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Today we will talk about how to install a chandelier on a stretch ceiling.
A little about the stretch ceiling
Constant attempts to decorate your home, as well as premises intended for receiving people (restaurants, cafes, etc.) leads to the fact that new finishing materials appear. This applies to all components of the room, including the ceiling.
Many different materials are used to finish the ceiling. One of the most popular now is the stretch ceiling.
It is a dense film, strongly stretched over the entire area of uXNUMXbuXNUMXbthe room.
This allows you to create a perfectly flat flow surface without any transitions or joints. It looks really beautiful.
But the film itself is not placed on the surface of the ceiling, it is fixed on a special frame fixed on the walls of the room, at a small distance from the main ceiling.
In a way, a stretch ceiling can be called a false ceiling that hides the main one.
Such a ceiling finish looks aesthetically pleasing and beautiful, but there is a small nuance – the film cannot be a carrier, an attempt to fix something on it will lead to its stretching or tearing. This leads to the fact that it is necessary to think in advance about fixing lighting equipment – chandeliers, ceiling lamps, etc.
The stretch ceiling provides for the installation of chandeliers, but this operation has its own characteristics, which we will describe.
So, it was decided to decorate the room with a stretch ceiling. You won’t be able to stretch the film yourself, but you can do the preparatory work to fix the chandelier.
Also read: How to find hidden wiring in the wall.
Features of choosing a chandelier for a stretch ceiling
First you need to decide on the chandelier itself. When choosing, you need to take into account several parameters so that in the future there are no problems:
- You should not select chandeliers with a small height (you need to ensure sufficient distance between the chandelier lamps and the ceiling film to avoid the possibility of sagging of the film due to the heat generated by the bulbs);
- It is desirable that all lamps be placed in separate shades (they will additionally protect the captivity from overheating);
- It is better to choose a chandelier that uses several lamps, the more of them, the better (with a large number, even low-power lamps will provide good lighting, while they will not affect the film);
- When choosing, you should pay attention to the protective cap that will cover the wiring, as well as the fasteners of the chandelier (you need this cap to be large enough. This will primarily facilitate the installation of the chandelier);
- The protective cap should not have sharp edges (to avoid the possibility of cutting the film);
- First you need to decide on the method of attachment.
Chandelier Mounting Methods
The last point indicated – fastening methods, is the most important for the correct installation of the chandelier on a ceiling covered with a film.
Since chandeliers can have several types of fastening, you need to immediately decide on the fastening in order to properly carry out the preparatory work.
At the moment, three methods of fastening the chandelier are used.
The first – mounting on the mounting hook is the simplest and most common.
It is applicable for many lighting devices, it is able to provide both fastening of small and sufficiently large chandeliers.
The second method is fastening to the mounting plate. As a mounting plate, a small wooden beam is used, which is attached to the main ceiling, and already to it – a chandelier.
Usually used for not very large chandeliers.
The latter method is usually used for large chandeliers with significant weight – mounting on a cross-shaped bar.
Preparatory work
Now about the preparatory work itself. They are performed even before the film is stretched, but already with the frame mounted on the walls for it. You should immediately decide on the location of the chandelier.
If the room was already living, and there was a chandelier in it, there was nothing special to invent, unless, of course, a decision was made to move its location.
Wiring for powering the chandelier should be suitable for the selected installation site.
If it will be installed in place of the previous one, the length of the protruding wire should be estimated – it should be long enough to ensure the convenience of connecting the chandelier.
If the installation site is transferred, or the room is new and there is no wiring yet, you should ensure that the wiring is laid to the place where the chandelier is attached.
Moreover, it is not necessary to hide the wire, because it will be hidden by a film. It is only important to fix it to the main ceiling so that it does not sag.
So that the mounting base does not protrude beyond the level of the film, and at the same time is not far enough from it, you need to stretch the fishing line through the entire room so that it passes through the place where the chandelier is attached.
The ends of this fishing line must be fixed to the frame of the film, and it itself must be stretched. This will allow you to determine the position of the film after it has been stretched.
Next, fasteners are already being made to the main ceiling of the base for installation. It depends on the chosen mounting method.
