We were very surprised to find a suspended terracotta ceiling. What a great idea! They would resist rot and fire, all whilst keeping the room incredibly cool during summer.
It’s such a shame we smashed a hole in the ceiling. Unfortunately, it had been painted with lead based paint and was at a different height to the rest of the house.
On the other side of the house was an identical ceiling. At some point there had been another log burning stove in there. Terracotta ceilings like this would be ideal in situations like this.
Our plan is to knock down the thin wall between the front and rear salons. With the ceilings at differing heights this would obvious look incredible weird. Therefore, both ceilings had to come down and be done in one single span.
The beams underneath are hand cut by axe. They are not sawn. They are reasonably straight but by modern standards obviously far from perfect.
Bleaching the Oak Beams
We plan to bleach the oak to a much lighter hue, to make the room slightly more modern yet still keep a traditional feel. In between the beams we will insert thermal insulation. This will add only a small amount of heat insulation. Keeping the heat in the rooms where intended, however it may help also deaden the sound a shoes on the floorboards upstairs as there probably will not be carpets.
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@Our French Renovation