Do-it-yourself ceiling repair in an apartment

In detail: do-it-yourself ceiling repair in an apartment from a real master for the site my.housecope.com.

Anyone with patience and understanding of the basics of handling the instrument can make repairs to the ceiling with their own hands. Work begins in any room precisely from the ceiling, and no matter what material of the new surface is chosen, the preparation is carried out in the same way. Only for suspended and tensioned structures it is not required to plaster the surface, it is only necessary to close up the cracks in order to exclude sprinkling of sand and pebbles.

The old decorative material must be removed, the surface is protected with a metal spatula. It is better to prime and plaster the cracks. Further work depends on the choice of the type of finish. The construction market offers to make repairs to the ceiling in the apartment with modern materials, including high-quality plasters, paints, suspended structures. With the help of technologies, it is possible to give them good strength and decorative characteristics, it remains only to choose the most suitable in terms of the complexity of installation, beauty, cost.

So, independently, this type of repair can be done in the following ways:

plastering and painting,
wallpapering,
installation of a false ceiling,
suspension structure device,
installation of a stretch ceiling.

The difference between the floor slabs must be leveled to ensure perfect surface evenness. For this, putty is used, first starting, then finishing. First, the ceiling is treated with a primer. It is applied with a foam roller or a wide brush and allowed to dry. The starting putty is diluted with water at room temperature.

For the ceiling, it is better to choose a composition based on a gypsum base, it is distinguished by greater elasticity and a high-quality layer.

Putty is poured into a container and diluted with water to a viscous state. The formation of lumps can be avoided by using a mixer attachment, which is fixed in the chuck of an electric drill. To correct a drop of more than 1 cm, a glass fiber mesh with small cells is used. It is applied to the seam in such a way that it passes in the middle of the tape. The prepared solution is distributed from above using a metal spatula.

After aligning the joints, the entire surface is plastered. The dried putty is covered with a layer of primer, then a thin layer of the finishing mixture. After drying, it is sanded with sandpaper, again covered with a primer and painted with water-based or acrylic paint.

Video (click to play).

The surface is prepared in the same way as in the previous version, but only with a starting putty. It is sanded with coarse sandpaper and covered with a primer. In these works, the use of a primer is necessary, since it removes dust after surface treatment with sandpaper, improves the adhesion of each next layer to the previous one.

What wallpaper to choose for the ceiling? Light shades are suitable, and the material should be lightweight, easy to stick. For example, paper wallpaper or specially designed for the ceiling. They have a textured surface and can be used for painting. Manufacturers produce ceiling wallpaper in pastel shades: white, pale pink, light green, blue.

The person chooses the direction of gluing the canvases himself: along or across. The technology does not change from this, the work is carried out in the following sequence:

with a roller or a wide brush, spread the ceiling along the width of the strip plus 10 cm;
apply a sheet of wallpaper, starting from the wall; carry it over it with another, clean roller, pressing down to the surface along its entire length;
the glue that has flowed out of the canvas is wiped off with a dry cotton cloth;
the next canvas is applied end-to-end to the previous one; seams are not allowed.

In order to quickly make repairs to the apartment with your own hands, you can choose the ceiling from expanded polystyrene plates. The leveled surface is a good base for gluing tiles called false ceilings. The work is carried out cleanly and quickly, the main thing is to correctly mark the location in the center of the first element. To do this, pull 2 cords diagonally and start gluing from the place of their intersection.

Expanded polystyrene boards have a standard size of 50cmx50cm. The work is carried out in a seam or seamless way, depending on the presence of a thorn-groove connection.

For gluing, polymer glue Titanium or Dragon is used. Drip application over the entire surface of the tile, especially carefully it is necessary to coat along the edge of the perimeter.

A plasterboard suspended ceiling is a sturdy and reliable structure that runs parallel to the old surface. Its advantages are difficult to overestimate:

absolutely flat surface without flaws,
the ability to hide communications in the inter-ceiling space,
you can make any number of levels of different geometric shapes, including curvilinear ones,
allows you to use any finishing material,
does not require preliminary leveling of the surface.

