will be needed. All communications will be hidden in a suspended structure.
When laying wires, you need to take into account the following nuances:
- Place the cables in a plastic corrugated hose.
- Do not pull the wiring directly over the structure. It must not come into contact with metal profiles.
- Use wires that can support the expected load.
At this stage, if necessary, you can put mineral wool in the interprofile space. It has excellent heat and sound insulation characteristics. Please note that when working with this material, it is recommended to use protective equipment (gloves, respirator, goggles).
After installing the wiring, the upper tier can be completely sheathed with plasterboard. To do this, we fix the first whole sheet with self-tapping screws in the corner of the room, keeping the distance to the walls - 5 mm. We fix the second on the opposite side of the wall. To cut out semicircular shapes from a whole sheet, we use a special knife and a cardboard template.
The fastener caps should be buried in the base. In the future, they can be covered with putty. However, do not overdo it so as not to damage the material.
Installation of the second level of plasterboard ceiling
At this stage, a niche for the LED strip is equipped. We work in this order:
- We mark from the first level a segment equal to the width of the cornice.
- We fix the guide profile to the ceiling along the mounting contour of the second level.
- Using scissors for metal, we cut parts from the ceiling profile. The length of the segments should be equal to the height of the second tier.
- In the previously attached guide profile, we install blanks that will be used as suspensions.
- From below, on the fixed segments, we fix another guide profile.
- We fix the ceiling profiles in the middle of the second level structure.
If the installation of the frame of curved sections is required, then for this, notches are made in advance on the guide profile, which allows it to be bent in the desired direction.
Before proceeding with the installation of the gypsum board, you need to remove the wires, then cut out the desired shape from the plasterboard sheets and attach it to the frame with self-tapping screws. For sheathing semicircular horizontal surfaces, we cut out from a whole sheet of drywall or compose from separate segments.
For installation on semicircular vertical surfaces, we use arched drywall (its thickness is 6 mm). We spray it with water, bend it to the desired shape and attach weights for secure fixation. After drying, we fix it on the frame.
To hide the LED strip, the edges of the niche can be coated with PVA glue in several layers. This will give the sheets the property of wood. Alternatively, you can simply glue a strip of drywall onto liquid nails.
Features of finishing plasterboard ceiling
To prepare the coating for finishing, it must be processed as follows:
- We glue the seams at the junction with the walls and between the sheets with a serpyanka.
- We putty first the gaps, then the places of the grooves of the caps of the self-tapping screws.
- We fix fiberglass with an overlap on PVA glue.
- At the intersection of two squares of fiberglass, draw a line with a clerical knife and remove the remnants.
- Apply a layer of finishing putty up to 1.5 cm thick.
- We rub off small irregularities and roughness with fine-grained sanding paper.
- We remove the dust with a sponge or vacuum cleaner and prime with an acrylic compound.
After that, you can start fixing the decorative platbands and finishing the structure.
Fastening LED lighting to a plasterboard ceiling
The diodes are connected at the last stage. Remember to de-energize the room before starting work. It is also recommended that you connect the tape first and check that it works. Only then can you fix it in a niche.
In the process, you must adhere to the following rules:
- We cut the LED strip only in the marked areas. Otherwise, it can be damaged.
- To connect several separate tapes, we use special LED connectors or a regular soldering iron.
- We bring one edge from the power supply to the 220 V wire, and the other to the tape. Please note that the power of the unit must be 20-30% more to prevent burnout.
- We connect the tape, observing the polarity, to the RGB controller. It cannot be mounted on metal parts without an insulating pad. Please note that the red wire corresponds to the plus, and the blue or black to the minus.
When installing a backlit plasterboard ceiling, pay attention: if long sections are connected in series, the voltage at the ends will be low, and the glow on the section will be uneven. For this reason, it is advisable to connect tapes with a length of five meters using a 1.5 mm wire.
How to make a plasterboard ceiling with fiber optic lighting
If you opted for a fiber optic system, then the installation procedure is slightly different. The most popular type of such lighting is Starry Sky.
On suspended structures, it is equipped as follows:
- We apply the markings for the attachment of fiber-optic threads to the base surface before mounting the ceiling.
- We fix the suspensions with screws.
- We mark the installation of the frame and attach the profiles according to the appropriate scheme.
- We sheathe the frame of the gypsum board with self-tapping screws, not forgetting about the output of the wiring near the projector and the installation of the switch.
- We drill holes in drywall sheets with a diameter of 1.5-2 mm and a frequency of 60-80 per 1 m2.
- We glue 1-3 optical fibers into each hole.
- We collect the opposite ends of the threads into the optical port of the projector.
Ceiling decoration with such lighting can be done using acrylic paint. It is suitable for interior use as it does not contain chemical diluents.
Do-it-yourself plasterboard ceiling with neon lighting
On an already mounted single-level plasterboard ceiling, neon lamps can be attached using ceiling plinths (fillets).
If you plan to carry out the installation at the stage of equipping a structure made of gypsum plasterboard, then adhere to the following procedure:
- We fix the hangers for the profile to the first tier of the suspended covering.
- We attach a ceiling profile to the suspensions, and a guide along the perimeter of the room on the walls.
- We fasten the cut drywall to the installed profiles with self-tapping screws, equipping a box of 10 * 15 cm.
- To increase the clarity and sharpness of the backlight, set the side in a vertical position. If you want the glow to be as diffuse as possible, then skip this point.
- We install a step-up transformer. It is enough for five to seven meters of backlighting.
- We check the performance of the lamps and fix them in a niche.
Please note that such a backlight plays a decorative role, therefore it is also necessary to think in advance about the placement of the main sources of lighting. Watch a video about installing a backlit plasterboard ceiling:
Having figured out how to make a backlit plasterboard ceiling, you can proceed to the selection of materials and translate your ideas into reality. Use the instructions provided to complete the work not only competently, but also in compliance with all safety rules.
