Kisame: the ceiling, and how to design one
Kisame in English is ceiling: the finished surface over a room, hung below the roof or the floor above. This guide draws the kinds of kisame used in Philippine houses, compares the materials, gives the ceiling heights the building code asks for, and covers what a kisame does for the heat.
What a kisame does
A kisame hides the roof framing, the wiring and the pipes, and gives the room a clean surface for lights and a ceiling fan. Under a metal roof it also does something more important: it leaves a pocket of air between the hot roofing and the room, and with the roof space ventilated, that pocket takes away much of the heat before it reaches you.
Behind the board is a frame. In most houses today it is light metal furring hung from the roof or the slab above; in older houses and some new ones it is timber, carried on joists, the soleras.
Kisame designs, drawn
Each drawing is a room cut through from side to side. The roof above is dashed, and the kisame is the green line.
- Flat kisame One level surface across the room. The simplest to build and the most common, with the roof space above it.
- Drop ceiling with cove lighting A lower band around the edge with a recess for hidden lights, so the light washes the higher centre. The band also hides an aircon duct or a beam.
- Tray ceiling The centre stepped up from a lower edge, like an upturned tray. It makes a room feel taller without raising the whole ceiling.
- Sloped or cathedral ceiling The ceiling follows the roof up to the ridge. The room is taller and airier, and the roof needs its insulation in the slope itself.
- No kisame, framing exposed The roof framing left open, so hot air rises straight into the roof. Traditional in the bahay kubo; it needs a roof that is insulated or well ventilated.
- Kisame with an access hatch A removable panel into the roof space, for checking the roof, wiring and pipes without breaking the ceiling.
Illustrative sections, not to any scale and not drawings of any house.
Kisame materials
| Material | Good for | What to watch |
|---|---|---|
| Gypsum board | Smooth, joint-free finish for painted ceilings, easy to shape for drop and cove designs | Softens if it gets wet. Use the moisture-resistant kind in a CR or kitchen, and fix any roof leak before boarding |
| Fibre cement board | Does not rot, termites cannot eat it, and it copes with damp. Common for eaves and wet rooms | Joints show unless they are set and finished well. Cut it outdoors with a mask, because the dust is fine |
| PVC ceiling panels | Waterproof and quick to fit, with a finished surface that needs no paint. Often used in CRs and kitchens | The panel joints show, and it can sag or yellow where it gets hot. Check how it behaves in a fire |
| Plywood and marine plywood | Warm, cheap to fix, and easy to paint or varnish. Marine plywood takes damp better | Termites and damp are the risks. Keep the roof sound above it and use treated timber for the frame |
| Timber planks | Tongue-and-groove boards give the warmest look of all | Needs a durable or treated species and a finish renewed over the years |
| Metal spandrel | Long aluminium strips, used for eaves soffits, carports and outdoor ceilings | Fixed with gaps or vents so the space behind can breathe. Use stainless fixings near the sea |
Prices change by the month and by the province, so this page gives none. A quotation should name the board, its thickness, the frame and the finish, so two quotations can be compared.
How high the kisame has to be
The National Building Code sets ceiling heights for habitable rooms in Section 805 of PD 1096. A room that relies on its windows for air needs at least 2.70 m from floor to ceiling. A room with artificial ventilation that meets the code can go down to 2.40 m in a single-storey house. A drop band or a tray lowers part of the ceiling, so check the height where it is lowest. The room size and ceiling height checker tests a room against the section, storey by storey.
Ceiling heights, drop bands and where the lights go are settled room by room in interior space planning.
Getting a kisame right
- Ventilate the space above. Openings low at the eaves and high at the ridge let the hot air out of the roof space. Without them, the kisame only delays the heat. The roof design guide covers the roof side of this.
- Insulate on top of it under a metal roof, or under the roofing itself where the ceiling follows the slope.
- Fix the roof first. A leak shows on a new kisame within one rainy season, and gypsum and plywood do not survive it.
- Plan the lights and the fan before boarding. A ceiling fan has to be fixed to the frame or the slab above, because the board alone will not hold it.
- Leave an access hatch so the roof, the wiring and the pipes can be checked later.
- Use damp-proof boards in the CR and over the kitchen, where steam collects.
Other Tagalog building words
Bubong is roof, dingding is wall, sahig is floor, haligi is column and biga is beam. The guide to Filipino building terms in English has sixty of them, with a drawing of a house that names each part.