Plasterboard is attached to mounting profiles, which are pre-mounted to the ceiling. They are divided into 3 types, each of them is an important component of the design:

bearing profile,
longitudinal profile,
starting profile (mounted around the perimeter of the room).

The evenness and height of the new ceiling depends on the length of the hangers to which the starting and supporting profiles are attached. The places of their intersection are fastened with elements called "crab". Directly sheets of drywall are attached to these profiles, the seams should be spaced apart. Then the seams are putty, the surface of the slabs is primed and painted. All structural elements are attached to the ceiling using self-tapping screws for metal.

Stretch ceilings add special beauty to the room. They are PVC films, textiles and their varieties. They are pulled parallel to the plane of the ceiling onto a mounting molding attached around the perimeter of the room. They allow you to make multi-level structures, apply any pattern to a single-color surface.

Installation of PVC film requires the use of a heat gun, so only a specialist can do it on his own. The textile construction does not require equipment, so 1 person can install such a ceiling at home. The work is clean, the canvas is securely fixed with special hooks. Their design depends on the manufacturer, and they are all reliable. These finishing materials allow the installation of complex systems: the starry sky, combined surfaces, differing in many shades and textures.

If you make repairs to the ceiling in an apartment with your own hands, it’s interesting to do so, you should try to move away from whitewashing and painting, boring white wallpaper or old-fashioned polystyrene tiles. You can always pick up interesting ideas and try to put them into practice, especially since no one and nothing limits your imagination, except for the budget and time planned for apartment renovation.

The problem of repairing the ceiling in an apartment with your own hands is not only financial costs and the limited time allocated for repair work. These are, first of all, our ability to do something or repair something with our own hands, and they are far from ideal. Few of the ordinary apartment owners who are not associated with the professional activity of repairing and improving residential premises are able to assemble complex multi-level ceilings with their own hands or build a combination of tension and frame structures.

You can easily pick up some of the most interesting ideas for repairing ceilings in an apartment with your own hands, there are practically unlimited numbers of interiors and design solutions, another thing is to try to put them into practice on your own.

For creative delights and your own ceiling design options, you can use the simplest and most affordable repair methods:

Painting the ceiling surface with modern paints, creating a composition of several complex shapes and color schemes;
Pasting the ceiling with wallpaper, including graphics and photographic images;
Ceiling space decoration with overhead decor.

If you have experience with drywall, then you can collect the simplest options for two-level ceilings with lighting elements. Despite the simplified design, the results of repairing the ceiling in an apartment with your own hands, photos can make a strong impression on guests and hosts.

Of course, the most difficult stage is the choice of style and general composition of what should appear in the ceiling space, methods and methods of implementing the idea. You have to think over and plan the repair of the ceiling in the apartment with your own hands in stages, up to each technological operation separately.

In order to achieve a high quality repair, first of all, you will need to carry out a very competent rough preparation of the ceiling surface.

The stages of rough preparation for different options for repairing and finishing the ceiling in an apartment are in many cases very similar in terms of the materials used and technological methods. Conditionally preparatory activities can be divided into two main types:

Leveling and grinding the surface of the ceiling slab in the apartment in order to improve the quality of the base for the future decorative coating;
Installation of a suspended frame system for fastening the false ceiling cladding. It turns out a perfectly flat surface, but the height of the apartment is reduced by 8-10%.

There is another, third option for repairing the ceiling space of an apartment, this is the laying of decorative panels on a wooden crate. Traditionally, such solutions are used for kitchens, balconies, loggias, baths and lavatories, those rooms where the functionality and practicality of decorative ceiling decoration is of paramount importance.

For small rooms, for example, a one-room apartment, it is impractical to use a suspension system. This repair option is not very popular, since even a slight decrease in the height of the ceilings has an extremely negative effect on the overall perception of the space.

