When designing a home it is important to incorporate architectural details such as groin vaults, dome ceilings, coved ceilings and barrel vaults. These particular additions will help take your home to the next level.
Here are some ideas for your next project:
Many Homes have long hallways and are often over looked, but this is a great place to add a series of groin ceilings. A groin ceiling will add character and bring that old world feel to any home. With a little planning up front, most hallways can incorporate a groin vault detail. The hallway below is an example of taking a normal boring hallway and bumping it up to the next level. Also, these particular groins will have columns built underneath them to accent and capture the true old world architectural design.
Domed Ceilings are another popular detail that can be easily incorporated into most homes. Often you can find these ceilings in foyers, master bedrooms and bathrooms. One place that can be overlooked is over the stairs. In this particular case, the home had unwanted roof rafters that would leave the home with hard funky lines when finished. So in order to avoid this, we domed the top of the stairway not only to add a little design but also to hide the pitch of the roof.
Note: The Archways & Ceilings Product can be easily modified and custom made to any home. See the example below of how we adjusted the dome rafters to go up and around the window.
Another design element that can be incorporated in most homes, would be the barrel ceiling. The barrel vault is great because it has more leeway for a home. What I mean by this, is the rise of the arch can easily be altered to fit the needs of any room. The barrel vault can either be a full half circle, elliptical, or a soft arch. For example, if you have plenty of ceiling height then a half circle barrel is often preferred, but if you do not have a lot of room to work with, then a softer barrel would be preferred. Not to mention the barrel vault can easily be intersected with conjoining archways. See example below.
Finally, pop up ceilings are most often overlooked and left square or rectangle in shape. The cove ceiling is a perfect fit for these particular ceilings. The cove will bring a subtle curve to your boxy ceiling and add a softer look. The cove ceiling is great when accompanied with accent lighting.
So remember, take a little time and plan plan plan. With a little planning, your next home will look like it should be on the cover of a magazine. Whether you add a groin ceiling, domed ceiling, cove ceiling or barrel vault the finished product will help take your home to the next level.
Check out this exciting Home Remodel! Watch from start to finish on how we changed boring squared openings into beautiful curved Archways. Not to mention the beautiful architectural detail added in the dining room! Yep a Groin Vault ceiling will always deliver the “Wow” factor to any home!.
*Don’t forget to catch Part 2 to see drywall being applied to the archways and groin ceiling.
Have a wine room? Looking to add that architectural detail to give your wine room that old world feel? Well, the groin vault ceiling is perfect for any wine room. The groin vault kit from Archways and Ceilings Made Easy will transform any wine room into a place of beauty and will take you back in time to the old world! The groin vault can be finished out many different ways, but a favorite of ours is to use brick. The brick over the groin vault ceiling will definitely bring the old world charm! So next time you have a glass a wine, we hope you will be giving a “Cheers” to the Archways & Ceilings groin vault ceiling.
A great architectural element to add to any master bedroom is a groin vault ceiling. This particular ceiling creates a warm old world feel giving this space its own unique quality. Whether your adding this in your own home or building this ceiling for a customer for their home, the groin vault ceiling kit from Archways & Ceilings Made Easy will have you and your guests talking about this architectural marvel.
Are you tired of the boring boxed up ceilings? Are you dreaming of adding an architectural detail to the master bedroom? Well look no further, the groin vault ceiling kit is perfect for those boxy ceilings. With a little planning the groin vault ceiling can easily be added to any master bedroom. Archways & Ceilings groin vault kit will have you or your future home owners sleeping with a smile!
Do you want to cook with some zest? or do you simply want a conversation starter? Well, the groin vault kit is perfect for any kitchen. With a little preparation and planning you can add this beautiful ceiling to your home. Archways & Ceilings is always cooking up great ideas that will keep you and your guests from not only talking about the food but the beautiful ceiling above!
Looking to give your home an update or a new look? Well look no further. One of the most affordable ways to give your home an architectural update without breaking the bank is to use a Ceiling Kit from Archways and Ceilings Made Easy. One advantage in using our customized ceiling kits (i.e. Groin Vaults, Barrel Vaults, Domes and Cove Ceilings) is that they can be easily installed under the current ceiling without having to rip out the current drywall. The hardest part is figuring which ceiling to go with.
For example, I had a customer out in Keller, Texas do just that. This young couple recently bought a 20 year old home which had many flat & boring ceilings. They were looking to add a little flare to their dining room without having to spend a lot to achieve it. They went on-line and began looking for different types of ceilings or decorative ideas when they found Archways & Ceilings on the Web. One of the homeowners mentioned a light came on above their head and they instantly found what they were looking for. They fell in love with a Groin Vault. (Click here for definition of a groin vault http://www.archwaysandceilings.com/blog/what-is-a-groin-vault) With a few clicks of the mouse they were able to find pictures and a price for their groin vault remodel right there on our website. They then took the next step and ordered and Archways & Ceilings shipped them the groin vault along with several other archways they also ordered to help update the square openings in their home.
The Ceiling Remodel for the Groin Vault broken down into 6 Simple steps:
Step #1 The customers framed a cross brace out of 2×6’s and secured it to the original drywalled ceiling.
