All About False Ceiling: Pros, Cons and Expenses

False ceilings have become an integral part of modern interior decorating. Whether you are designing and decorating a home, office, restaurants, boutique salon or any other types of residential or commercial space, different types of false ceilings are heavily being used these days by home owners and professionals interior decorators. If you are decorating your home or renovating an existing house and wondering about what is false ceiling, its advantages, disadvantages or the costs of false ceiling across major cities in India, then here’s the post worth checking.

Today in this post, I am sharing everything worth knowing about false ceiling, which includes:

• What is false ceiling?
• Different types of false ceilings?
• Pros and cons of doing false ceiling at your home or office
• Cost of false ceiling with price list for major cities in India
• Factors that may affect the cost of false ceiling

But, before we get into all these details, let’s start with what is false ceiling?

What is false ceiling?

Well, as the name suggests, it’s a secondary ceiling or a dropped ceiling, which is made using Plaster of paris, gypsum board or other light materials like PVC or plywood. A false ceiling is attached with the main RCC ceiling or below the main roof of the room/space. False ceiling helps hide the original RCC ceiling, beams, and pillars and also helps conceal electrical wires and other cables. False ceiling has become very popular these days, because it helps improve the overall aesthetics of the room with latest ceiling designs and opens up a lot of option to light-up and decorate the interior roof.

Costs of false ceiling (Gypsum, POP and PVC) in India

False ceiling is not expensive, especially when you keep the design straight and simple and complement the look of the ceiling with simple plywood and laminates. There are so many options, designs and materials available today, that it’s really hard to get exact quotations without considering the design. But, that does not mean you can’t find out the ballpark costs for a false ceiling.

I am sharing the detailed false ceiling price list below for major cities in India. I am sure this price list will help you estimate the cost of a false ceiling for your home or office interior design project. But, please note that the rates and charges of false ceiling may vary based on the complication of your design, expertise of the false ceiling contractors and of course the overall quality of the materials.

Please note that the false ceiling rates are for per square feet of false ceiling. It includes both materials and labor charges. Rates may vary based on design complexity and what kind of other materials like fiberglass, plywood and laminates etc you wish to use in the false ceiling design.

Factors that affects the costs of false ceiling

There are many factors that may affect the cost of false ceiling and here are a few of them that may affect the overall false ceiling costs:

• Overall ceiling design is definitely a factor that affects the overall false ceiling cost
• Straight ceilings are usually cost-effective than multi layer complex designs
• Total square feet area of the ceiling definitely affects the costs
• Number of layers or ceiling according to design
• Quality and availability of materials in your city
• Tray light and other decorative elements expenses like PVC, plywood with laminate etc.

There is lots of scope for creativity and that is why the professional interior decorators these days are coming up with multiple mix and match concepts where they use pop/Gypsum for the main false ceiling, and then use plywood, PVC, fiberglass etc to finish the look of the false ceiling.

Pros and cons of doing false ceiling

As you already know, a properly designed false ceiling can improve the overall look and aesthetics of any space, be it your home, a home office, shop or any other space. False ceilings have become a symbol of modernity and premium space. But, like many other popular decorating trends, a false ceiling has its own pros and cons.

In fact, we spoke to many of the interior design professionals, and found that they too have diverse opinions both in favor and against false ceilings. So, let’s take a look at the advantages first:

• False ceiling when done correctly can transform the overall decor of the space.
• As it acts like a secondary ceiling, it helps reduce the natural heat wave, especially on top floor houses.
• It offers a lot of scope for modern ceiling lighting.
• False ceiling reduces cooling and heating time and thus helps reduce electricity consumption in summer and winter.
• Helps conceal all the wires and cable and thus offer clutter-free look.

And then, there are some cons as well, such as:

• It reduces the overall ceiling height of a room by minimum 8” to 12” from the original ceiling height, and this is a major disadvantage for a space that already has short ceiling height.
• Complicated false ceiling designs can be expensive, and that’s a disadvantage.
• It’s not as strong as the main RCC ceiling, and it may be disadvantageous in case of natural calamity like an earthquake.

So, as you can see, whether to have a false ceiling or not actually depend on your situation and priority. But, if you do not have budget constraints, and you are looking to create a premium look, then you may like to consider doing false ceiling.

Does your room need a secondary ceiling?

There is no doubt that today both the home owners and the interior decorators are fascinated about false ceilings. Since it has a lot of advantages and a well designed and done false ceiling can really transform the look of a room, false ceiling is an in trend.

False ceilings are popular for homes, hotels, restaurants, café, beauty salons and other types of residential and commercial properties. But, false ceiling can be done in any room.

But a false ceiling or a secondary ceiling makes sense only, when the height of the room is sufficient.

Ideally, if you want to have a false ceiling, then the very first thing that you should look at is the height of the main RCC ceiling (i.e. height of the roof from the floor of the room).

If the height of the room is 10 feet or more, only then should you go for a false ceiling.

Doing a false ceiling in rooms that is shorter in height will make the space look even shorter, and that is going to look good.

Conclusion

When it comes to decorating your home or office, you can’t really ignore the ceiling and a false ceiling helps you get spice up the space. A False ceiling as the name suggests is a secondary ceiling that helps conceal the wiring and offers a lot of creative opportunity to make the ceiling and overall space look good. When combined with symmetric design patterns and proper lighting, false ceilings can seriously improve the overall look and aesthetic appearance of a room or space.

But there are pros and cons attached to it and therefore, whether to do a false ceiling or not while decorating your home is your call, but it helps make the space look good. After all, when we spend so much of time and money in choosing the right wall and floor tiles and wallpaper for the walls, how can we not pay enough attention to the ceilings?

If you are planning to build your home or renovate or decorate your dream home or office and you were unsure about the false ceiling, then I am sure this post will help you get a lot of clarity.

What do you think? Is it worth doing a false ceiling?

Share your pros and cons of false ceiling by commenting below. Happy decorating!