Comfortable ceiling height in the house. Optimal ceiling height in a private house

Ceiling height is an important parameter, the value of which determines the level of comfort in the room and the possibility of implementing certain design ideas. For different types of premises, their own standards are provided. Such values ​​are indicated in the regulatory documentation, and ergonomics also deals with these issues.

Calculations of the distance from the floor to the ceiling surface in the room should be determined at the design stage

Ergonomics of living quarters

The science of ergonomics develops parameters for the optimal ceiling height, at which a person would feel as comfortable as possible.

To create a comfortable atmosphere during construction, the following ergonomic conditions must be observed:

• plenty of natural light;
• enough oxygen;
• maintaining optimum humidity.

These requirements will vary depending on the size of the room.

The first optimal values ​​were calculated by Dürer and Ernst Neufert (about 2.7 m). It is they who are taken as the basis for calculating the standard height of ceilings in SNiP - building codes and regulations used during construction.

Norms

It is worth noting that the regulatory documents do not establish the only correct value, but only indicate the minimum ceiling height for residential premises of various types. Below it, construction is not allowed.

1. Living quarters and kitchens - 2.5-2.7 m.
2. Corridors and halls - 2.1 m.
3. Boiler rooms - 2.2 m.
4. Baths, steam rooms, saunas - 3.2 m.
5. Dry cleaners and laundries - 3.6 m.
6. Offices and other administrative facilities - 3 m.

On practice

The modern indicator of the distance from the ceiling to the floor depends on many factors. The main one is the standard of living of the owners of the premises. In multi-apartment and private houses, as well as cottages that are being built for further sale, developers can take into account the wishes of customers. As they say, any whim for your money.
Usually, the height of the ceilings in a panel house ranges from 2.5-3.2 m. It is believed that the value of 2.5 m is the lower threshold, at which there is no feeling of discomfort and a “pressing” effect.

The height of the Stalinist ceilings

The height of apartments in Stalinist houses is 3-4 m. They were built back in the 30-50s of the twentieth century during the reign of Stalin. These apartments are large and bright, have wide corridors, voluminous door and window openings, spacious bathrooms, kitchens, rooms. We can safely say that such rooms fully comply with ergonomic requirements.

Spacious rooms in stalinkas meet all the requirements of ergonomics

Ceiling height in Brezhnevka

High-rise Brezhnev houses (from 9 to 16 floors) appeared in the USSR in the 70s. At first, the premises in them were called apartments with an improved layout. If we compare them with rooms in Khrushchev, then it really looked like the truth. The distance from the floor to the ceiling surface in the Brezhnev houses is 2.5–2.7 m. The total area of ​​the apartment is 20–80 sq. m. m.

Brezhnevkas are characterized by average parameters, which are considered optimal for life.

Ceilings in new buildings

Today, when building houses, different standards are applied. Elite class apartments can have a height of 3 m or more. The cost per square meter of such housing is much higher than the average. In budget options, they stop at a value of 2.7 m, which is considered optimal both from the financial side and from the point of view of comfort.
The average height of rooms in a nine-story building is 2.6–2.8 m.

High rooms in new buildings allow you to embody the most original design options.

Stretch ceiling

Tension structures are recommended to be installed in high rooms from 2.7 m, as they tend to conceal space.
How much the ceiling will reduce the height depends on the type of mounted fixtures and utilities. Usually this value is about 10 cm. The minimum distance between the main and stretch ceiling coverings should not be less than 3 cm.

Advice!
In low rooms (less than 2.4 m), stretch ceilings should be used with caution. The best option in this case is simple single-level structures. If the room allows, then the space for design fantasies is not limited, and it is quite possible to stop at three- or four-level structures with complex configurations.

How to visually increase the height of the ceiling

If the room is low, you can add space to it visually:

• choose the right ceiling finish, such as a glossy finish;
• use materials of the same shade (white, milky, cream) when decorating walls and ceilings;
• highlight the boundaries between the wall and ceiling with a mirror strip;
• cover the walls with a pattern with a vertical orientation (the pattern should not be too frequent and not too bright);
• install cornice lighting (cornice should be hung at a height of 5-10 cm from the ceiling).

