A heated stretch ceiling in the mountains

The ceiling, the last available plane in a chalet

In a mountain interior the walls are often timber, the roof structure exposed, and the decoration rests on those materials. The ceiling is frequently the only surface where work can be done without touching the identity of the place.

Panelling, everywhere

It covers thousands of chalet ceilings and provides almost no insulation. Keeping it as a substrate and fitting an insulating layer and a new facing below settles the performance without removing the character of the building.

Large living volumes

A chalet living room often rises to the roof structure. Heating the air of such a volume amounts to heating an unreachable reserve, whereas a radiant emitter acts on people whatever the height of the ceiling.

Stretched fabric and timber

A matt fabric contrasted with exposed beams closes the volume without closing it visually. It is an aesthetic choice open to debate, but it also stands as a technical choice for closing the plenum.

Intermittent occupation

A mountain home is often empty between stays. A responsive system, controlled remotely, holds an economical frost setting and brings the house back up before arrival, which matches the real use.

What to check in a chalet

The state of the roof structure, the ventilation and any damp under the roof. Closing a plenum over an existing problem makes it invisible without removing it, and the survey always precedes the fitting. An old water mark on a purlin is photographed and dated before being covered, failing which nobody will know whether it has moved.

The Morzine job is told on its page, and cold climates on the Jura page.