Tray Ceiling - with a second floor above

[CBarchndesign]

Hi, i have a room where I need to add some tray ceiling, but i have a bedroom above, my floor structure is about 22" and i only need 6" on my tray ceiling, when i create the tray and add to recess into ceiling, nothing happens. Help please

[Joe_Carrick]

Try changing the floor structure to not include the ceiling structure.  Then add a ceiling plane.

IOW, make the floor and ceiling as sparate objects.

[Renerabbitt]

The Tray Ceiling tool is effectively creating a set of custom ceiling planes to form the tray.

When Recessed is checked, the tool is essentially cutting a hole into the existing ceiling plane and then creating another ceiling plane above it. You can prove this pretty easily yourself. Create a custom ceiling plane in a room with a floor above, cut a hole in that ceiling plane, and then look at the floor structure above. You’ll see that the opening also cuts into the floor structure.

That explains why a recessed tray does not work when there is a floor directly above. The program would effectively have to cut a hole through that floor system in order to raise the tray above the room’s existing ceiling height.

When Recessed is unchecked, it works differently. The existing ceiling effectively remains intact with no hole cut into it. The tray is then created using additional custom ceiling planes below the elevation of the existing ceiling. Those lower ceiling planes can have the necessary openings in them because they are below the actual ceiling/floor platform and are not cutting into the structure above.

So in simple terms, Recessed means the tray is trying to go up through the existing ceiling, while Recessed unchecked means the tray is built downward below the existing ceiling using additional ceiling planes.

If you want the appearance of a recessed tray where there is a floor above, define a room on the floor above that matches the size and location of the tray. Then reduce the floor structure thickness in that room by the amount you want the tray recessed. After creating that space within the floor system, generate the tray ceiling with Recessed unchecked.

You are essentially creating the recessed space manually in the floor structure above, while letting the Tray Ceiling tool build its custom ceiling planes below the remaining ceiling line without cutting a hole through the floor system.

[Joe_Carrick]

To reiterate:

• A Tray Ceiling can be recessed into a Ceiling 
• A Tray Ceiling can not be recessed into a Floor Structure.
• If the Floor Platform includes a ceiling structure such as:
  • Floor Sheating
  • Floor Joists (ie: floor framing)
  • Air Gap
  • Ceiling Joists
  • Drywall
• then the Tray Ceiling can be recessed up to the Floor Joists but not more than that.
• • ai