steam room ceiling finish

[laleh]

Can you please recommend some finish material (other than tiles) for ceiling of a residential steam room? We are looking for a light weight, durable, inexpensive, easy to install materail.

[ypwpsales]

I don't know how viable this is for being water proofed but if you use cement board underlayment or green board and glue panels of thick laminate. Its somewhere between corian and laminate. Its about 1/8" thick and is solid all the way thru. If you can get it bonded and sealed it should work as good as needed. Do they make prefab kits for sauna. Call around or look for websites with phone numbers and ask a professional installer what they use.

[RWL]

Check ceiling board manufacturers like USG and Armstrong, who may have products for high-humidity locations. I do, though, think that a solid [like drywall] ceiling, with a sophisticated coating [epoxy,etc.] will better serve the use. Product selection is critical.

[JWmHarmon]

An option you might want to consider is the installation of Lexan (Lucite) (Plexiglass) plastic mirror panels. These can be drilled and screwed to the ceiling or they can be glued directly to the backerboard or drywall. They can be made with an aluminum frame and mounted at an angle to prevent steam condensate drips.

They can be made of any of a variety of colors and textures with or without a mirrored surface. You can include different layers with different colors. If you want to get artistic, you can have them heat treated and bent onto a variety of forms. You can do this as a one-piece unit or as a multipiece combination. Care must be taken to prevent moisture leakage if you use multiple panels.

Plastic sheets can be cut into parallel strips of different colors, with or without mirrored strips. Edges can be bevelled.

Check with any glass repair company that advertises bathroom shower door, steam room, spa, and storm door glass replacement or bathroom design company. They should be able to give you some design ideas and some cost estimates.

[Denny David]

Check out Alucobond or Reynobond Composite metal panels. They are a prefinished aluminum face sheet with a composite plastic core. They're used a lot in commercial construction as an exterior finish.

[aka]

Hi laleh,
If aesthetics are not an issue here, or you want to have an industrial look and feel I would definitely stick to ypwpsales's advice and use cement board which are very practical.
If you need something finer I think that tiles are your best bet.
http://www.myinternaldesign.com

[birgco]

There is a beadboard panel specifically recommended for use in bathrooms /damp areas, that we have used successfully in place of standard, individual wood beadboard pieces. I believe it is some sort of mdo/composite material and virtually indistinguishable from the "real thing". You may need to check with the manufacturer if the steam room is pushing the envelope for the material but it could be a good choice for the application.

[barryhunter]

If you want a stone look you might consider StonePly stone panels. Real stone on a honeycomb core. Granite, marble, travertine, onyx. 100% waterproof. Even available as a translucent onyx on glass if you want an illuminated ceiling panel. One piece stone panels have no grout joints to worry about and they are very lightweight. [url] http://www.stoneply.com/ StonePly. Should be ideal as a steam room cladding stone material.

[Madimel]

depending on the look you're trying to achieve. One thing that I have done is to paint the cement board black or other dark color and install fake wood planking by Trex at 4-6" o.c. on the ceiling