See also:
Mounting base
Fixing the mounting hook, in principle, is simple. It is enough to make a hole of the required diameter with a puncher in the main ceiling, and then screw the mounting hook into it.
A taut line will allow you to correctly select the length of the hook that should protrude. The hook should not reach the fishing line by about 1-2 cm.
Mounting the base of a wooden beam is done in a slightly different way. First you need to decide on the length of the beam itself – it should be the same length or slightly longer than the mounting metal bar that comes with the chandelier.
To fix the timber to the ceiling, a metal construction profile is used.
First, the height at which the beam will be located is measured, the pieces of the profile required along the length are cut off. There must be at least 4 of them for fastening the beam.
A stretched fishing line will help determine the level of the film. The lower edge of the beam should not reach the fishing line for 0,5-1,0 see
If necessary, the profile can be used as a suspension – this is if the distance from the main ceiling to the level of the film is significant.
With the help of dowels, the sections of the profile are attached to the main ceiling, and a beam is already attached to them with self-tapping screws.
Before fixing the beam in the center, it is necessary to make a hole in it for the wiring output.
After all installation work, you need to stretch the wiring through the hole and fix its ends so that they do not interfere with further work.
If the fastening will be using a cruciform mounting plate, plywood with a thickness of 10-12 mm.
From it you need to cut a square, identical in size to a cruciform plank.
In the center of this square, you need to make a hole for the wiring output.
The installation of a plywood square is similar to the installation of a wooden beam.
First, the position of the square is replaced, all measurements are made, and with the help of pieces of a metal profile, the plywood is fixed to the main ceiling.
See also:
On this, all the preparatory work is completed, all subsequent ones will be done after stretching the film.
After the film is stretched, you can proceed to the next stage of work – installing the chandelier.
To do this, you need the presence of special heat-resistant rings.
Superglue, construction knife, wiring connectors, self-tapping screws, screwdriver or screwdriver.
Next, we describe how the installation is carried out, depending on the method of its fastening.
Fixing a chandelier on a hook
The first step is to find the location of the hook. You can press lightly on the film to find the hook.
In the place where it is located, you need to stick a heat-resistant ring. Its diameter must be selected depending on the size of the hole that is needed to access the mounting platform.
During further work, it will not damage the film web.
The ring is glued with superglue, while making sure that the glue is on the entire surface of the ring, which will be pressed against the film.
Skips are not allowed, as they can lead to tearing of the web.
After gluing the ring, you need to check the tightness of its fit. Then, with a construction knife, a hole is cut in the film for access to the hook.
The wire is pulled out through the hole. After the chandelier is hooked on the hook, the wiring is connected. The sagging wire is hidden under the film.
It remains only to lift the protective cap to hide the hole and the fixture of the chandelier.
Installing a chandelier on a mounting plate
Mounting a chandelier on a beam is done a little differently. First you need to find the location of the beam, in this place stick a heat-resistant ring.
At the same time, its diameter should be such as to ensure easy access to the beam, but it should not be larger than the size of the protective cap.
Then, with the help of self-tapping screws, the mounting plate of the chandelier is fixed to the beam. When tightening the screws, it is important not to fully tighten them so as not to bend the plate.
Next, the wiring is connected, and after that, the chandelier itself is fastened to the mounting plate.
It remains only to hide the wiring and cover the hole with a protective cap.
Mounting a chandelier on a cross bar
The most difficult thing to do is to mount on a cross-shaped bar. This board is quite large.
See also:
Finding a large size heat resistant ring is not always easy. Therefore, it is possible to mark on the film the places where this plank will be attached to the plywood base, stick small rings in these places, and then make holes in them.
Then you need to attach the bar to the base, and then install the chandelier, connect the wiring and hide the installation traces with a protective cap.
Summing up
If you figure it out, then installing a chandelier on a stretch ceiling will not take much time. The main thing here is to choose the right chandelier itself and decide on the method of attaching it to the ceiling, but at the same time do not forget about compliance with lighting standards in the premises, this will significantly increase the comfort of living. And of course, the main thing is not to forget that the dimensions of the mounting device must be coordinated with the dimensions of the lowering of the stretch ceiling.