If the owners of the apartment do not want to lose in the height of the room, then the most suitable method for a rough repair would be to level the surface with gypsum plaster.

The preparation technology is practically no different from plastering walls:

The ceiling surface is cleaned from whitewash and mortar residues to concrete, the inter-slab seams are thoroughly cleaned from the old filling;
The surface is primed with deep penetration acrylic adhesive;
Using a hydraulic or laser level, the horizon line is determined, along which horizontal marking cords or thick fishing line are pulled;
Every 50-60 cm, longitudinal aluminum strips of beacons are attached to the ceiling surface with alabaster mortar;
Leveling mixtures of gypsum plaster are sequentially laid on the surface of the ceilings of the apartment, after which the laid mass is stretched as a rule and dried for 24 hours.

Since the gypsum mass on the ceiling surface is retained much worse than on vertical walls, the rough repair is carried out in several thin layers, no more than 5-12 mm thick. For the last layer, fine-grained finishing and superfinishing mixtures are used.

After the final drying of the gypsum mass, the preparation of the ceiling for repair is completed by grinding the surface with a plaster mesh with an emery grain. As a result, the apartment acquires a ceiling surface, the quality of which is practically not inferior to drywall.

Everything from wallpaper to tiles and heavy plaster moldings can be glued to the ceiling in the apartment. One of the options for rough repair of the ceiling in the apartment with your own hands is shown in the video

