Stretch ceilings are a reliable coating that can serve for decades with respect to it. But sometimes unforeseen circumstances lead to damage to the ceiling sheet. In what cases and how you can repair it, we will tell you today. The fabrics of stretch ceilings are materials made on the basis of polyvinyl chloride film or mesh polyester fabric impregnated with polymers. The potential of their possibilities when decorating interiors is truly endless. But graceful stretch ceilings are not free from disadvantages: they are very sensitive to mechanical stress, temperature changes and deformation for various reasons. When doing a stretch ceiling repair with your own hands, you must observe the utmost care and accuracy in work, this will allow you to avoid significant costs in the future.
Types of damage to stretch ceilings
Stretch ceiling structurally consists of a metal frame and a canvas fixed to it. There is always an air gap between the decorative coating and the base of the ceiling. This makes the stretched panel vulnerable to various influences both from the inside and from the outside. The stretch ceiling may need repair for the following reasons:
- Cut, puncture or tear when moving furniture or otherwise;
- Water penetration under the canvas when the room is flooded by the neighbors of the upper floors;
- Melting of material near installed lamps or by negligence;
- Sagging of the canvas due to improper tension or an increase in the temperature in the room;
- Defect in material and errors in the installation of the ceiling.
Stretch ceiling repair methods
Consider the options for repairing the ceiling in each of the above cases.
Repair of cuts and tears in a stretch ceiling
A cut, puncture or rupture of the ceiling panel most often occurs in the first time after its installation, when the respectful attitude of the owners to the subject of their interior has not yet been formed. The reason for its damage may be the corner of the cabinet, when carrying it, it touches the stretch ceiling, a children's toy thrown up with sharp edges, or careless work with tools during the installation of the lamp. If a hole of less than 1 mm is formed in the ceiling as a result of a puncture, it can simply be smeared with glue. After that, the spread of the canvas will become impossible, and the puncture site will be almost invisible.
It is not difficult to repair a fabric stretch ceiling when it is cut up to 10 cm long. To avoid spreading of the panel, you need to quickly fix the edges of the "wound" with double-sided or masking tape.
With a similar damage to the PVC stretch ceiling, the initial actions are the same, but it is better to entrust its further restoration to specialists.
A small defect in the canvas can be eliminated or, in extreme cases, masked. To do this, a neat thin seam can be made at the cut site using a nylon thread. The technology of repairing a stretch ceiling cut allows you to do this, but the seam will be invisible only on the matte surface of the ceiling. On a glossy cloth, it will have to be masked with suitable decorative or functional elements.
If the canvas is damaged near its edge, the damaged part of it can be carefully cut off, a harpoon mount can be glued to the film, heated, pulled and tucked into the frame profile.
If minor damage to the ceiling is located far from its edge, it can also be masked with a decorative element, an additional luminaire or a fire detector.
Repair of a stretch ceiling in case of flooding
Damage to the canvas when a room is flooded from the upper floors is leading in the list of reasons for its repair, despite its ability to hold almost 100 liters of water and save parquet floors and expensive furniture from getting wet. The possibility of restoring the stretch ceiling in this case and the type of its repair depends on the temperature of the spilled water and the type of canvas.
Fabric backed material will stain after drying and will need to be replaced. Polyvinyl chloride cloth will not suffer from the effects of cold water, and boiling water can stretch it to rupture. When a room is flooded with water, the temperature of which is higher than + 70 ° C, any ceiling sheet may no longer be repairable. In such cases, it is changed using the existing system of its fastening.
When repairing a stretch ceiling after flooding, you need to carefully and quickly remove the water that has accumulated in the space between the canvas and the ceiling. When draining water, you need to turn off the electricity by disconnecting the phase and neutral wires. Otherwise, a short circuit of the wiring may occur, since the wet ceiling sheet through the walls has contact with the ground.
