An indoor pool needs the right ceiling, and pool and spa companies need only look overhead for additional bottom-line profits.
A visually attractive ceiling has significant impact on the pool users’ experience. Pool ceilings can be vast, uninterrupted surfaces and, because users look upwards while swimming on their backs, soaking in a hot tub/spa, or reclining on the deck, ceilings can be more conspicuous than in other types of spaces.
Ceilings are also the best option for reducing noise in an indoor pool environment. People splashing and playing make aquatic facilities noisy environments. The water surface plus the hard decks, walls, and glazing around the pool reflect sound to increase the intensity of the noise and create reverberations that interfere with speech and hearing. Some ceiling products, however, can absorb most of the sound impinging on them and are the best candidates to control noise.
The right ceiling must be compatible with a pool environment. It should be impervious to water and high humidity, the sagging and mould growth that often occurs in damp locations, stains caused by leaks and condensation, and the aggressive attack of pool chemicals.
Product options
Suspended (drop) ceilings are widely used because they can economically cover the expanse of a pool and conceal mechanical services above the ceiling. They typically comprise a T-bar grid suspended by wires and populated with acoustic ceiling panels. Painted steel T-bar rusts all too easily in a humid environment. Better, more corrosion-resistant grid options include T-bars made of anodized aluminum, fibreglass composite, or extruded plastic.
