Ceiling & Lighting

We can't point to a current independent published price for a landed house. The closest is MoneySmart's condo renovation guide, updated in April 2026, which, using Qanvast's figures, puts ceiling work in a condo living and dining area at S$400 to S$1,200 for a partial L-box false ceiling with lighting and S$1,200 to S$8,500 for a full L-box ceiling with lights and enhancements. Those are condo figures, not a landed price or a cap. On a landed house the price moves with what gets built, such as a full flat ceiling instead of an L-box along one wall, moisture-resistant board in a bathroom or kitchen, each downlight point that needs new wiring, a built recess for cove lighting, a reinforced fan point, an access panel at each aircon unit, scaffolding or a tower for a double-height void, and the skim coat and paint. Cove lighting adds a built recess as well as the strip, driver and control, while downlights add a cut-out, a fitting and a wire for every point, so which costs more depends on the length of cove against the number of downlights. We give a fixed price within 3 to 5 working days of a free site assessment, never from a photo alone. The ceiling and lighting buying guide compares the ceiling types.

Compare what each quote shows, not the company name. A useful quote draws the ceiling in section through the deepest beam so you can see how low it sits, names the board for each room, marks an access panel at each aircon unit, drain and driver that's big enough to take the part out, says which fan points get reinforced, names the Licensed Electrical Worker doing the wiring, and lists what's left out, such as moving the aircon or painting the walls. Two prices for different drawings aren't comparable, and a rate per square foot on its own shows none of this.

Hanging a fan is a job for a licensed installer, and any new wiring for a Licensed Electrical Worker, with the power off. Done that way, yes, as long as the fan point has been properly reinforced. KDK's installation FAQ says there's no issue installing a ceiling fan on a false ceiling that has been reinforced properly, and the maker strongly encourages a licensed installer rather than doing it yourself. Its standard installation doesn't cover reinforcing the false ceiling or adding a new electrical point, so make sure both are in someone's quote. A fan shouldn't hang from the ceiling board alone.

Keep everyone out from under a sagging section, and leave any lights in a wet ceiling switched off until a Licensed Electrical Worker has checked them. Yes, it can be repaired once the water above is found and stopped, whether it comes from a bathroom, an aircon drain or the roof, or once a loose fixing is put right. From the floor, note where the stain is and whether it grows after rain or after the bathroom upstairs is used. The US Environmental Protection Agency's mould guide warns that mould will most likely come back if the water problem isn't fixed, and that porous materials such as ceiling tiles may have to be thrown away once mouldy, so a mouldy patch of board may need cutting out and replacing, and shouldn't be painted over. If the water comes from upstairs, see a bathroom leaking downstairs for what to note first. A roof leak is a roof waterproofing job before it's a ceiling job.

Yes. A concealed aircon unit, its refrigerant pipes, its condensate drain and the wiring can all sit above the board, either in an L-box along one wall or across a full ceiling. There's no single figure for how much height you lose, because the concealed unit and its drain set the depth. Daikin's installation manual for one series of its ceiling-concealed units asks for the drain to slope down at least 1 in 100, and for an inspection opening on the side where the control box and drain pump are serviced, with another below the unit. So the ceiling follows the aircon route, and the deepest drop sits under the unit and along the drain, while a ceiling with only wiring and downlights above it can sit closer to the slab. Ask for a section drawn through the deepest beam, then compare an L-box with lowering the whole room. Lighting without a full false ceiling shows what you can keep at full height, aircon drain problems to catch before the ceiling goes up covers the drain, and our aircon service covers the units.

No independent source gives a duration for landed false ceiling work, so we don't put a number of weeks on it before the layout and services are fixed. The order doesn't change. The aircon installer hangs the units and runs the pipes and drains, the wiring is run by or under a Licensed Electrical Worker, and the ceiling installer puts up the frame around them. Then come the board, the joints and skim coat, and paint, with fittings and testing last. It stretches when one trade waits for another, when a double-height void needs scaffolding or a tower, and when the old ceiling comes down to show a leak that has to be fixed first.

BCA's guide for private property owners says renovation can need building or structural plans approved, but some minor building works are exempt, and it points owners to its First Schedule of Insignificant Building Works for the list. It says owners should engage a Qualified Person, a registered architect or professional engineer, to advise on the clearances needed from BCA and other authorities such as URA, and that owners remain responsible for any other authority's clearance even where BCA approval isn't needed. When in doubt, BCA's advice is to consult your Qualified Person. Where your works need a Qualified Person or a BCA submission, we arrange both. The wiring is separate. New light points are electrical work, which EMA says should be carried out or supervised by a Licensed Electrical Worker, and EMA asks you to check the worker's licence card before the work starts.

In layers, rather than downlights fired from the top. Philips' lighting plan builds a room from general, task and accent light and suggests two or three of those layers in each room. In a void that can mean a pendant or cluster sized to the space, wall or cove lights at the upper level, and task light down where people sit and read. Before buying a high fitting, decide how it will be reached for cleaning and bulb changes, whether that's a tower each time, a winch or drop rod that lowers it, or a long-life sealed fitting. Work at that height is for the installer, with the power off. Three ways to light a double-height living room compares the layouts.

A board or panel made for outdoor ceilings, not standard plasterboard. Knauf makes its MoistureShield board for indoor walls and ceilings in bathrooms and kitchens, and its AQUAPANEL exterior ceiling system for soffits and the undersides of balconies, with a cement board that resists moisture and mildew. Hunter Douglas makes metal ceilings for covered outdoor areas such as car parks. Light fittings out there need to suit outdoor use as well. Before the soffit is closed, have a roofer check the gutters, flashing and any slab above, because water trapped above a new soffit only shows later as a stain.

Decide on dimming before the wiring goes in, because the bulb or fitting, its driver and the dimmer have to work together. Signify's dimmer compatibility list rates particular lamp and dimmer pairs from lab measurements, so a dimmable label on one part doesn't promise smooth dimming with any switch, and why dimmable LED lights flicker covers what to check. On 2 October 2026, IKEA Singapore listed its SOLHETTA GU10 600-lumen dimmable bulb at S$6.90 and its 96 cm SKURUP three-spot ceiling track at S$29.90, with bulbs sold separately. Those prices are for those two products only, and the SKURUP is a fixed fitting with its three spots attached, not a rail sold by length for separate heads. A wired wall dimmer, the wiring for a new point and any ceiling work cost extra, and we can't point to an independent figure for them.