LED lamps and LED strips around the perimeter of the room will visually increase its space and diversify the interior with original lighting effects.

The height of the room affects not only the cost of the housing itself and its maintenance, but also the well-being of those who live in it. This indicator determines the design options that can be used for decoration, is responsible for a comfortable atmosphere and coziness in your rooms.

When building a private house, you have to think about what the height of the ceilings in the rooms will be. Should you choose the usual ceiling height for high-rise buildings or a non-standard one? AnyDayLife's collection of tips will tell you what depends on house ceiling height and which will be optimal in a particular case.

When building a private house, it is possible to choose the height of the ceilings in each room. So, many find a comfortable height of about 3 m, while others are accustomed to low ceilings 2.5 m high. And there are people for whom the ceiling height should only be above 3 m. In all cases, the problem of choosing the height of ceilings rests on many factors . And the first of them - construction cost. The higher the ceiling in the house, the more expensive it will cost you due to the use of more building materials.

Houses with low ceilings are cheaper and easier to heat. Affect low ceilings to the exterior of the building. So, a house with low ceilings outwardly looks more squat. And this is already a minus.

You can solve this problem by combination of ceiling heights. So, on the first floor, the ceilings are planned to be high, but on the second, where the bedrooms are located, they can be made lower. Thus, outwardly, the house looks very good, while for each individual room you can choose the optimal height of the ceilings.

The height of the ceiling in a private house also depends on the size of the rooms. So, a small room with a low ceiling looks like a wretched closet. But the high ceiling allows a small room to visually make it more spacious. Also consider the fact that for large rooms it is necessary to plan high ceilings. For example, a room with an area of ​​18 m2 will look good with a ceiling height of 2.5-2.6 m, and with an area of ​​25 m2 or more, it is better to take a ceiling with a height of 3 m. Large rooms with low ceilings visually lose volume and seem small.

From the above, we can conclude that for the living room on the first floor, which will be large, a high ceiling of 3 m is needed. In the bedrooms that are on the second floor, such a ceiling height is not needed, especially since the area of ​​\u200b\u200bthese rooms is much smaller. Here, the ceiling height can be taken as 2.4-2.5 m. By the way, a ceiling height of 2.4 m is considered minimum comfort for a person. In the kitchen, in the bathroom and the bathroom there is also no need for high ceilings, so the height of these rooms can fluctuate at the level of 2.5-2.8 m.

Since when building a house on one floor, you have to allocate space for different rooms, you have to do multi-level layout. This again results in extra costs, but with this approach, you will feel comfortable in every room.

The optimal ceiling height for each person is different. It all depends on your height. Tall people are comfortable only in rooms with a ceiling height of about 3 m. If the ceiling is low, then it seems that it hangs overhead.

Determine the optimal height of the ceiling in the room very simple: let the tallest member of the family stand and stretch his hand up. To this height, you need to add another 30 cm. The resulting height will be the optimal ceiling height in the room.

When building a house, it is important to consider that ceiling height is laid rough and not pure. So, with a floor height of 3 m, the final ceiling height can be 2.7-2.8 m (assuming a ceiling thickness of 15 cm).

Standard ceiling height in a private house: what should it be according to current standards?

If the room is planned to use a suspended or multi-level ceiling and insulate the floor, then the final height may be lower. And if there are plans to hang a large chandelier, then it can hang right over your head. Therefore, when choosing the optimal height for each room, you also have to consider its design.

Ceiling height in a house from a bar

We inherited a wide variety of apartments from the Soviet past. At the same time, we have always considered the height of ceilings to be one of the main indicators of home comfort - the higher, the more prestigious. Apparently, modern fashion has gone from here among the future owners of houses from a bar to high rooms. The dream of a city dweller of the Soviet era - a full-sized apartment with high ceilings today is often embodied in a cottage. However, how justified is the desire to increase the distance from floor to ceiling, and is it worth the money spent? Let's figure it out together.

