🖼️
The project:
Our open-plan living area had soaring raked ceilings that looked great but sounded terrible - every conversation echoed. Rather than hide the height, we decided to make the ceiling the hero. We lined the entire rake with Specrite black oak acoustic panels from Bunnings, which killed the echo and turned a plain white ceiling into the most commented-on feature of the house. The slats frame the skylights beautifully and the black felt backing lets the track lighting disappear into the ceiling. It completely changed the feel of the room - warmer, quieter and far more dramatic.
- Materials:
- Specrite 2700 x 600 x 21mm black oak timber acoustic panels
- Liquid Nails construction adhesive
- Brad nails / panel pins (fired through the felt between slats)
- Timber screws — for mechanical fixing into battens/joists (essential overhead)
- Dulux Wash&Wear matt black — touch-ups on cut edges and trim junctions
- Tools:
- Drill/driver
- Stud finder
- Laser level / chalk line
- Tape measure, pencil and utility knife (for scoring the felt)
- Caulking gun
- Scaffold platform (essential for a raked ceiling)
- Step 1:
Set up a scaffold platform to safely access the raked ceiling — at this height, stable footing for long panels was non-negotiable.
- Step 2:
Measured the ceiling and planned the panel layout so slats ran continuously down the rake, working out where cuts would fall around the skylights and light fittings.
- Step 3:
Located and marked the ceiling joists/battens with a stud finder and snapped chalk lines as fixing guides.
- Step 4:
Set out a laser line for the first panel — getting panel one perfectly straight is critical, as every other panel follows it.
- Step 5:
Cut the first panels to length, applied Liquid Nails to the back, and fixed in place with brad nails through the felt channels between slats, plus screws into joists for a permanent overhead hold.
- Step 6:
Worked across the ceiling panel by panel, butting the tongue-and-groove edges tight so the joins disappear into the slat pattern.
- Step 7:
Templated and cut panels to fit precisely around the skylight openings for a clean shadow-line finish.
- Step 8:
Had our licensed electrician install and wire the track lighting and downlights onto the finished ceiling.
- Step 9:
Touched up cut edges and junctions where required with Dulux Wash&Wear in matt black so joins and trims disappear into the ceiling.
- Step 10:
