In the ancient traditional architecture, wood ceiling was prevalent.

At the time, owners of homes with wood as ceiling were perceived to be wealthy.

But the introduction of modern ceiling materials such as asbestos, Polyvinyl chloride (PVC), gypsum, fibre glass and concrete ceilings pushed the wood ceiling method to the brinks.

Later on, even those ones were also dethroned by the Plaster of Paris, PoP, method of ceiling.

Currently, PoP is the in-thing. Those whose buildings are not donning the PoP ceiling method are seen as not current.

However, in recent times, the PoP materials are just rising out of reach.

The price of a PoP cement ranges between N11,000 to N37,000 for 40 kilogram and this depends on the location, brand and quality.

Today, even the rich struggle to cover all their entire buildings in PoP

Economy&Lifestyle found out that to cut cost, home owners have returned to the use of wood to decorate ceilings for their houses.

These ceilings are designed and screeded in a way that you would think it is made from PoP materials.

Mr. Osazuwa Raymond, a mechanic, who recently built a room and parlor on his land said: “It is not easy to build a house now even if you have land. This is because building materials are now very expensive.
To roof a house is gold talk of ceiling.

“When I was building my present apartment of a room and parlor, I was thinking of doing a PoP ceiling.
“When the artisan gave me a quotation for the two apartments, I was dumbfounded.
“I wanted something cheap but that will last.

“Then he told me about the wooden ceiling that looks like PoP. The price was far cheaper than that of the actual and latest PoP.

“I accepted and my house was ceiled. People thought and still think it is PoP because of the way it was designed.”

Mr. Maxwell Asaga, an artisan, explained: “The cost of installing a wooden ceiling today varies.
“This depends on several factors, including the type of wood, and the design.

“Nowadays people prefer light plywood which is screeded after installation.

“It also depends on the square meter of the space to be ceiled.

“Some carpenter charge N700 to N1000 per square meter for the material.

“Labor costs for installation depend on the complexity of the design and size of the apartment.
“It ranges from N1,000 to N10,000.

“The cost of POP also varies. For instance, for a three-bedroom flat you can spend up to N600,000 above depending on factors like the size of the flat, the complexity of the design, and the quality of materials used, lightening among others. This doesn’t include cost of labour.”

Mr. Segun Agbabiaka, a surveyor, opposed the use of wood for ceiling noting the danger of being highly flammable in the case of fire outbreak and also causing heat.

“The wood en ceiling lasts longer. But it’s disadvantage is it is easily prone to fire.
“If any wire melts or sparks inside it, the house is gone.

“The asbestos material is better if you are trying to cut cost and unable to afford PoP.”