Today, the height at which the ceiling is made in the room is determined not only by the designer, but also by the current building codes, which take into account many factors. Based on this, ceilings at a height of 2.4 - 2.55 meters are considered the most optimal, at the same time, higher rooms do not always turn out to be as comfortable as they were supposed to be during their design. The thing is that in a wooden dwelling, the ceilings are not just a structural component. They are the most important part of the building, the rational dimensions of which guarantee not only coziness and comfort, but also help to significantly save on the further operation of the house (reducing the cost of ventilation and heating).

If the project of a house made of timber provides for a reasonable ceiling height, this is a guarantee:
- optimal costs for electricity consumed for lighting and heating the building;
- reducing the cost of building materials, by reducing their quantity (lower wall height - less timber is needed);
- savings on air conditioning and ventilation of premises (due to a general reduction in the air volume of the building).
The choice of the optimum in this matter is pushed by the buyer and the prices of wooden houses. For example, a Finnish wooden house (at a considerable price) in the basic configuration has a ceiling height on the second floor of only 2 meters 40 centimeters.

Despite this, ceilings at the level of 3 meters are now considered good form. Maybe this is so, but only in rooms with a large area. Small rooms with such ceilings look like wells. Naturally, it is not realistic for an individual developer to indicate the mandatory height of rooms, he will do it his own way anyway. However, the minimum standards defined by SNIP 2.08.01-89 must be observed. So, for rooms in houses of permanent residence, the height of the rooms should be at least 2.5 meters, while kitchens and attics should not be lower than 2.3 meters, and in the corridor the ceiling can be lowered to 2.1 meters. For country houses, a height of 2.2 to 2.4 meters is allowed.

How did the standards for room height change in our country? The mass buildings of the period of the leadership of the country by Nikita Khrushchev (the famous panel five-story buildings) had a height of rooms in the region of 2.5 meters. Later buildings (the eighties of the 20th century) lowered the bar to 2.4 m. Today, high-rise buildings can boast rooms with an interval of 2.5 to 2.7 meters in height. No doubt, a room with a high ceiling looks very nice. In it, a person feels spacious. However, life is not limited to these feelings alone. Let's look at other aspects of this issue.

Winter comes sooner or later. And then the owner, who started building a house from a bar with high ceilings, discovers that in his cottage there is a large cubic capacity of air that needs to be warmed up. Will he be able to pay for the necessary energy resources? So the answers are heard that since there was enough money for the mansion, then there will be enough money for firewood (natural gas, diesel fuel, electricity - underline as necessary). And here you need to think: will there always be the same financial stability as it is today? After all, life is characterized by its unpredictability, and one must count on the worst.

Even if everything is stable with wages, who canceled the rise in prices in our country? The cost of fuel is growing every year, trying to reach unprecedented heights. Along with rising prices, the age of residents who will someday retire is also gradually increasing. And it is in monetary terms, as you know, much lower than wages. How to proceed then? Where to get money for heating? It is not necessary to wait for help from the state, which pursues a policy of equal profitability from the sale of energy resources within the country and abroad. The promised subsidies for the payment of housing and communal services apply only to residents of apartment buildings.

Now the other side of the problem. Three-meter ceilings are not a problem for young owners of a 6x9 meter wooden log house. They will calmly carry out minor repairs to the ceiling, comfortably sitting on a stepladder. But what to do when you are over 65 years old? Muscles have weakened, joints hurt - not like climbing a ladder, it’s hard to climb onto a chair. It's time to paint the ceiling, but you can't do it yourself. Replacing the same light bulb in a chandelier is a huge difficulty. Of course, today the service sector is rapidly developing and you can call an assistant, but is a modest pension enough if now they charge at least 200 rubles for calling a master to replace burnt out lamps in a lamp?

