As you develop your bathroom layout, it is very easy to overlook the ceiling in your washroom, yet your bathroom ceiling is an important element in your baths overall design. Most people forget that a bathrooms ceiling must be resistant to moisture and humidity just like your walls and floors, so your choice of ceiling material and proper ventilation should seriously be taken into consideration to prevent mold or warping. A typical bathroom ceiling is about eight feet in height. Depending upon the size of your bathroom, the ceiling can make your bath appear cozy or you can add drama to the room by incorporating a high ceiling. Sometimes this can be too much and one way of fixing a ceiling that is too high is to either install a lower hanging false ceiling or by simply painting or tiling a border strip around your bathroom walls about the eight foot level to create the illusion of a lower ceiling area.

"Summary: UPVC and PVC ceiling and wall panels have become popular for bathroom ceilings. Bathroom ceiling tiles are not as popular as PVC ceiling panels. The traditional drywall bathroom ceiling has moved towards bathroom ceiling cladding made from U-PVC and acrylic coated to suit any bathroom ceiling design scheme."

Your bathroom ceiling can be flat but a ceiling of varying heights can add an interesting variable and insert visual texture to a typically mundane design element. If done strategically the recess in your ceiling can also conceal light fixtures or track lighting for focused lighting or you can set a mood with dimming lights. Just don’t get too fancy because you will need adequate lighting for all your bathroom tasks such as shaving or applying your makeup. Another way of adding interest to your bathroom ceiling is to hang a false ceiling with slightly different tones of ceiling material to create a subtle checkerboard pattern. You can even incorporate translucent panels with lights behind them into your ceiling grid. But beware, this patterned look has a tendency of drawing the eye upwards and may even make your bath appear cramped which can be distracting, so keep any patterns on your ceiling to a bare minimum. In a smaller room it’s usually best to have a ceiling that is the same colour of your walls or even slightly lighter to help bounce light throughout your restroom and help make the ceiling disappear.

Needless to say, most bathroom ceilings will be painted. Make sure to use a high grade mold resistant ceiling paint to apply to your ceiling. The typical bathroom ceiling has lights, an exhaust fan and possible vent pipes to help ventilate the moisture ridden room. An alternative to a ceiling fan or exhaust fan is a ceiling heater which can also be used to keep your bathroom dry and toasty by aiding in your heating, lighting, ventilation and deodorization needs. What most people forget is that your bathroom ceiling also has insulation in the attic above it. Typical yellow and pink fibreglass insulation is notorious for absorbing moisture which can harbour mold spores. A better solution is to apply spray foam insulation to the rafter areas above your bath. Spray foam not only gets into every crevice forming a protective layer above your bath, it is also mold and water resistant.

There are many different materials you can use to finish your bathroom walls and ceilings, from PVC panelling, painted plaster, aluminium paneling, to wooden planks. If you do use wooden planks they must be re-varnished periodically to prevent warping and painted plaster ceilings will have to be repainted to hide water spots and eventual discoloration. PVC paneling has become more popular in recent years because it is pretty much maintenance free, it comes in plain white or you can even get PVC paneling with mock wood grain. This new decorative interior cladding can be used for walls and ceilings to maintain design consistency. The important thing to remember is that your bath can generate quite a bit of moisture in the air so you should ensure the materials you choose can tolerate these conditions. For example wallpaper or tile would be a poor ceiling choice due to the wallpaper’s adhesive ungluing or the tile caulk cracking and the tiles falling off your bathroom ceiling. As long as your bathroom is vented to the outside with a fan, Armstrong ceilings with HumiGuard® Plus are a good choice with extra sag resistance for use in areas of high humidity and BioBlock® Treatment to inhibit the spread of mold and mildew.

When looking for a bathroom ceiling solution, take into consideration the overall cost and the life expectancy of the ceiling material you are applying. While traditional plastered ceilings may be cheap initially, they will have to be repainted periodically over the lifespan of your washroom. PVC ceiling paneling is a new maintenance free alternative but at an increased bath renovation cost. The good part though is that it is waterproof, will not be affected by your bathrooms humidity and will more than likely last the lifespan of your bathroom.

Our alternative categories with topics on residential renovations for first time bathroom renovators, solutions to design your bathroom’s interior, handyman ideas for remodeling your bathroom, a look at things that are occurring in the bathroom trends arena and here we examine bathroom products that you may want to use when revamping your loo we show you the possibilities for interior applications perfect for redecoration your bath.

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