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A ceiling is the overhead surface or surfaces above a space, and the underside of a floor or a roof. Ceilings are widely placed to conceal floor and roof construction. They have been particular areas for decorating from the earliest times: either by coating the plain surface, in emphasizing the structural members of roof or floor, or in treating it as a space for an overall pattern of relief.

Not much is understood of ancient Greek ceilings, but Roman ceilings were designed richly with relief and painting, as is shown within the vault soffits of Pompeian baths. In the Gothic period, the normal trend to utilize structural parts decoratively then adapted to the creation of the beamed ceiling, for which sizeable cross-girders support smaller floor beams at right angles to them, beams and girders being thickly chamfered and molded and usually painted in beautiful colours.

In the Renaissance, ceiling design was adapted to its highest tip of individuality and variety. Three forms were developed. The first was the coffered ceiling, in the intricate design of which the Italian Renaissance architects far exceeded their Roman prototypes. Circular, square, octagonal, and L-shaped coffers were created, with their edges ornately carved and the field of every coffer marked with a rosette. The second kind consisted of ceilings fully or in parts vaulted, generally with arched intersections, with painted bands foregrounding the architectural design and with pictures covering the remainder of the area. The loggia of the Farnesina villa in Rome, decorated by Raphael and Giulio Romano, is a great illustration of this. In the Baroque period, mystical figures in heavy relief, scrolls, cartouches, and garlands were also brought in to decorate ceilings of this form. The Pitti Palace in Florence and many French ceilings in the Louis XIV style show this. In the third form, which was markedly characteristic of Venice, the ceiling became one huge framed painting, as seen in the Doges’ Palace.

In modern architecture ceilings can be divided into two major varieties — the suspended (or hung) ceiling and the exposed ceiling. With ceilings hung at a distance under the structural members, some architects have sought to cover large amounts of mechanical and electrical equipment, such as electrical conduits, air-conditioning ducts, water pipes, sewage lines, and lighting fixtures. The large part of suspended ceilings feature a lightweight metal grid suspended from the structure by wires or rods to hold plasterboard sheets or acoustical tiles.

Other architects, featuring the aesthetic of the exposed structural system, delight in showcasing the mechanical and electrical equipment. Because of this desire, some structural systems have been put in place that have an expressive power in themselves and become popular ceilings.

For ceiling cleaning Brisbane contact Toxicvac today. We will clean ceilings and clean roofspaces to remove rubbish, old insulation and dirt.