With this in mind, as well as the fact that many old houses have high ceilings (from 3 to 3.2 m), when installing stretch ceilings, more and more people are asking to lower them lower. After that, it becomes more convenient to change the burnt out light bulb and wipe the chandelier from dust. Comfort becomes more important than beauty. Of course, low ceilings are not an option.

Comfortable ceiling height

It is necessary that the tallest person living in the house cannot reach the ceiling with his hand. Otherwise, the ceiling hanging directly over your head will “put pressure” on the psyche and you cannot call such a comfortable stay.

It is worth thinking over this difficult question in advance and making an informed decision, and not chasing fashion trends, mindlessly increasing the height of the ceilings in your house. Specialists from the construction company will always provide the necessary advice.

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The optimal ceiling height in the house

What is the optimal ceiling height in a private house

The optimal ceiling height in a private house is one of the most important parameters that you have to determine for yourself before starting construction. The comfort of the premises and the overall quality of living directly depend on it. For those who are going to buy an apartment, it's easier. They just have to choose from what is offered on the market. Building a private house is more difficult. After all, here the wrong choice not only prevents you from getting what you want, but also results in considerable monetary costs. In addition, the ability to implement successful design projects also depends on the height of the ceiling. So choose very carefully.

Optimal ceiling height in a private house

What the law says

According to fire safety requirements, today the minimum allowable threshold is 2.5–2.6 meters. Such parameters make it possible to build more or less comfortable housing, which can be squeezed into the minimum size of the plot for the construction of a private house. Its area is determined by local municipal assemblies, but most often it is the standard 3 acres.

What parameters are important

To determine them, you can separately study the advantages of high and low ceilings.

Pros of low ceilings

In fact, low ceilings have their advantages. And among the main ones:

• saving building and finishing materials;
• simpler and cheaper maintenance of such a house;
• smaller windows (savings on their purchase);
• reduction in heating costs (savings in a room with the same area and height of 2.5 and 3.5 m can reach 20%).

But 2.5 meters is also a critical minimum from a functional point of view. Here already there are difficulties with the installation of modern designs of ceiling systems and the implementation of various interior solutions.

Pros of High Flows

• space;
• great freedom in design;
• practicality (you can use spacious hanging cabinets, saving space below);
• more fresh air in the room;
• no sudden temperature changes.

The only drawback of high ceilings is the presence of echo. But it is not significant and is solved with the help of high-quality sound insulation (at the construction stage) or upholstered furniture, long curtains, carpets and other similar things afterwards.

So you can determine that the optimal ceiling height in a private house is in the range of 2.7–3.1 meters. Such a dwelling will already please its owners with a cozy atmosphere, but at the same time it will not ruin them with utility bills. If you want to know the opinion of a specialized specialist on your particular case, you can always contact Uyutny Dom-13. Its specialists have successfully implemented hundreds of projects of private houses with a variety of parameters - from compact cottages to extensive country residences. Therefore, they will be able to choose the best option, taking into account the ratio of comfort and cost.

Each developer, still at the stage of dreaming about his future home, asks himself a question about the height of the ceilings. The forums are full of topics about life in cramped "Khrushchev" with ceilings of 2.5 m and advice not to save on this little joy. Let's figure out where is the golden mean between the ceilings two and a half meters high and the second light of the houses that look at us so temptingly from the pages of glossy magazines.

First you need to understand for yourself that in this house you will not only enjoy life, but also that you need to build a house, and then serve all this beauty.

Cons of low ceilings

Of course, the main disadvantage of low ceilings is the psychological component, which will not allow a person in good health to roll up a construction site with ceilings of 2.10 m in the twenty-first century, and then knock his forehead on the door jambs and burn his head with a light bulb. The house should be comfortable, spacious and bright.

charlotte holmes

Pros of low ceilings

The cost of building the ideal maintenance of such a house. The lower the ceiling in the house and the lower the walls, the less material will be spent on their construction, less material will be spent on finishing these walls, smaller windows will be needed, the volume of rooms will be reduced, and heating costs will decrease accordingly.

