Bulkhead ceiling

[kilo_4que]

Hi guys, I want to make a curved bulkhead but do not know where to start. I know there are two possibilities, one being a wooden frame and the other being an aluminium frame structure.

Likewise what would you guys advise?

The bulk head needs to hang down roughly two feet in all around the room and handing down roughly 1 foot with a half foot lip.

Would I build a rough wooden frame covered with ply? Am I going in the right direction guys?

cheers

 

[Symptoms]

Kilo - timber frames to correct dimensions, less thickness of sheeting material (only important if tolerances are critical), fixed in position. Then add curved corner frames, again timber although I'd probably use 18mm ply so that the curved framing can be cut with a bandsaw or jig saw; using thick ply will ensure a smooth curve (these corner pieces, will look like triangles but with one side a concaved curve).

Next the skinning material. Choices:
1.5mm ply stapled/glued onto frame (you'd have to order this stuff) - really flexy
5mm or 8mm cross grained ply - curves along the short dimension of a sheet
5mm or 8mm long grain ply - curves along the longer dimension of a sheet
2mm MDF
kerf cut MDF - lots of saw cuts across the back edge to make it flexy - you can buy this pre-cut of make your own if you've got a hand-held circular saw, see below:

Lots of cuts across the back-edge Experiment on a scrap length of MDF to get the best depth of cut, too little depth may result in a stiff board which is difficult to form into the curve, too deep a cut may result in the MDF splitting of the front face as you bend it.

You could get your local woodworking shop to do it for a small charge, or - if you're really confident/safe etc. and had lots of experience with one use a hand-held circular saw against a clamped fence (moved for each cut)

Invest (or hire) in an air nailer/stapler to fix the skinning onto the frames.

 

[kilo_4que]

Bloody heck I cant believe I missed this reply.

So basically I make a timber frame which covers the main area coverage and once done I skin around it with the relevant ply?

To be honest I was going to hire a professional for this but I am a bit of a handyman myself. Whilst this is normally beyond the average handyman, I am willing to take the task on as 8k for a small room is way too expensive id say.

Likewise my idea is to do it all myself