What's wrong with him? 5 unpleasant facts about the stretch ceiling, installers do not tell this
PVC stretch ceilings are a popular thing in our time. Quickly, relatively inexpensively, without unnecessary dirt - what else is needed for a good repair? However, not everything is so simple - in a number of countries, for example, in the USA, such ceilings are simply prohibited. What's wrong with them? Let's try to figure it out.
Fact 1: emit harmful substances
Almost always, PVC film will release volatile chemical compounds into the air. It is possible to slightly reduce their release only by using special additives in the composition of the web material, naturally, due to its rise in price. In China, for example, the canvas is produced by more than 100 factories, and only seventeen of them passed the test for product safety certification. By the way, in most cases in Russia, installers install exactly the Chinese canvas. If we delve into the documents for those of them that have some kind of certificate, we will see T2 there, which means moderate danger.
Fact 2: they burn and smoke
Yes, the manager of a construction company can show you a very interesting trick - he will take a piece of cloth in his hands, try to set it on fire with a lighter and you will see that it does not burn, but only melts. However, during a real fire, temperatures are much higher than from a lighter flame, and the ceiling will flare up accordingly. The same thing happens with a plastic bottle on fire - with a weak flame, it only melts and deforms, but at a high temperature it starts to burn and maintain combustion. During a fire, such a ceiling will form a large amount of harmful smoke. True, there is one plus: the mass of the cloth itself is small, and compared to the burning of other things during a fire, this smoke will not be too much.
Fact 3: They smell
In fact, they do, just different ceilings smell to varying degrees. It all depends on the sense of smell of a particular person. For example, a dog will always smell from a stretch PVC ceiling. A person can feel it only during the first few days or hours after installation, or maybe all the time if the canvas is bad.
Fact 4: Installation can be dangerous
Yes, compared to leveling the ceiling with plaster and its subsequent puttying and painting, the stretch ceiling is done much faster, as a result there will be less dirt in the room. Dirt during repairs and its timing is the main reason why people choose stretch ceilings. However, there is another danger: the risk of damaging the finish when using a heat gun. This is mainly for wallpapers. They can peel off the walls. At first it will be imperceptible, but over time it will lead to the formation of bubbles. The second risk factor is that it is easy to damage the wiring during installation. Often in apartments, hidden wiring will just pass at the level of the wall edge, which is attached to the wall with self-tapping screws. When drilling, the wiring can be damaged, often installers are in a hurry and do not check for its presence at the level where it is planned to install the wall edge.
Fact 5: Not so durable, not so cheap
The manager of a construction company will most likely talk about a 25-year warranty on a stretch ceiling after installation. In fact, this is not entirely true. The canvas, especially in the kitchen, will be affected by heating from the side of the stove, from various chemical contaminants, for example, condensate from the same stove. And also from detergents that will remove these contaminants. As a result, 25 years of warranty will turn into a maximum of 10 years of service, and only in greenhouse conditions. Not to mention the fact that the cloth can be accidentally pierced with a sharp object, such as glass, when furniture is being moved, and here it will have to be replaced exactly. There are also questions about the cost - a simple putty and painting will cost less than an acceptable in terms of quality, the panel and its installation, the price tag of which will be comparable to a plasterboard suspended ceiling.