Barracuda ceiling or stretched fabric ceiling?

[skutten11]

In ancient times, Baracudatak was installed, a plastic sheet on the ceiling that moved up and down depending on where in the house a door or window was opened, it looked quite funny as it raised and lowered. However, this type of ceiling has now almost disappeared due to the fire hazard they pose. If an open flame comes into contact with the plastic, the entire ceiling will catch fire and fall down, resulting in a total room fire in about 5 minutes which can't be saved, everything catches fire. Therefore, I recommend that you do not install this type of ceiling, as it is one of the fire department's nightmares.

 

[claym]

In former times, Baracudaceiling was installed, a plastic sheet in the ceiling that went up and down depending on where in the house a door or window was opened. It looked quite funny as it rose and fell. But that type of ceiling has now almost disappeared due to the fire hazard. If an open flame comes into contact with the plastic, the entire ceiling will catch fire and fall down, resulting in the room experiencing a total fire in about 5 minutes and can't be saved, everything ignites. So I recommend you not to install such a ceiling, as it's one of the fire department's nightmares.

Installing a barracuda ceiling was never a consideration. My main question was whether my existing ceiling was barracuda or fabric.

 

[skutten11]

A little miss, if it's plastic then it's probably Baracuda, if it's fabric then it might be brown on the unpainted part. Above the fabric, there are usually electrical conduits, so if you're going to install a new ceiling, the only way is probably to hang it down with battens screwed into the ceiling, which is mostly like tongue and groove and supports excellently.

 

[mexitegel]

Thank you all for the quick and good responses, you are wonderful!

@mexitegel:

I am of the same mind, that is, I don't want to install a vapor barrier as this may have unpleasant effects and lead to more problems. My thesis: if there hasn't been a vapor barrier before, then I shouldn't put one in (even if the ceilings in other rooms are to be renovated in the 'near' future).

After I built the interior wall that divides a large room, the upper floor now consists of 5 rooms. 2 of these have no air supply, and I will be adding air supply to these 2 (in conjunction with the exhaust fan on the chimney). One room is a bathroom/toilet with an exhaust channel into the chimney (no air supply here, and there shouldn't be any).

Regarding the attic, it is a cold attic, the attic floor is insulated with wood shavings + sawdust, and then fiberboard has been laid on this, followed by windproofing paper. From what I've read, it's not a good solution to mix organic material with inorganic? It would be better to remove the fiberboard and lay ecofiber or similar?

The attic doesn't have vents on the short sides. There is a tiny air gap at the eaves on the long sides.

The roof is tongue-and-groove + windproofing paper + modern metal roof. No insulation.

I have 4 temperature and humidity sensors set up in the attic; I know the accuracy of these isn't optimal, but I use them to observe trends (see images below). These were purchased at Clas O. I have also measured the moisture content in the tongue-and-groove and beams against the outer roof - a moisture content below the risk level (I've measured where there is growth and in other places too).

To be on the safe side, I've sprayed Japes Mögelfri where it's worst on the tongue-and-groove and then scraped away black fuzz in some places. I've also circled the places where it's black to see if it spreads.

Comments regarding the images:

1. Cardinal directions are approximate

2. North side and west side get barely any sun during the day (west faces a hillside with trees)

3. Short sides (north/south): a few black spots here and there, placed on the tongue-and-groove where it meets the fiberboard

1. Sensor placed "Northeast" (located in a corner): There is growth on the tongue-and-groove + beams (black with a little fuzz) located in the corner closest to the eaves. There's a "dead/old" ventilation duct there. It might be that it's leaky which causes growth here?

2. Sensor placed "Southeast" (located in a corner): No black growth, a few white spots

3. Sensor placed "Southwest" (located in a corner): There is growth on the tongue-and-groove + beams (black with a little fuzz) located in the corner closest to the eaves (growth in almost the same place as "Northeast")

4. Sensor placed "West" (located on a long side above the bathroom!): There is growth on the tongue-and-groove + beams (black with a little fuzz) located closest to the eaves (growth in almost the same place as "Northeast" and southwest)

The tricky part with all this (as I've also checked around here on the forum) is precisely the attic. Should I ventilate more or less? Should I add more insulation to the attic floor or remove it? Should I install a dehumidifier or not.... Phew, it makes me exhausted . The house is located in inland Norrland.

Ventilation/air in the rest of the house:
Basement: Most of the basement is underground, fresh scent, that is, not a musty basement. Good flow into the chimney here and good flow in the air supply vents.
Floor 1: Somewhat confined, slightly poorer flow in the air supply vents and exhaust channels into the chimney
Floor 2: (where the textile ceiling and the new wall are located): Poor flow in 1 of the air supply vents. The exhaust vent into the chimney in the bathroom is barely noticeable

@Stefan1972:

No, I rushed a bit with the wall construction (we were short on time for moving in). What I did was cut a channel in the ceiling (about 4 m long and 10 cm wide). Installed the interior wall, THEN realized: hmm how am I going to solve this with the ceiling?? It was a lot of work to tension it back on both sides of the wall, but I managed to get it okay. In hindsight, I should have torn down the entire ceiling and installed gypsum directly. I can't recommend anyone try to tension back a cut textile ceiling, it's a nightmare!

/C

You seem to have things under control . And it's correct not to have air supply in bathrooms, only exhaust in dirty areas. It might also be a good idea to get a kitchen fan that can also have basic ventilation.

You should definitely remove the fiber from the attic, and considering your initial mold issues, the question is whether the house would be better off if you don't insulate too much, but that's also dependent on how well the attic's ventilation works. Too much ventilation in unfavorable weather conditions isn't good either.

 

[claym]

Thanks for all the answers!

@mexitegel: Keeping an eye on things, hehe I try but sometimes it feels like I have zero control . Our kitchen fan today is constantly on (level 1 on the fan) for circulation on the ground floor. The kitchen fan is a separate channel that doesn't go into the chimney stack but goes up itself on the kitchen ceiling (kitchen ceiling is a separate ceiling from the main roof). The kitchen fan is broken (buttons that are broken etc.) so it will be replaced soon, I'll make sure to get a good one then.

I will tear away the Gullfiber. However, I'm considering waiting until the chimney ventilation is finished. When the Gullfiber is removed, I plan to first measure and see what happens, also see how it feels indoors. If everything is fine, I'll skip adding more insulation in the attic floor. If it's not fine, I'll add ecofiber or something similar.

As a new homeowner of an old house, I've realized I have to take small steps at a time and see what the effect is.

I will update this thread or create a new one and tell how it went. I think it's nice when people come back and say how everything went after their projects...

/C

 

[mexitegel]

I still think you should consider treating existing growth with boracol to prevent further spreading.

 

[Klasklättermus]

I still think you should consider treating existing growth with boracol to prevent further spread.

somewhat expensive but good function.

 

[Klasklättermus]

But is it sensible to put plastic in an old house at all?

choose to opt for something other than regular age-resistant plastic.
one that is variable in its vapor barrier is preferable

 

[claym]

I still think you should consider treating existing growth with boracol to prevent further spread.

Is boracol available? I sprayed, as I said, with japes mögelfri. Isn't that good enough?

 

[claym]

chooses to opt for something other than standard age-resistant plastic.
one that is variable in its vapor barrier is preferable

Do you have any tips on such?