Wood effect ceiling panels are the modern alternative to traditional wooden cladding.
Wooden panels have long been used for cladding ceilings. The planks of softwood have 2 machined edges. One has a tongue and one has a groove. This enables them to slot together.
A great advantage of using this type of material is that it can be attached directly to the joists. It is run across the joists and fixed with panel pin nails. These can be secret fixed. The nail is hammered through the back of the groove which is then covered by the tongue of the next panel.
The resulting ceiling is structurally rigid as it made from wood. This makes attaching light fittings or any other items a lot easier because you do not have to find the joist.
Having a gap behind the planks means that sunken lighting can be used if required. Apertures can be easily cut out of the surface using a hole saw on an electric drill. All of the cabling, and any transformers required, can be hidden in the void behind the panels.
Wooden Ceilings In Bathrooms
Wooden ceiling are fine around most of the home. But using this traditional material in a bathroom has always been a problem. Wood struggles to cope with the moist conditions and needs to be varnished or painted for protection. This is then liable to flake or crack over time as the wood expands and contracts. The following photo demonstrates this perfectly.
The wooden tongue and groove ceiling has been painted but moisture has worked its way into the timber. This has made it swell – you can see the joints are starting to open up between the panels.
The paint starts to flake allowing in more moisture and accelerating the process. The lack of a continuous coating allows even more moisture to penetrate into the wood.
So a better alternative is required.
Luckily there are products on the market that fit the bill perfectly.
PVC Wood Effect Ceiling Panels
Many people like the look of wood on a ceiling. But usually they will opt to paint it rather than varnish it. You still get the “plank” effect but you can use a white paint to keep the ceiling looking light and bright.
Some PVC ceiling panels actually look like wood but these are not very common. Much more often you will see either a printed white woodgrain effect or a smooth panel with the plank effect present. And occasionally you will se both combined in one design.
It really depends on your personal taste but there are several options open to you.