Radiant stretch ceiling in a bathroom

A stretched fabric in a damp room

The first question is always the same: will the fabric go mouldy. No, because it is not porous and because it does not drop below the dew point once the ceiling above it is working. Condensation forms on cold surfaces, and that is precisely what this ceiling stops being.

Cleaning

A damp cloth is enough, with no abrasive product and no scouring pad. Unlike a painted ceiling, the fabric does not flake and does not yellow above the shower, which settles the commonest problem of bathrooms repainted every five years.

Access to the plenum

A fabric can be taken down and put back by an equipped professional, which leaves complete access to the volume above. That is a real advantage over a plasterboard ceiling, where any intervention means cutting and making good.

What happens above the fabric

The reflective insulation, its air gap and the return at the edges close the volume. In a bathroom, that closed plenum recovers part of the heat produced by the shower and gives it back downwards instead of letting it go into the floor above.

The point to check with the ventilation

The extract terminal has to stay reachable and its flow must not be reduced by the new ceiling height. It is the one design point that calls for a check, and it is settled at the survey.

The plasterboard case is dealt with on the page about the metal framework, and the system on the heated radiant stretch ceiling page.