Metal ceilings add to your home or business because they stand out from traditional drywall ceilings, adding a decorative touch to your building. They also are long lasting. Hanging a metal ceiling typically requires about 8 to 10 hours of labor. The effort easily transforms a dull white ceiling into a colorful masterpiece.
Background
Metal ceilings were a common product between the late 1800s and the early 1900s because they were attractive, inexpensive and relatively simple to manufacture over and over again. Use of this type of ceiling was particularly widespread during the Victorian era between 1837 and 1901. Although metal ceilings usually were called tin ceilings, they really were made of steel that simply bore a coat of tin.
Cost and Options
Expect to pay anywhere from about $3 a square foot to $8 a square foot for a metal ceiling as of September 2011. These types of ceilings offer the advantage of being resistant to fire. Both powder-coated and bare metal ceilings are available for purchase.
The powder-coated metal ceiling version is intended to remain the color it comes in. Meanwhile, the bare version of a metal ceiling is created to receive paint. Also, a metal ceiling that has a small pattern that is repeated is more appropriate for a small-size room while larger patterns repeated in a metal ceiling go well with a larger room.
Putting the Ceiling in Place
When installing a metal ceiling, measuring the size of your existing ceiling is an important step to determine how many metal ceiling panels you need to install. Putting a substrate made of plywood on the existing ceiling is then necessary because a metal ceiling will not attach soundly to a drywall or plaster surface. For this reason, the dimensions of your plywood substrate also should match those of your ceiling.
Other Installation Information
Priming your metal ceiling panels is important if you wish to paint them in a red oxide, white or gray hue that matches those of historical metal ceilings. Otherwise, painting over the with a clear lacquer makes the ceiling shiny and outstanding while retaining its natural metal color.
An oil-based lacquer or paint is necessary to coat a metal ceiling effectively. Acid washing or faux finishing also adds to the decoration of a metal ceiling. Caulk additionally is helpful for covering over imperfections in the metal ceiling that occur during the installation process, and metal touch-up paint helps address blemishes in unpainted metal ceilings as well. In addition, a cornice serves as a decorative border around your metal ceiling and is the last part to be installed.
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