For the most complex repair options, a rough preparation of the ceiling based on a suspended rack system and sheet plasterboard is usually chosen. The main advantage of this scheme is to obtain an absolutely flat surface with an underlayer of pressed paper, on which the most complex decor options made of plastic and polymer film can be easily glued.The base of the draft ceiling is a frame made of a galvanized sheet profile, assembled on the ceiling slab using dowels and self-tapping screws. Metal profiled slats are initially fastened along the perimeter of the walls of the room, after which the plane is sewn up with a crate made of a U-shaped profile.Sheets of drywall are attached to the assembled frame with self-tapping screws, after which the joints between the laid plates are putty and sanded with a mesh. If you start repairing the ceiling on a suspension system, then it would be correct to at least try to make a two-level option with your own hands.The easiest way is to make side boxes above the windows and above the entrance to the room. Usually a box-shaped "appendage" is used as a screen behind which curtains or horizontal blinds are hidden.Collecting boxes during the repair process is no more difficult than installing the ceiling itself; you just need to install two additional rows of suspensions for each pencil case, which are sheathed with plasterboard strips, just like the entire ceiling field.So that after repairs on the decorative ceilings of the apartment, the lines of joints and black heads of fasteners do not shine through, the plasterboard surface is primed with acrylic paint in the color of the future decoration of the room.After the rough repair of the apartment ceilings has been completed, you can proceed to the most crucial stage - the choice of the method of applying decorative coating. In the simplest case, the ceiling can be simply painted with acrylic paints, dividing the room into several color zones. Such solutions are very popular for modern small-sized apartments - studios, children's rooms and small rooms with large window openings.The most traditional and simplest way to repair ceilings involves pasting a leveled and sanded ceiling base with regular textured wallpaper.Today, instead of roses on paper or vinyl silk-screen printing, more modern materials based on plant fibers are used for the ceiling. Such a repair has one very important advantage - a fabric or wallpaper covering very well hides surface defects and dampens noise in the apartment.At the same time, it is not necessary to copy the laying of panels on the walls of the apartment during the repair process; you can come up with and lay out an original pattern, as in the photo.A canvas of bamboo fibers is laid simultaneously on the wall and on the ceiling, such solutions are already recognized by designers as the standard for apartments with an attic layout.Ceilings decorated with large volumetric flowers or a field of dandelions look very unusual. Of course, repairs of this level require a serious investment of time and effort, but the implementation of such an idea is quite affordable for the average person.One of the most effective ways to decorate the ceiling during renovation in an apartment involves the use of graphic images. For example, in the simplest case, drawings can be applied to a ceiling surface painted with acrylic paint with your own hand using a stencil or a marking template.Graphics of any type, applied to the ceilings of an apartment by the hand of a professional, greatly enliven and saturate the interior with emotions. It can be just the outlines of animal figures, stylization of parts of plants, buildings, just geometric shapes, the main thing is that the drawing is done at a professional level.During the renovation process, the selected pattern for the ceiling is printed on a large-format printer, cut into sectors and glued to the ceiling of the apartment.The maximum saturation of the interior of the apartment is provided by full-fledged photo images. Usually, before renovating an apartment, the owners choose wallpaper for the ceiling of a certain orientation. It can be nature, fantastic scenes, just an image of the sky, or even individual details from your own photo archive.This is not to say that ceiling repair using plasterboard cladding is the easiest and most affordable of all the options available. Despite the sophisticated assembly technology, finishing the ceiling space with suspended panels remains one of the most time consuming and costly of all the options available. But often it is simply impossible to repair the ceilings in an apartment in another way, for example, if the floor slabs are laid with a slope that gives a difference in height from 5 to 10 cm.If you already had a chance to use plasterboard ceilings in an apartment, you should try to make them as effective as possible.Joint use of plasterboard box ceilings and photo wallpaper. The box located along the perimeter of the room is perceived as a picture frame, and the central sector is filled with a picture or photo wallpaper.This can be a projection of the starry sky or images of branches and tops of trees, creating the impression of an open space in the apartment.During the renovation process, the ceiling can be divided by straight lines diverging in a cross, this creates the illusion of a transparent roof, window or skylight.Overhaul of the apartment makes it possible to try a lot of options for images on photo wallpapers, from sea pebbles, chamomile fields and water whirlpools to 3D images of butterflies, birds, fish and animals.Repairing a plasterboard ceiling allows you to use a very interesting technique - an image floating in the center of the ceiling space, usually flowers or a composition of flowers.The floral panel is cut from thick plasterboard and hung in the center of the ceiling on hidden hangers. A flower arrangement cut out of photo wallpaper is glued to the panel. Such solutions go very well with the bright interior of the room, especially if the base is made in light colors and colors.The purpose of renovation is not always to create an ultra-modern bright interior of an apartment. Often, the owners give preference to more conservative forms, for example, the ceiling during the renovation can be decorated with stucco and friezes.Stucco molding around the central chandelier or lamps in the apartment allows you to revive the space around the light source, especially if the chandelier is multi-track with curved shades, and the ceiling surface is simply painted white or covered with white wallpaper.Repair with full-size stucco molding is much more difficult than usual painting or wallpapering on the ceiling of the room. It will take a significant amount of time and effort to mark and properly adhere the extruded foam parts.It makes sense to repair the ceiling space for a full-fledged decoration with friezes when the entire interior of the room is decorated in a classic style, with a lot of lacquered wood and heavy wallpaper with a pattern typical of the Victorian era.Repairing the ceiling in an apartment can be more attributed to a creative occupation that requires the skills of a designer and artist.To understand what the space should look like after renovation indoors, you will need to make more than a dozen sketches and sketches. You may have to look for your own solution, but it is best to simply adapt the already finished design of the ceiling field.

How does the renovation of any room begin? Of course, with the repair of the ceiling. How to repair the ceiling in an apartment with your own hands will be discussed in this article.

The ceiling needs to be repaired every 10 years, since during this time more than one layer of water-based paint or lime accumulates on it. Over time, it begins to fall off, and small cracks appear. Also, repairs may be required if you find that the joints of the ceiling tiles are uneven or the seams are too visible.

Many people mistakenly believe that it is easier to make the ceiling hinged, then repair work will not be needed. In fact, it is better to continue whitening it or wallpapering it, so it will breathe, dust will not accumulate on it, and this finishing method is much cheaper than any other.
Any renovation begins with the need to remove everything from the premises. Ceiling renovations are no exception.

