Ceiling plinth for stretch ceiling: types, recommendations for selection

The main tasks solved with the help of ceiling skirting boards:

• Masking the gap between the canvas fixed in the mounting profile and the wall;
• Giving the interior a finished look;
• Underlining the chosen style of the room;
• Additional ceiling lighting with LED strips.

Unlike stub inserts, the plinth can be made of various materials, which makes it possible to choose the most suitable option in each case. Of course, the purchase and installation of skirting boards will require additional costs. Should they be carried? Of course, it’s worth it if you want the room to look neat, stylish and modern.

Types of ceiling skirting boards for suspended ceilings

The classification of skirting boards is most easily carried out by the material from which they are made. The following restrictions apply to the material:

• it should not be heavy, since it is usually attached to the surface of the wall with glue, and too much effort will lead to a quick detachment;
• it must be flexible enough so that small irregularities in the walls do not affect the installation and the strength of the fastening.

Ceiling skirtings are made of the following materials:

• polystyrene foam (polystyrene),
• polyurethane,
• polyvinyl chloride.

The plinth can be made of wood, which is justified if the walls of the house are made of timber. Plaster production is acceptable if stucco molding under a stretch ceiling is required. But in general, such materials are rarely used.

Plinth ceiling foam plastic for stretch ceiling

This is the most budget option for the design of the subceiling space, having a lot of advantages:

• A variety of design, including imitation of stucco molding;
• Ease of processing, can be cut with a clerical knife;
• Light weight, which allows the use of inexpensive glue for installation;
• Low price.

The list of advantages includes significant disadvantages:

• Fragility, fragility;
• May lose shape under the influence of certain solvents that make up the adhesives;
• Lack of flexibility, which makes installation on uneven walls problematic.

Of course, the main plus of the foam skirting board is its low price, it is even lower than the price of plastic plugs, so with a limited budget, such a skirting board can be a good choice.

Polyurethane skirting for stretch ceilings

This material has a high specific gravity, respectively, the weight of the product will be relatively large. However, polyurethane also has its advantages:

• Flexibility, the ability to "circumvent" minor irregularities without losing the quality of adhesion to the wall;
• Strength;
• Durability without loss of appearance and performance;
• Easy to process, can be cut with a conventional knife;

Disadvantages are also available:

• Heavy weight;
• High price.

The main disadvantage of polyurethane is its high weight. When gluing to the wall, special glue will be needed, but there is no guarantee that after a while under the own weight the skirtings will not sag and will not move away from the wall, forming ugly cracks.

However, the attractive appearance and long service life of the polyurethane prompted manufacturers to provide a glueless mounting option: special guides are made in the profile, into which a special-shaped polyurethane fillet is inserted. Of course, the choice of such ceiling skirting boards is limited, but this is offset by an attractive design for many years.

Ceiling baseboard for PVC stretch ceiling

Polyvinyl chloride - plastic, which allows you to create ceiling skirting boards of various shapes and colors, giving them the appearance of various materials, such as wood or metal, and at the same time inexpensive in price. Its main advantages:

• Ease;
• Strength;
• A variety of colors and textures;
• Low price.

Cons of a skirting board made of PVC:

• It does not have the ability to bend, therefore, it requires perfectly flat wall surfaces for installation;
• Under the influence of light, over time, loses an attractive appearance, turns yellow;
• It is complicated in processing, for cutting it is necessary to use a special tool (hacksaw).

To make the right choice, you need to decide which skirting is better for stretch ceilings in your case - more flexible and lightweight, or solid and massive? This largely depends on the profile on which the ceiling sheet is fixed. If it provides for fillet mounts, it might be worth paying attention to polyurethane skirting boards. If the profile is used standard, and wall defects are insignificant, you can purchase a ceiling plinth made of foam.

The main parameters to consider when choosing a ceiling plinth

The first thing that needs to be determined is for what room you are doing the decoration. If it is a kitchen or a bathroom, the baseboard should be easy to wash and withstand high humidity. In the bedroom, this condition is optional, but it is important that the polymer does not emit harmful substances into the air, and the material for its manufacture has a safety certificate. In addition, you will have to take into account a lot of nuances: the style of the room, its size, the height of the ceilings. Depending on them, it is necessary to select skirting boards for a stretch ceiling according to the following parameters:

• Width. This parameter depends not only on the style of the interior, but also on the size of the room. For example, with a small height of the ceilings, a wide baseboard will look disproportionate, and visually make the room even “lower”. If the height of the ceiling is large, a too narrow fillet runs the risk of being inconspicuous and “lost” against the general background. When calculating the optimal width, you can rely on the following numbers:
  • With a ceiling height of up to 2.5 m, the width of the plinth should not exceed 4 cm;
  • Ceilings up to 3 m require a plinth with a width of 5 to 10 cm;
  • With ceilings above 3 m, skirting boards of 10 cm or more can be used.
• The form. The shape of the skirting board for a stretch ceiling can be almost any, there can be relief patterns on it, both simple, in the form of convex lines, and complex, imitating stucco molding. The form is selected according to the basic style of the interior or the classic version is chosen - in the event that a particular style is not defined or it is planned to use a mixture of styles. There is a rule that all designers follow: with complex, elaborate decoration of the room, fillets are preferable to simple, classical forms, and vice versa: with simple walls and ceilings, curly skirtings can be used.
• Color. Skirting boards are available in almost any color. They can be like different types of wood, or imitate a marble surface. Not uncommon skirting board "under the metal." Plain skirting boards of various color shades are also popular. The color is selected, focusing on the style decision of the room. It should not be forgotten that color affects the perception of space. So, skirting boards, merging in color with a stretch ceiling, visually increase the area of ​​the room, and painted walls will help visually “raise” the ceiling.

Special types of skirting boards for suspended ceilings

To solve non-standard design tasks, non-standard means are required. For example, to make the ceiling higher, experts advise using ceiling-mounted lighting, for which it needs to be hidden behind the cornice. It happens that the ceiling has complex curvilinear shapes that emphasize zoning or create a certain style. In such cases, standard materials for the manufacture of skirting boards are also not suitable. Consider some special types of skirting boards to solve specific interior tasks.

Skirting board for hidden lighting

To create the effect of a "raised" ceiling, add lightness, airiness, volume to the room, use backlighting with a ribbon assembled from LEDs. Such a tape is laid in plinths, in which a special “shelf” is provided for this purpose. In addition, the part of the baseboard facing the stretch ceiling can be covered with a foil of reflective material, for example, foil - this will enhance lighting and give it depth.

Volumetric skirting boards for suspended ceilings can hide in themselves a place for mounting individual point sources of light. If there are no special skirting boards of the required design for sale, you can use ordinary ones, placing them a few centimeters below the ceiling mounts. In this case, the skirting board should have a width sufficient for laying the LED strip.

Skirting plinth

Even the most “flexible” versions of typical ceiling skirting boards cannot be used in cases where the stretch ceiling is made at different levels, and some of its parts have complex non-linear shapes. For them, special skirting boards are produced with special elasticity. Flex skirtings are quite expensive, but there is no alternative.