Starfield Ceilings

It is only natural that we should also wish to admire the starry skies in the ceilings of our homes. Starlit ceilings have been created for restaurants, cruisers, night clubs, spas, churches and homes.

Its popularity has been made possible by modern fibre optics, which enable the creation of deeply impressive starry skies. With a single projector, hundreds of stars can be illuminated. The stars can be of variable sizes, and they can be made twinkle. We can also build a fantasy sky by changing colours and twinkling stars. Even a small starry sky can create the desired mood in a room. The possibilities are limitless, and you can for example build a starry sky reflecting your sign of zodiac and equip the larger stars with crystal end fittings.

The installation of the starfield ceiling is not very hard but it can be time consuming. The most important item to remember before ordering the assembly is that access above the ceiling material is needed to install the fibers. Before the material is ordered, determine the placement of the illuminator, the number of points per square foot, and the length of the fiber tail required.

If the fiberhead is pre-made at the factory, which is highly recommended, it will arrive at the jobsite bundled and cable-tied for ease of handling. The first thing to do before beginning installation of the fibers is to have a qualified electrician install and wire the illuminator. As a rule, your illuminator will be placed on a shelf in a closet, along the top of a wall, or in the center of the room secured to a structural beam. After the illuminator is installed, begin installing fibers.

If access above the ceiling or a grid type ceiling is possible, begin by laying out the fiber around the room in the pattern that the fiber will be positioned. Start at the closest hole locations and work away from the illuminator. The two people are required so one can drill from below and the other, above the ceiling, can poke the fibers through the hole and epoxy the fibers in place. As the fibers are placed, the person doing the drilling should pull 3” to 4” of fiber through the hole, exposing them through the ceiling. This allows the ceiling to be finished, mudded, painted, etc., without worrying about covering up the fibers.

For a drop down paneled ceiling remove the panels next to the area to be worked on, drill and place fibers, then replace the panels while moving across the room. If working in drywall that is not yet installed, cut the drywall to size and do any test fitting required. Once the sheet of drywall is cut correctly, drill and place the fibers, making sure to leave adequate room around the perimeter for taping. Now lift and install the completed panel and continue on to the next one. If the ceiling has a crawl space with no means of panel removal, the same method is used with one person below drilling and one above placing fibers and securing with epoxy. As the fibers are placed, retain a few fibers in each area to use as fillers once the ceiling is completed to fill in any bare areas.

Once all of the fibers have been placed, the ceiling is finished, and all are satisfied with the fiber placement and effect, clip the exposed fiber ends about 1/4” to 1/8” from the ceiling with a pair of snips. This will allow the ceiling to be re-painted several times without losing the Starfield.

 

Click here to download a starfield ceiling installation guide.