Next, you need to remove the previous coatings. This can be: lime, paint, wallpaper, and so on. This work is simple, but laborious and requires additional means of protection.

You can remove previous coatings in different ways, depending on their composition.

The paint is washed off with special means, lime - with water, wallpaper - first torn off, then soaked with water.
Foam tiles from the ceiling can be easily removed with a metal trowel. In order for the ceiling to be repaired well, it must be cleaned to the ground.

It is important to understand that there are cheap paints and high quality expensive ones.

To remove cheap water-based paint, just soak it with water.

Algorithm of actions:

Wet the paint 1 time with hot water at a temperature of 60-80 degrees. To do this, you can use a regular paint roller with a long bristle, a paintbrush or a brush;
Wait 10-15 minutes;
Re-wet the paint with hot water of the same temperature;
Using a steel trowel, remove the soggy layer of water-based paint.

In the process of performing such work, small scratches may appear on the ceiling, therefore, after removing the old paint, the ceiling will need to be putty.
To do this, use a ready-made, fine putty, which is usually sold in buckets. It is easy to apply to the ceiling in a small layer and to sand.
Also carefully inspect the condition of all seams. Cover them with plaster if necessary. More on this below.

1.painting roller;
2.maklovitsa brush

It is important to know that high-quality expensive water-based paints are not afraid of water. Therefore, such paint can be removed only with sandpaper and it will be difficult to do this. She skins very badly.

In such a situation, it is recommended to apply a good primer, and in a day a new coat of paint. Of course, this option can be considered in the case of cosmetic repairs, when there is no serious damage to the ceiling.

It is always recommended to use a coat of primer after cleaning the ceiling.

Any type of use is allowed in the apartments. The main function of the primer is to create a strengthening protective layer through deep penetration into the treated surface. This saves any subsequent material applied over it.
Most primers are versatile and suitable for both adhesive and limestone materials. When buying, you can always consult the seller.

How cleaning and priming the ceiling looks like in practice, see the video:

Further, repair work is built on the basis of what you need. If you plan to level the ceiling, then do it with a plaster mixture or plaster.But before leveling, be sure to prime the ceiling, as mentioned earlier. This will provide better grip.
To level the ceiling, you will need a bag of plaster and putty.
Material consumption depends on the area of your ceiling. Arriving at the store, choose the appropriate amount of packaging. If in doubt, check with the sellers how much plaster and putty you need for your area.Take your choice of tools seriously. It is not worth saving, but it is better to purchase high-quality spatulas and trowels, because the final result of your work will depend on this. Image - DIY ceiling repair in an apartment

1.trowel;
2. spatula;
3.Plastering trowel 350 mm

Dilute the dry plaster mixture with water according to the instructions on the package and mix well. For a more thorough mixing, you can use a slow-speed drill with a mixer attachment.

After applying each layer, the surface is left to dry for a day.
This completes the rough alignment of the ceiling and you can start working with the putty. It will help smooth out all small irregularities.The putty is used for finishing the ceiling. It is used after rough leveling of large cracks, irregularities, depressions and surface drops with plaster. The same rule works here as with plaster - after applying each layer, a day must pass before applying the next one.After the filler has dried, the ceiling can be sanded to a perfect shine.Types of putty according to the degree of readiness:

There are dry putties. They are sold packaged in bags. They must first be diluted with water and mixed;

Ready-made putties, which are usually sold in buckets. As mentioned earlier, we recommend using ready-made putties, because they are easy to use.

It is advisable to use a polymer putty for painting. She has the longest "life time", i.e. after application, it can be stretched for a longer time, which means that it is possible to work out and level the entire surface thoroughly before the composition begins to dry. It also has a very fine grind, which will have a positive effect on finishing surface cleaning.The putty is chosen relative to the base on which it will be applied. Consultants of hardware stores will also help you in the selection.