What ceiling height should be in a private house

Agree, it is cheaper and faster to heat 37.5 cubic meters of air in a room of 15 meters than 52.5 cubic meters in a room with ceilings of 3.5 meters of the same area.

Cons of high ceilings

The disadvantages of high ceilings themselves follow from the advantages of the low ones described above in this article, so we will not dwell on them too much.

Pros of high ceilings

The advantage of high ceilings is the unique atmosphere and freedom of a private house, to which many people move "having cashed in" in crushing high-rise buildings. It is impossible to imagine a cozy, large living room with low ceilings. You will not leave the feeling of something pressing or that you are in an old building. A wall design containing vertical stripes can eventually somehow smooth out the insufficient ceiling height, but this is not the best option at the stage of thinking of the future developer.

Dmitry Kruglyak

Optimal ceiling height in a private house

If you are not completely confused yet, let's compare the height of the ceiling in various buildings known to us.

Thus, the optimal ceiling height for a private house is 2.70 - 3.10 meters. A house with such ceilings will delight the owners with its cozy atmosphere and will not ruin them with gas bills or any alternative fuel.

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Ceiling height: 17 questions and answers that will change your ideas about comfort

The topic of this article is ceiling height. In it, the reader and I will have to find out what restrictions apply to the minimum and maximum height of the room. You will also learn about methods for changing it up and down, both physically and visually.

Range

Minimum

1. What is the minimum ceiling height of a dwelling that does not cause discomfort to its inhabitants?

It is believed that it is equal to 2.4 meters. However, in practice, the answer depends heavily on the anthropometric data of your family. Agree that people with a height of 160 and 210 centimeters have slightly different ideas about comfort.

The lower limit of comfort is a kitchen with a height of 240 cm.

Maximum

1. What is the maximum ceiling height above the floor? Why do developers avoid building housing with ceilings higher than 3 meters?

Offhand, there are two reasons:

The higher each individual floor, the more expensive the house as a whole. As the cost per square meter of housing increases, its competitiveness decreases. Most potential buyers are limited in funds and, with an equal usable area of ​​​​the apartment, they will choose a cheaper offer.

In addition, with an increase in the height of the room, heating costs increase: following the height of the flow, the volume of the apartment increases.

In practice, heating a high room is additionally complicated by the stratification of air by temperature: heat is collected under the ceiling, and the floor remains cold.

Balance

1. What is the standard ceiling height in Soviet-built houses?

In houses of different projects, it is different. I will give some examples from my own experience:

• In the city of Khabarovsk, I happened to be in a building built by Japanese prisoners of war shortly after the First World War and the October Revolution. The distance from floor to ceiling was 4.5 meters, which made it possible to build a mezzanine with a sleeping place or a small office in the living room;

• In the 1960 Stalinka building, in which I lived for several years, the ceiling was at a height of 3.2 meters;
• Built just eight years later, the Khrushchev building in Komsomolsk-on-Amur “pleased” with a height of 250 cm.

Such low ceilings were associated with the program for the construction of social housing adopted under the unforgettable Nikita Sergeevich. From 1958 to 1985, houses were built with the most compact apartments and without any architectural excesses.

1. What will please more modern houses?

• The height of the ceilings p44t - a series built from 1979 to 1999 - is 2.7 meters;

• The standard in a new building in recent years is 2.7 - 3 m.

1. And what is the optimal height?

In my opinion - 260 - 270 centimeters. This value will save you from feeling crowded, but will not force you to overpay for heating. In any case, it was this ceiling height that I chose when building my own attic.

The interior of my attic. The distance from the horizontal section of the ceiling to the floor is 260 cm.

non-residential premises

1. How low can a suspended ceiling be lowered in a bathroom?

2.3 - 2.4 meters is a reasonable minimum. If you make the bathroom even lower, a person above average height, standing in a bathtub or shower tray, will experience noticeable discomfort.

