So, what is a cloister vault?
A Cloister vault (also known as a dome vault) offers a great way to add interest, and sometimes height, to any ceiling. It works very well in large spaces, but it can be used in virtually any room in the house.
When the moon hits your eye like a big pizza pie…what is that? Yep, it’s amore.
You’re probably wondering why we went from talking about ceilings to pizza. Well, aside from the fact that it’s getting close to lunch time, we mention pizza because we’ve found it to be the best way to explain cloister vaults to someone who has not yet seen them. And amore? Well, that’s what we feel every time we install one of these impressive ceilings.
Picture this: You’ve got your favorite cheese slice in your hand, but right before you stuff it in your pie-hole, you hold it up to the sky with its tip facing up. What happens? Like any self-respecting NY-style pizza, the tip arcs down on itself…just a little. This creates a subtle curve in your slice, right? Now, imagine if you were to do this with three other pieces to create a square or a rectangle where the tips touch at the center. That, in essence, describes the shape of a dome vault.
Cloister Vault vs. Groin Vault
Now that you know a little more about the cloister vault, you may think it looks familiar. In fact, it does resemble a groin vault in many ways, but there are some very subtle differences that make a huge impact on the overall design. We want to be sure you understand these differences, so you are requesting the right ceiling type for each project.
To picture a cloister vault, imagine a room where the tops of the four walls swoop up to meet at a point in the center. This is created by a constant spring point along your walls and arching towards the center.
A groin vault , on the other hand, springs upward from the corner of your walls on all four sides to the center. Still confused? Take a look at the picture below.
The constant spring point used on the cloister vault gives the builder more flexibility in creating their ceiling. With the cloister vault, you are able to arch up underneath your roof rafters following the pitch – instead of being bound to building a ceiling underneath your top plates and roof rafters with a typical groin vault. So, there is a little a little more flexibility and ability to add height to a room.
How to Install a Cloister (or Dome) Vault
Here is where we tell you the best part. They may appear complex, but installing a cloister vault is extremely easy! We design our cloister vaults to be easy enough for even DIYers without any professional training to install. So, if you’re a contractor, you can only imagine how easy this will be for you. Each cloister vault comes with CNC alignment hips that allow for easy install.
We also create every vault to your measurements and offer them to you at production prices. Fortunately, we are able to keep our costs insanely low because we manufacture each vault on site. AND, we’ve been doing this for years, so our process has become highly cost efficient!
If you find this hard to believe, visit our website and use our pricing calculator or look over our pricing table and see for yourself.