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Step #2 They assembled the groin vault by attaching it to the cross brace. The Groin Vault comes with a colorful detailed instruction page along with a CAD to help beginners as well as veterans install the groin vault.
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Step #3 Step Back and Admire the Groin Vault Ceiling.
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Step #4 Hired a local drywall company and drywalled the groin vault with ½” thick drywall.
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Step #6 The Local Drywall Company taped & mudded the groin vault ceiling and later applied a texture to the ceiling.
That’s it! All they need to do now is agree on what color of paint they plan on using. Now that can be the hardest part of the whole project.
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Watch the whole ceiling remodel including the archways here:
Early this morning I packed up the delivery truck with 2 large groin vault kits and headed out to Chico, Texas to meet Longacre Construction to help them build the groin ceilings for their current project. I have known Carol and Dan with Longacre Construction for quite sometime now, so when I received a phone call a week prior from Dan, saying he has an opportunity to use the Archways & Ceilings Groin vault kit, I was ecstatic.
Of course I was ecstatic to make a sale, but I was more excited to have the opportunity to work side by side with a high quality company, not to mention Carol Longacre is going to be the next President of the HBA of Greater Dallas.
I pulled up to the jobsite and was instantly greeted by Daryl Shields with Longacre construction. He immediately jumped in and helped me unload the groin vault kits. We then laid each groin vault kit next to the rooms we planned to install them in and prepared for installation. We grabbed 2 ladders, a nail gun, measuring tape, and finish nailer. We were ready! Wait… I keep saying we… It should be more like Daryl was ready and I was ready to merely read off the directions for him.
First I had Daryl use the Groin Vault layout CAD supplied by Archways & Ceilings to help layout where each of the groin vault struts will be placed. Each groin ceiling has a long side and a short side if the ceiling is rectangular in shape (and for our project it was). This is important because a groin ceiling has 4 sides, 2 of the sides are long sides, and the other 2 sides are the short sides. We marked all 4 sides and now the hard part was done. Laying out the groin is the most important step when installing because this step will allow you to fly through the rest of the installation process and take most of the thinking out of it as well.
With our measurements and marks in place, we began installing the groin vault struts. Each strut has an L or S with a corresponding number. These crucial markings indicate Long side versus short side and indicate which order to be placed. For example a S4 means Short side / 4th strut. Once Daryl completed installing the groin vault struts for all 4 sides, we were able to move on to the next step. Tip: Don’t worry about the groin vault corners lining up. If you follow the Layout CAD, they will naturally come together.
Daryl hopped down from the ladder and grabbed his Finish Nailer so we could go back and fasten all the groin vault corners together. Daryl simply pulled the corners together like a picture frame and began nailing. This is an exciting step, because your groin ceiling is almost complete.
After Daryl finished nailing the corners together, he went back through and added extra bracing to help support the groin vault. He even added a few cripple studs to support the groin to the ceiling joists above.
With a smile from Daryl and a nod of approval we were done! Daryl has officially completed his first groin vault. Daryl immediately said, “Time for lunch!”
The dining room groin ceiling for Longacre construction was officially completed (in 60 minutes). High five’s all around and a beautiful ceiling left for the homeowner. All in all, a job well done!
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Watch it here:
For more information about the outstanding craftsmanship provided by Longacre Construction please visit www.longacreconstruction.com
Brian Hugghins with H. Customs called me up one afternoon looking to add a little flare to his current media room. He mentioned he had recently began rennovating his current media room to ultimately change it into a showroom for his future clients.
Brian then mentioned he wanted a jaw opener! I quickly replied, “We can do that!”
Well, Brian and I immediately began pushing ideas back and forth until he finally decided on creating a domed ceiling for the main sitting area and a double groin vault for the entrance. Due to the configuration of the room, we ended up making the domed ceiling elongated in shape to help occupy the rectangle shaped ceiling. Hence the domed ceiling for a rectangle is called an, “Elongated dome.”
Note: An Elongated Dome is created when you cut a dome in half and put a barrel vault in between each domed half.
Once we nailed down the design and dimensions, Brian pulled the trigger on the project. We began making the ceiling kits and delivered them 5 days later at his house.
“SSSShhhheeeww! Brian the hard part is done! We delivered your kits!!!” I jokingly stated.
With a CAD and detailed instructions we began installation of the 2 different ceilings. After4 hours of easy labor we were done! All that was left was to sheetrock and paint! We were Done.
A few weeks later we checked in with Brian to see how things were coming along and all I remember hearing was “You have to check this out!!!”
- so here are the pictures for you to check out! and I will second Brian’s statment. “You have to check this out!”
*For more information about Brian Hugghins or H Customs Audio.Video visit www.hcustoms.com
The Groin Vault is created when 2 barrel vaults intersect with one another. A groin vault is also known as a cross vault or a double barrel vault.
This Architectural marvel is very common in European countries, especially Rome. In America, the groin vault has become a popular and beautiful ceiling found in many homes. So much so, the groin vault is Archways & Ceilings most popular ceiling kit!
The Groin Ceiling Kit, allows anyone to add an elegant architectural feature to their home!
