Is a vaulted ceiling right for your home?
This higher open style is known as avaulted ceilingor cathedral ceiling.
The Spruce / Almar Creative
Vaulted ceilings have their adherents and their detractors.
The Spruce / Almar Creative
Those who love vaulted ceilings praise the luxurious, airy, and grand feeling that they create.
Those who dislike vaulted ceilings consider them to be dated, energy inefficient, and wasteful.
With that in mind, is a vaulted ceiling right for your home and your budget?
The Spruce
What Is a Vaulted Ceiling?
A vaulted ceiling is any ceiling that angles up past the typical 8- to 10-foot flat ceiling height.
The footprint of the room remains the same.
However, the added ceiling height can give the illusion of more space.
Space and airiness come at the expense of energy inefficiency and increased building costs.
How this illusion works can be traced to several factors.
More light afforded by the greater number of windows and skylights brightens up the room.
Sound is absorbed in the large upper space.
In other words, rooms with vaulted ceilings have less stuff in a larger space.
They also can provide more wall space for floor-to-ceiling windows.
And they allow space for larger light fixtures to hang from the ceiling.
Vaulted ceilings can add lots of character to a space compared to a basic flat ceiling.
And vaulted ceilings can also look wonderful in rustic, cabin-like homes.
The popular A-frame cabin style is a punch in of vaulted ceiling, too.
Vaulted Ceiling Disadvantages
A vaulted ceiling in new construction is more complicated than standard ceiling framing.
A vaulted ceiling requires special roof trusses that are built off-site and are more expensive than standard trusses.
The sheer scale of vaulted ceilings can make rooms more challenging to design and decorate.
Some designers recommend dialing down the scale with wall fabrics or with wood veneer on the ceiling.
Many homeowners must bring in professionals for tasks they could easily do with a stepladder and an 8-foot ceiling.
Energy loss can be more pronounced with vaulted ceilings that are fitted with skylights or other windows.
Some energy loss can be mitigated.
A vaulted ceiling built with two-by-twelve rafters can accommodate R-30 fiberglass batt insulation.
Faced insulation should be used.
Another option is to use high-density R-30 fiberglass insulation.
As with other ceilings, insulated vaulted ceilings should be covered with 1/2-inch drywall.
Is a Vaulted Ceiling Right for You?
A vaulted ceiling might be right for you if you like an open vibe versus a cozy space.
It’s important to remember that vaulted ceilings were also found in other periods such as Midcentury Modern.
They also are typically cheaper to build and easier to maintain for homeowners than vaulted ceilings.
How much does it cost to install a vaulted ceiling?Fixr