1. And what are the requirements for a toilet or a combined bathroom?

The same. The exception is attic: if it is located under an inclined section of the ceiling, the distance from it to the floor will in any case be less. When designing this room, consider the height of the tallest member of the family: he should not touch the ceiling with his head.

1. What is a comfortable height in a sauna or Russian bath?

2.2 meters with a height of the upper shelf 0.95 - 1 meter. Such dimensions will allow you to swing a broom and at the same time not suffer from overspending of firewood when heating the room.

In the washroom or rest room, it is better to raise the ceiling lining to 2.35 - 2.40 meters. It does not need to be heated to such a high temperature as a sauna or steam room, which allows you to increase the volume of the room.

Tension, suspended

1. What is the minimum height of the stretch ceiling from the ceiling of the room?

Ideally, about 4 centimeters. The distance that the stretch ceiling eats up can increase in two cases:

• If the slab has noticeable irregularities and differences. In this case, a distance of 4 cm is laid off from the lower overlap point;

• If the space between the canvas and the ceiling is used for mounting built-in lights, ventilation ducts or air conditioning lines. Everything here is determined by the dimensions of the fixtures or the cross section of the engineering communications that you plan to lay.

1. How much height will a drywall suspended structure take?

With an even overlap - about the same as the stretch ceiling takes, about 4 cm.

1. How much will the ceiling level decrease when it is sheathed with plastic panels?

When constructing a suspended structure along a frame from a profile, the same simple arithmetic applies as in the case of GKL: the profile thickness is 27 mm, the panel thickness is 7 - 10 mm. Total 34-37 mm.

However, on a relatively even overlap, the panels can be mounted not on the frame, but on glue or silicone sealant. Then only 7-10 mm (panel thickness) is lost.

Problems of the rich

1. How to reduce the height of the ceiling in the room to save on heating?

Any suspended structure or stretch fabric will reduce the heated volume of the room. However, a cold ceiling in conditions of limited ventilation can begin to freeze, which will lead to its rapid damage by fungus and the appearance of puddles of condensate on the floor.

A smarter solution is to leave the height of the room the same and use an underfloor heating system. It redistributes the temperature inside the room, providing maximum heating where it is needed - at floor level.

1. How you can use the excess height of the living room?

I already mentioned the solution: the space above human height is used for habitable mezzanines. They can accommodate a bed, an office or a nursery. With a room height within 3 meters, compact mezzanines are used to store rarely used items.

The poor also cry

1. How to increase the height of a room in an apartment building?

Here are a couple of the most obvious solutions:

• Remove the wooden flooring along with the joists. It will allow you to win at least ten centimeters. To level the slab floor, use a self-leveling floor, for sound insulation - linoleum with insulation or laminate with a thick (5-10 mm) and dense (for example, cork) substrate;

• Remove the screed poured over the ceiling. Its typical thickness is 5-8 cm. On the first floors, a layer of insulation 3-5 cm thick is often laid under a reinforced screed; in this case, the height of the ceiling will grow by an impressive 8 - 13 cm.

Of course, after removing the insulated screed, you will have to seriously be puzzled by the insulation of the basement under the apartment.

1. How to make a room higher in a wooden house?

And here I will offer you a couple of ideas:

• Hem the ceiling not along the beams, but along the cranial bars stuffed on their side surfaces;

• Cut out the floor beams and lay on the ground on top of the concrete preparation (a layer of low-grade concrete) insulated.

In the latter case, window and door openings will noticeably rise relative to the floor level. Be prepared to cut an extra crown and change window and door blocks.

1. How to visually increase the height of the ceiling, if there is no way to physically raise it?

Play with contrast. Human vision has an interesting feature: light objects seem to him more distant than they really are, dark objects are closer. If you paint the ceiling white or just the lightest possible color, it will seem taller to you; the effect can be emphasized by decorating the walls with a dark finish.

The reverse is also true. A dark ceiling with light walls will look lower than it actually is.