To begin with, you should use the existing holes around the hoods and fixtures. If they are not enough to drain all the water or they are absent, you will have to disassemble for this purpose part of the ceiling structure near the wall or in the corner. After removing all the cold water and carefully drying the canvas using a heating device, for example, a heat gun, the stretch ceiling will regain its original shape while maintaining its physical characteristics.
Repair of a stretch ceiling with thermal exposure
Burning through a stretch ceiling can lead to holes in its canvas. Despite the fire safety of the material, when exposed to high temperatures, open flames, closely spaced lamps or sparks from fireworks, the canvas can melt and burst.
To avoid melting of ceilings, its manufacturers do not recommend using incandescent lamps with a power of more than 40W for lighting, or placing more powerful lamps closer than 10 cm to the ceiling surface. If damage to the canvas does occur, with a small stretching of the hole, a ring made of heat-resistant material must be installed on its melted edges around the lamp. In case of more significant damage, the ceiling sheet needs to be replaced with its fastening to the existing frame.
Repair of sagging stretch ceiling
The canvas of a stretch ceiling can sag from its prolonged use, prolonged exposure to elevated temperatures, as well as from uneven tension or poor material quality. If there is no damage on it in any of these cases, the canvas can be overtightened, and, if necessary, replaced.
It is painless to dismantle, and then re-stretch the PVC sheet, its harpoon method of fastening allows. It consists in soldering harpoon-shaped latches to the canvas along its perimeter. Thus, it is not the panel that is fixed in the profile, but the harpoon. This design saves the material from damage and makes it easy to remove.
To do this, it is enough to carefully bend the edge of the harpoon with a spatula and release it from the protrusion made in the groove of the frame profile. It is better to entrust the whole complex of work on the replacement or repair of a stretch PVC ceiling to specialists with experience in this matter and the appropriate equipment.
Errors when installing a stretch ceiling
When a stretch ceiling breaks along the seam of its canvas, the causes of damage can be: excess of the permissible tension of the material, its poor quality or welding. In this case, the ceiling must be replaced with the recommended choice of its seamless construction. The above reasons refer to errors in the installation of the ceiling, therefore the construction company responsible for its installation is obliged to repair the stretch ceiling canvas free of charge, redoing its work.
As a result of technical errors made when installing a stretch ceiling, it is possible to disconnect the baguettes from the walls or edges of the canvas adjoining them. Such defects are also eliminated by the installation company free of charge.
The edges of the canvas, which are partially detached from the walls, can be fixed in the frame on their own at the expiration of the warranty period. The violation of the connection of the ceiling film with the harpoon mount can be easily done by yourself, although this defect refers to a manufacturing defect.
Stretch ceiling operating rules
In order to avoid damage and the associated repair of the stretch ceiling, it is necessary to follow certain rules when using it:
- The installation of a stretch ceiling is always performed at the final stage of renovating an apartment or house. Otherwise, its canvas may be dirty and even damaged during other work.
- Despite the fact that the stretch ceiling is able to withstand decent mechanical stress, it is vulnerable to sharp objects.
- Installation of a ceiling in unheated rooms is inadmissible. The elasticity of its fabric at low temperatures is lost, and it can burst.
- To prevent the ceiling from sagging over time, it needs a constant room temperature within + 20-22 ° C.
- Luminaires built into a stretch ceiling must have a lamp power of no more than 40 watts. This will avoid melting its web.
- In living rooms, you can keep the ceilings clean with a vacuum cleaner. The frequency of such cleaning is once a month.
- Removal of grease stains on the kitchen stretch ceiling is carried out with chemically neutral detergents that do not contain abrasive components. The work is done using soft sponges. Lint-free fabric or brushes can ruin the appearance of the ceiling sheet and even damage it.
How to restore a stretch ceiling - watch the video:
Summing up, we can say that it would be better to do without repairing the stretch ceiling at all. To maintain it in an attractive and serviceable condition, it is enough to wipe the canvas with a damp sponge from time to time and follow the above rules.
