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Old 11-17-2010, 06:19 PM
 
Location: Long Island
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We are thinking about cathedral ceilings for the master bed and bath as we're in the design phase right now. Building 2nd floor from scratch anyway. There would be an attic in the space otherwise.

1) does it cost more to "build" considering amount of materials & labor? Getting conflicting info because a regular ceiling seems like more of both.
2) how does it work out for insulation?
3) heating and cooling, does it really mean a lot more expenditure for both?
4) long-term issues?
5) skylights?
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Old 11-17-2010, 06:31 PM
 
Location: under the beautiful Carolina blue
22,616 posts, read 36,530,898 times
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We have cathedral ceiling in our master bath. I'm not a fan. Yes, that's where all the heat goes - good in summer but bad in winter, especially with cold tile floors. And I'm not even in a cold climate We also have a skylight, again not a fan, what a racket when it rains. Some people love them, to me it's just one more thing that can go wrong. Make sure you are observant about which direction yours would face - a southern exposure with no shade = brutal heat from the skylight.
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Old 11-17-2010, 07:19 PM
 
886 posts, read 2,636,668 times
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Cathedral ceilings are great! Too high for me to paint so wife has to call a pro.
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Old 11-18-2010, 09:20 AM
 
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Go with the high ceiling, you won't regret it. It always adds a certain "something" to any room.
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Old 11-18-2010, 12:28 PM
 
13 posts, read 54,496 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by rh71 View Post
We are thinking about cathedral ceilings for the master bed and bath as we're in the design phase right now. Building 2nd floor from scratch anyway. There would be an attic in the space otherwise.

1) does it cost more to "build" considering amount of materials & labor? Getting conflicting info because a regular ceiling seems like more of both.
2) how does it work out for insulation?
3) heating and cooling, does it really mean a lot more expenditure for both?
4) long-term issues?
5) skylights?
1. Mine didn't cost any extra (then again, it was part of the original floor plan, so maybe the additional fees were built in and I just didn't know about it).
2. It may feel a bit draftier.
3. Not a whole lot more. Utilities always seem expensive, regardless of design.
4. None that I'm aware of.
5. Definitely NOT a good idea. Avoid it at all costs. They eventually leak and cause problems.
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Old 11-18-2010, 05:43 PM
 
Location: Huntington
1,214 posts, read 3,628,706 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ghostwriter1 View Post
5. Definitely NOT a good idea. Avoid it at all costs. They eventually leak and cause problems.
When skylights are installed correctly, they won't leak. We had them in another house for 20 years without an issue ever. The roofing around them may develop a leak after some years, but that's a different factor.

We blew our ceiling up to 14 ft. in our family room and love it. We also installed 2 roof windows as opposed to skylights - great in the warmer weather for ventilation. Higher ceiling = more added value.

Regarding loss of heat, we have high efficiency heat (baseboard/gas/hot water) and also have a separate thermostat for the family room, so all in all, not to much noticeable difference in the heat bill.
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Old 11-18-2010, 06:22 PM
 
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I would vote for no vaulted ceilings in your bath. I don't have first hand experience, but I read up on things prior to working on mine, whcih is in process right now.

when you take a shower the heat rises, to either the 8ft height or up to 14 feet. at 14 feet it feels drafty, supposedly.

my dormer is 4 br 2 bath upstairs. I didn't do the cathedral in the bathrooms. I did cathedrals in the master bed and the front bedroom since both have peaks and arch windows over the double hungs. I wanted an attic, so I'm getting my attic over 2/3s of the second floor and added the punch of the cathedrals where they would be most dramatic and appreciated.

The other thing I did was make all ceilings 8'6" upstairs where it wasn't cathedral to make it feel more airy.

cost wise... I dunno. more wood with an attic, probably more labor.

we're in plumbing stage so it will be a while before we have the full first hand experience.
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Old 11-18-2010, 07:21 PM
 
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I did cathedral ceilings in my bathroom, and master suite. To be honest i dont really notice the difference but im the kinda guy that would be happy living anywhere. One thing our contractor told us was that they would be drafty so we opted to install heated tile in the bathroom, which serves 2 purposes. First it feels great in the AM when i step outta bed into the bathroom, nothings worse than cold tile in the morning. Second it actually helps heat the bottom area of the room, which is great since the heat rises from the floor.

The contractor we used had alot of great suggestions, and i would certainly pick the GC's brain before you break ground on any project. Ours was able to help us out alot design wise by getting us into some other homes in the area he previously worked on. He did some really awesome bathrooms, some that we couldnt afford, but it helped to see the details we liked and then apply the ones we wanted and could afford to our budget. Working with an experienced pro that pays attention to detail is a must, we previously got burned in an older house by using a low bidder who promised us the world.

i'd be happy to share information or pictures of how our house came out with anyone, just send me a message.
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Old 11-18-2010, 07:49 PM
 
1,963 posts, read 4,230,673 times
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I want to add this for my redone kitchen and bedroom. I have heard there will be more energy costs due to the larger area to heat/cool but I have always been skeptical of how significant it will be.
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Old 11-18-2010, 08:18 PM
 
39 posts, read 266,676 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Jetties View Post
I want to add this for my redone kitchen and bedroom. I have heard there will be more energy costs due to the larger area to heat/cool but I have always been skeptical of how significant it will be.
you want to add cathedral ceilings or heated floors? I havent really noticed a difference in bills for the ceilings, we thought there would be like you said since its a larger space and heat rises. I gotta say tho i think the heated floors helps heat the room bc recently we've shut off the traditional heating zone in the bathroom and only use the floors and its still warm. It has to be done right though, we designed our floor system to heat the room so we would need to use both. Our contractor had experience building energy efficient homes so he used some tricks he had from there in the design process.
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