Installation of Bespoke Window Finishes for Curtains or LED Strips

This is the plasterboard part of the work: building the shape that the hardware will sit in. The drylining installer builds a dropped section or pocket from metal framing and boards and adds reinforcement where the track will be fixed. They finish the edges, set an aluminium LED profile flush into the board if needed, and fill and smooth everything ready for painting.

The LED strips, driver (power supply), cables, curtain track and curtains are usually separate items. Before you place an order, check exactly what the quote covers. That way nobody argues later about who supplies the profile or who runs the cable.

The electrical work, meaning the supply, switch, dimmer and driver connection, must be done by a qualified electrician. Depending on where you live, mains work may need to be carried out or certified by a registered electrician. The plasterboard installer only prepares the cable route and the openings.

Curtain pocket

This is a recessed strip in the ceiling running along the window, with a ceiling-mounted track fixed inside it. The curtain then comes straight out of the ceiling and the track stays out of sight. The width of the pocket depends on how many tracks you need. One curtain needs a narrower pocket. A sheer curtain combined with a blackout curtain needs a wider one, so the fabrics do not rub against each other, the wall or the window handle. A space of roughly 10 to 20 cm is usual, but the exact size depends on the track you choose.

Recess or step for an LED strip

Here an aluminium profile with a diffuser is either set into the ceiling so it sits flush, or a step is built so that indirect light shines from behind it onto the ceiling or wall. A flush profile looks like a thin line of light. A step gives softer light with no visible source.

Curtain and light combined

A popular choice is a pocket with the track at the back and an LED strip on the edge lighting the curtain. The light shows off the fabric nicely, but this is a demanding detail. The dimensions, the distance between the light and the fabric, and access to the driver all have to be planned together.

1. Measure the window, ceiling and walls, check how level they are and find any existing cables or pipes.
2. Agree the exact pocket or recess dimensions with the client, based on the chosen track and LED profile.
3. Mark the line with a laser along the full length of the window, ideally from wall to wall.
4. Build the framing from perimeter track and ceiling channel, and fit reinforcement fixed into the structural ceiling where the track will go.
5. Prepare the cable route, a place for the driver and an access hatch, so the electrician can run the cable before the boards go on.
6. Fix the boards, cut strips for the face and underside of the pocket, and fit corner beads on the edges.
7. Set the aluminium LED profile flush and level, if it is part of the design.
8. Fill the joints, tape the corners, sand and prepare the surface for painting.
9. After painting, fit the track and LED strip, then test how the curtain runs and how the light looks.

Why does the LED strip go in at the very end? Sanding dust and paint would damage it or dirty the diffuser. The profile and cables, however, must be in place earlier, otherwise the finished ceiling would have to be opened up again.

The simplest case is building the detail at the same time as a new ceiling. The framing is just adjusted, the reinforcement goes in straight away and nothing has to be taken apart. A flat ceiling, one window across the whole wall and a straight line with no corners also speed things up.

The job tends to be harder in these situations:

• The detail is added to a finished ceiling that has to be partly taken down or locally lowered.
• The ceiling is uneven and the line has to be straightened, because light would show every wave.
• The pocket turns a corner, goes round an alcove or runs across several windows with a pier between them.
• Curtain and LED strip are combined, or a motorised track needs its own power supply.
• In a block of flats there is a concrete lintel above the window, or services in the ceiling limit where fixings can go.

In a block of flats, ordinary fixings into the ceiling slab above your flat usually do not need approval. If the work would affect the load-bearing structure, for example cutting channels into a concrete ceiling slab, speak to the building management or owners' association first. For bigger changes, your local building authority can tell you whether any approval is needed.

• The track is screwed only into the plasterboard. The board alone cannot carry a heavier curtain for long, so the load must be taken by reinforcement fixed into the structural ceiling.
• The pocket is too narrow. The curtain then rubs against the wall, handle or window sill, and with two layers the fabrics catch on each other.
• The LED strip is stuck straight onto the plasterboard without a profile. It overheats, loses brightness faster and the individual diodes show.
• The driver ends up sealed behind the board with no access. If it fails, the ceiling has to be cut open.
• The line follows the uneven ceiling instead of a laser. A line of light makes every wave even more visible.
• Dimensions are settled only after the work is finished. In practice it often happens that the track or profile is bought later and does not fit the prepared pocket.

Most of these problems are easy to avoid: choose the track and LED profile before work starts, and give their data sheets to both the plasterboard installer and the electrician.

When you inspect the work, look at the ceiling from the side as well, ideally with the lights on or a torch held close to the surface. This makes any unevenness easy to spot.

• The pocket or recess line is straight along its whole length and does not follow waves in the ceiling
• Edges are sharp and clean, with no dented corners or visible beads
• Joints are filled with no cracks, bubbles or sanding marks
• Pocket width and depth match the agreed dimensions of the track and profile
• The track reinforcement is fixed into the structural ceiling and the installer can show you where it is
• The LED profile is flush with the ceiling and the diffuser can be removed
• The driver can be reached through an access hatch or cover
• The curtain runs smoothly and does not rub anywhere
• The light is even, with no dark patches or visible dots