A couple more tricks:

• High baguettes, moldings or just white stripes at the top of the walls will further increase the apparent height of the ceiling;

• Similarly, gloss and in general any finish that has a mirror effect will work. All surfaces that fully or partially reflect the interior of the room will deceive your eyesight and make the surface of the ceiling look more distant than it actually is.

1. How to visually increase the height of the ceiling if no major repairs are planned in the room?

Lighting affects the visual perception of distances in the same way as the light colors of the finish. By brightly illuminating the ceiling with relatively dark walls, you again make it taller. For this purpose, you can use spotlights, spotlights or a bright LED strip hidden behind a ceiling plinth.

Conclusion

From the article you learned what is the minimum and maximum ceiling height. At your disposal there is always the opportunity to change the size due to design tricks. As always, I would appreciate it if you could share your own ceiling design experience. Good luck, comrades!

If you want to express gratitude, add a clarification or objection, ask the author something - add a comment or say thanks!

Each person wants his home to be as spacious as possible, therefore, when purchasing a house or apartment, he first of all evaluates its area. But, unfortunately, during searches, people often lose sight of such a moment as the ceiling height for a one-story house. Ceiling height can greatly affect the visual perception of the room. If the ceilings are too low, then a person, being in such a room, will constantly experience discomfort and inconvenience.

Very often, people in their homes prefer to make ceilings about 3.5 meters high. This option is very convenient, since only the upper 20 cm of the walls remain unoccupied in such rooms. Below this mark are cornices and carpets.

In addition, in apartments you can often find ceilings from 2.7 to 2.7 meters high. This option is also quite good - there is the necessary space in the room, and its price due to saving the materials used is quite acceptable.

The ideal option is a ceiling height of 3.2 meters - there is a large amount of fresh air in the room, which has a good effect on health. In addition, such a ceiling height does not have a visual "pressing" effect. If you do not have the opportunity to equip ceilings of this height, a mark of 2.5 meters is quite suitable. This height is quite comfortable for a person.

Ceiling heights and energy consumption in the house

The thickness of the floor, the space above the ceiling and the height of the room from floor to ceiling are the components of the floor height between the finished floor marks. The floor height is usually determined by the building design standards and the structure of the building itself. Ceiling height affects the efficiency of energy consumption in the room, as it affects the area of ​​the outer surface of the building, which is exposed to solar radiation and atmospheric influences.

Read also

Construction of monolithic private houses

The main advantage of a low height is to reduce the amount of air conditioning required in the home, which can save unnecessary electricity. In some countries, special studies have been carried out regarding the most optimal ceiling height.

For example, in the UK, the subjective opinion of people was ascertained regarding low ceilings of the order of 2.4 - 2.55 m. Upon completion of the research, it turned out that such a height is considered quite optimal and does not cause discomfort. Moreover, some people did not even notice that the ceilings are low.

When building a private house, when deciding on the height of the ceilings, many intuitively make a choice in favor of the standard one.

It will be possible to understand how this decision is expedient only after the construction of the house and living in it are completed. But you can understand some of the nuances, evaluate the pros and cons at the planning stage.

Accepted standards

First of all, some existing norms and standards should be taken into account. In addition to purely practical norms, depending on the complexity of the work and cost, there is a legally executed set of SNiP (building codes and rules). This document establishes the minimum allowable height of a dwelling, based on fire safety and the safety of the building structure.

According to him:

• the height of rooms and kitchens should not be lower than 2.5 m;
• height of corridors and halls - 2.1 m;
• the height of the attic depends on the angle of inclination and is 1.3 m at an angle of 30 ° and is not standardized at an angle of 45 ° or more.

Making the height less will not only be uncomfortable, but also unsafe.

The minimum height, normalized by the rules, is not always optimal. Among the builders there are their own standards, supported by experience and knowledge of the matter. Of course, it all depends on each specific case.

For example, for a luxurious stone mansion, you should not make ceilings of the same height as for a modest wooden house in the country, but, based on the average size of a brick or wooden cottage, the standard height is 2.7-2.9 m.

