What a feeling of space! The new house with cathedral ceiling combines contemporary architecture, charm and cachet. Lots of advantages, but do they outweigh the disadvantages? Maisons Sic takes stock to help you build the house of your dreams.
What is a cathedral ceiling?
A cathedral ceiling is not flat but sloped. Generally, it follows the slope of the roof to reach the ceiling of the upper floor or the ceiling of a mezzanine above the living room. Removing the attic on all or part of the house saves ceiling height which guarantees an effect of grandeur.
How to design a cathedral ceiling in a new home
Enhancement of the traditional framework
A cathedral ceiling requires a beautiful traditional frame custom made. Today, for faster and less expensive implementation, the roof of a new house is mainly based on an industrial frame or farmhouse. She associates with lost attic. The insulation is then placed on the attic floor. There traditional frame as for it allows converted attic and is designed to be apparent and aesthetic. It employs larger sections of solid wood that we want to highlight. A new home builder as Sic Houses, who also specializes in timber frame house construction, adapts the design of the frames to the choices of its customers. THE builder employs in-house carpenters passionate about woodworking who know how to implement these frames made locally in the South West.
Insulation suitable for converted attics
Maintaining the shape of the roof in the interior of the house requires the implementation of a interior insulation which is called under crawling. I'isolation then takes place between the rafters of the roof. The slope of the roof is thus preserved and all or part of the frame can then be concealed according to individual taste. It is also possible to make a exterior insulation which then makes it possible to highlight the whole of the frame and to offer a greater feeling of space. This type of design and insulation makes it possible to create convertible attic.
New house plans with cathedral ceiling
Houses with complex roofs
Cathedral roofs are well suited to houses with less compact shapes or dropouts. THE L-shaped houses, in U, or which mix parts with flat roof ou flat roofs and traditional roofing. Only one part of the house can then benefit from the enhancement of the slope of the roof.
The teams of Maisons Sic support you in designing your future home depending on your budget.
Single-storey house cathedral ceiling
Le cathedral ceiling for the ground floor house is lower than in a two-storey house. It can be suitable for all the rooms in the house or just a few depending on the configuration. Thus, a single wing of the house can reveal the volumes. It is also possible to take advantage of the height under the ceiling to create one or more mezzanines in the rooms. This solution will be suitable, for example, in the regions of Pyrenees where the roof slopes imposed by the PLU are very important and allow the construction of houses with converted attics.
Discover here the models of our Pyrenees line
Two-storey house cathedral ceiling
Photo by Clay Banks on Unsplash
New house with an empty living room
Ideal for volume games, the floor is then open to enjoy a view of the room on the ground floor. It can then be a corridor leading to the bedrooms upstairs. The floor itself, which does not cover the whole of the house, can offer interesting volume games in the interior space, a worked staircase, overhangs, hooks...
A mezzanine open to the living room
Suitable for a two-storey house as well as a single storey house, a mezzanine overlooking the living room, can also be an opportunity to gain living space when the height of the houses is limited by the PLU. So when the two-storey house is impossible, a mezzanine open to the living room offers a good compromise. This room, whose ceiling height is sometimes very low, can nevertheless offer a beautiful space to fulfill your desires. This is the opportunity to create a desk, a salle de jeux for children, a guest room, a Movie room etc. Sic houses will be able to build you a custom House and adapted to your desires.
The advantages of a new house with a cathedral ceiling
Take advantage of large volumes
Nowadays, new houses often offer simple shapes and ceiling heights on average of 2,50 meters. While this height is sufficient for a comfortable habitat, many appreciate higher heights because of the feeling of volume. Whether in a kitchen, bedroom or living room, the cathedral ceiling enlarges the space and gives the impression of having more floor space in your home.
Gain in luminosity
The cathedral ceiling in a new house brings plenty of light because the light is diffused without obstacle. But it is also an opportunity to build a little differently, to afford larger openings, wide Windows and tall windows. It is also possible to install roof windows to create skylights in the House. The rooms are then bathed in light. This search for luminosity partly explains why many artists' studios have been designed with great ceiling heights.
A contemporary design
The new house with cathedral ceiling in the South-West connects the exterior form and the interior of the dwelling. It is also an opportunity to play with interior volumes, to create rooms in cantilevered, mezzanines, or to highlight a staircase. Inspiration artist's studio is also in tune with the times and the houses thus created are out of the ordinary. A popular design in urban areas such as Bordeaux ou Toulouse where the feeling of space becomes a luxury.
A natural traditional look
This contemporaneity is also associated with a more traditional aspect. There traditional timber frame is often left related. The house has a more rustic look and explores the charm of old houses.
This is the opportunity to resume and highlight thelocal architecture. A solution appreciated in certain regions where the wooden frame is particularly highlighted as on the Arcachon bay, or in The Landes the visible beams in wood, highlight the skill of the carpenter and reveal the beauty of the structure. An advantage that is often combined with the timber frame construction, currently very popular in the South West.
A generously sized living room
Welcoming, bright, a cathedral living room is the charming asset of a house. It lends itself to all layouts: large bookcases, hanging large-format paintings, large tables... This type ofarchitecture suits both excessiveness and stripping that is satisfied with the design of the house. In terms of lighting, here too everything is allowed and this type of living room offers the opportunity to work on the lighting with large spectacular chandeliers. Marie-Claire magazine offers here several ideas to arrange a high ceiling living room.
Enlarge the space of a small volume
A cathedral roof for the kitchen or exposed beams in the bedroom, nothing better to afford unique and designer spaces. the cathedral roof is not reserved for large living rooms, small spaces benefit from it just as much.
The disadvantages of the cathedral ceiling
Larger volume to heat
However, a large volume increases the costs associated with the heating and house cooling. A room with a reasonable ceiling height is indeed more quick to heat up and requires less energy. An argument that should not be overlooked at a time when energy costs are constantly increasing
Control summer discomfort
In summer, rooms with high ceilings are difficult to ventilate. A mezzanine can thus quickly become suffocating, the heat accumulating in this attic space.
it is nevertheless possible to overcome this discomfort by installing a ceiling fan.
Difficult temperature control
For this same reason ofchimney effect, it is also more difficult to obtain a homogeneous temperature in the different rooms of the house in winter. THE ceiling fan and / or VMC dual streams, will help to better distribute the heat in the house. The ceiling fan can work even in winter to push warm air down.
More complicated maintenance work
Repainting a wall or a ceiling, changing a light bulb, these small innocuous jobs quickly become complex when the height under the ceiling can reach more than 6 meters at its highest point. It is then necessary to equip yourself with a high stepladder or scaffolding or even call on a professional.
More expensive to build
The house with a cathedral ceiling is more expensive on a daily basis, but is also more expensive to build. Although it eliminates a high floor, it nevertheless requires the design of a traditional frame instead of the industrial framework called farmhouse. Likewise theinsulation under crawling which allows converted attics or insulation of the roof from the outside, are more expensive solutions to implement.
