Demo

Demo landing page for an invented stretch-ceiling company. Built by STRYLA in 48 hours.

UA I want a site like this
Chicago · Lincoln Park, Logan Square, South Loop Canvas (312) 555-0142
Living room with a stretch ceiling
Plate ISatin, 240 sq ft, Lincoln Park. Install — 4 hours 20 minutes.

Buyer’s reference · issue 1

Everything about stretch ceilings before you pay for one

The finishes, the price list including what isn’t in the price, and answers to the questions people usually ask after the install.

The ceiling is the only surface in a home you look at lying down. Worth choosing slowly.

Chapter Ip. 3

What it costs

The membrane itself costs about the same everywhere — it’s imported from Germany or France, and the wholesale price differs by pennies. Three things make the difference in a quote: the track, the seams and the people.

A cheap aluminum track warps within a year and the ceiling ripples along the wall. A sloppy welded seam shows against the light — on gloss especially. And a crew that laid tile yesterday is doing its first ever stretch on your ceiling: the membrane goes up at 140 °F, and a mistake there costs the whole sheet.

Under $7 a square foot in Chicago is never honest. That’s either salvaged track, or membrane with no certificate, or an installer who isn’t getting paid.

What is already in the price

  • Certified membrane with batch documentation
  • Harpoon track, aluminum or PVC as the room demands
  • Installation by a two-person crew
  • Working around up to four heating pipes
  • Backing plates for the light fixtures
  • Cleaning up and hauling away the debris

What is billed separately

Recessed light fixture
from $22 each
Chandelier hook
$32
Curtain recess
$18 per linear ft
Working around a column or bay
from $50
Removing an old ceiling
from $1.60 per sq ft
Work after 7pm
+15% on the quote

We show this list before the site visit, not on the invoice. It’s exactly what turns a “$900 ceiling” into $1,600 elsewhere.

Finished totals for typical Chicago rooms, track and installation included

  • Bathroom · 45 sq ft Matte$405Satin$495Gloss$450
  • Kitchen · 100 sq ft Matte$900Satin$1,100Gloss$1,000
  • Bedroom · 150 sq ft Matte$1,350Satin$1,650Gloss$1,500
  • Living room · 195 sq ft Matte$1,755Satin$2,145Gloss$1,950
  • Studio · 345 sq ft Matte$3,105Satin$3,795Gloss$3,450
  • Whole two-bedroom · 495 sq ft Matte$4,455Satin$5,445Gloss$4,950
A room with the ceiling finished
Plate IIMatte white with recessed lights, a 195 sq ft living room in South Loop.

Chapter IIp. 7

The finish reference

The six membranes we work with. Prices are per square foot, track and installation included.

  1. Matte$9

    per sq ft

    Looks like a very good paint job, minus the roller marks. Reflects nothing, doesn’t shine under the fixtures.

  2. Satin$11

    per sq ft

    A soft pearl: matte in daylight, faintly luminous in the evening. The compromise most people pick.

  3. Gloss$10

    per sq ft

    A mirror. Visually lifts a low ceiling, but shows everything it reflects — your chandelier included.

  4. Fabric$18

    per sq ft

    Seamless, breathable, survives freezing. For cabins, attics and porches with no winter heat.

  5. Two-level$26

    per sq ft

    A drywall soffit plus the membrane. Hides ductwork and splits a room into zones.

  6. Printed$33

    per sq ft

    1440 dpi printing on membrane up to 16 feet wide. Nurseries, restaurants, showrooms.

Chapter IIIp. 12

What belongs in your room

Pick a room — we’ll show what we recommend there and why.

We recommend satin

The most light and the most eyes on it. Satin doesn’t throw a mirror reflection of the fixture, and it doesn’t look chalky the way matte can.

A typical 195 sq ft — $2,145 track and installation included

A room with the ceiling finished
Plate IIITwo-level with a curtain recess, 280 sq ft, Logan Square.

The membrane is heated to 140 °F and the harpoon goes into the track. As it cools it pulls itself flat — and holds that plane for decades.

Chapter IVp. 18

How the install goes

The site visit takes twenty minutes and happens the day you call. The estimator arrives with membrane samples, a laser measure and a tablet — you see the number on the spot, not “a manager will call you back”.

Cutting to your dimensions takes two days at the shop. We can install any day of the week, Saturday included; what time is up to you — we run three crews.

  1. 0:00We move in

    Furniture and floor get sheeted, small things go out. We laser the level around the perimeter.

  2. 0:40Track

    Track goes up around the room, a fastener every five inches. Anchors into concrete, toggles into drywall.

  3. 1:50The stretch

    We heat the room to 110 °F and feed the harpoon into the track, corners first, middles last.

  4. 3:10Openings

    Thermal rings on, cut-outs for the fixtures, wired up. Every point gets tested.

  5. 3:40Clean-up

    Trim around the perimeter, sweep, debris out. We hand the room back finished.

Chapter Vp. 24

Questions

01Will the membrane sag?

A harpoon fixing holds tension for twenty years. What sags is cheap wedge systems and membrane with no certificate — we don’t work with either.

02How much height does it take?

A minimum of 1.4 inches in a level room. With recessed fixtures it’s 2.4 inches and up, because the fixture body has to go somewhere.

03What does it smell like afterwards?

Warm PVC for the first two or three hours, which is normal and airs out. Fabric membranes have no smell at all.

04Can I clean it?

Yes. Matte and satin with soapy water, gloss with glass cleaner. No abrasives and no brushes — those scratch.

05What if the unit upstairs floods?

Call us, don’t puncture it yourself. We drain through the fixture opening and put the same membrane back — no replacement.

06How long is the wait?

Site visit the day you call. Two days to cut. Installation whenever suits you, usually the following week.

Short version: send me the area and the neighborhood and I’ll give you a number and a date. The site visit is free and commits you to nothing.

Andrew Nowak
installer and owner, 12 years in the trade

STRYLA