Advantages and disadvantages of standard height

The average value in the construction of a private country house is most often optimal. When the goal is to build comfortable housing without unnecessary costs and frills, then the best solution is to follow the standards.

Disadvantages of high ceilings

• The construction of rooms with high ceilings is much more expensive, they require more material. This is especially true for two-story houses, so the ceilings on the second floor are usually made lower than on the first.
• Due to the increase in the volume of the room, the cost of heating also increases.
• Very often, this makes no sense: a few tens of upper centimeters remain unused, hanging over with unnecessary space.

Disadvantages of low ceilings

• Psychological feeling of oppression and discomfort.
• The difficulty of choosing furniture and accessories. It is necessary to choose furniture in such a way that it does not compress the space and does not cause inconvenience.

Choosing a standard height will allow you to bypass all these disadvantages and make your stay in the house as pleasant as possible.

Peculiarities

There are different nuances, and not always the standard height is the best. For the construction of a simple, cheap, but at the same time comfortable and cozy house - of course, but in cases where it is important to make the house also unusual, eye-catching, intricate, it is better to act differently.

Standard height is optimal, average for all indicators, but this is also its main drawback if the goal is to build something unique. In addition, for various special cases, there are also special approaches.

In the case of building a frame house, the height is usually made smaller, lowering the ceilings to 2.3-2.5 m.

For example, in Finland, most houses are built in this way. This is explained by the speed of construction of the structure and savings. But nevertheless, life in such houses is no less pleasant for this: becoming more cramped, housing becomes more comfortable.

It is quite easy to build and increase brick houses by a couple of tens of centimeters, moreover with proper insulation, they are easy to heat, so the ceilings in such houses can be made higher. Raising the height to 3-3.2 m, you can attract interesting design solutions and achieve a modern beautiful interior design.

In log houses, an increase in height can cost a pretty penny both in terms of construction and in terms of maintenance. Therefore, it is for such houses that the standard version of the ceiling height will be the most ergonomic. A beam is a difficult material and it needs special care, therefore, during construction, it is important to take into account its features.

For attic, as well as two-story houses, as mentioned earlier, there are other standards. In order to save on construction and heating, the ceilings on the second floor are usually made 10-20 centimeters lower than on the first floor. If there is an attic, then it all depends on the angle of inclination. The main thing is that the low ceilings do not cause discomfort everything else is a matter of price. The area of ​​​​the room and the functionality of the space should be taken into account. For spacious living rooms, higher ceilings should be made, and for bathrooms and corridors, low ones.

With individual design projects, the laws are completely different and depend on the personal desire of the customer and the designer.

To make the living space of a private house more aesthetically pleasing, there are many interior solutions that most people simply do not know about. For people who have chosen standard height ceilings, the following recommendations can be given to add visual beauty and volume to the room:

• it is worth using shiny stretch ceilings - they stretch the space, saturating it with reflected light;
• in the decoration of the walls, you need to add more vertical lines and mirrors - this will make the space deeper and visually higher;
• it is desirable to paint the walls and ceiling in one tone, and the floor - a tone lower, that is, darker;
• the ceiling is better to make light;
• windows should be placed closer to the ceiling so that more light falls on it than on the floor.

Design

The choice of standard height ceilings opens the door to a variety of inexpensive designs, from plain wallpaper (it's better to choose wallpaper with stripes, as it makes the look more sophisticated) to intricate designer patterns that can bring interesting ideas to the interior of the room. Using a small ladder, you can independently reach the highest sections of the walls and decorate them.

A room with a standard ceiling height can be compared to a standard sheet of paper, so familiar to creativity. There are, of course, both large formats and small ones, but it is the standard one that is so familiar and convenient for creating something of your own.

Psychology

Houses are built for people and people to live in them, their feelings and impressions from living in a particular house - the main thing to focus on. A normal height is one that does not cause unpleasant emotions: it does not press, does not make you feel uncomfortable, but at the same time does not create the feeling of being in a public place.