Vaulted ceilings — cathedral and single-slope
Draw a vaulted ceiling over any part of a room — a two-slope cathedral or a single-slope shed — set the eave and ridge heights, and the room, its walls, and its hanging lights all take the real sloped shape in 3D.
Not every room has a flat ceiling. A vaulted ceiling rises with the roofline — a Cathedral with two slopes meeting at a ridge down the middle, or an Angled ceiling with a single slope climbing from a low eave to a high edge. In RoomSketch3D you draw one over any part of a room and it becomes a real sloped volume: the walls beneath take their true tapered shape, and it shows up in 3D, in elevation views, and in every export.
You draw a vault the way you'd sketch it — drag a rectangle over the area. It doesn't have to be exact: the rectangle snaps to your walls. Then you set the heights and shape the slopes in the inspector.
What you'll need
- •A room with walls (any design works)
- •About five minutes
Step by step
- 1
Pick the Vaulted Ceiling tool
In the Build Panel (on phones, the Walls, Doors & Windows sheet), tap the Vaulted Ceiling tile. The canvas enters draw mode with a Drag a rectangle over the vaulted area prompt across the top.
The Vaulted Ceiling tool armed — the canvas is waiting for you to drag out the area. - 2
Drag a rectangle over the area
Drag a rectangle across the part of the room that vaults — roughly is fine, it snaps to your walls. Let go and the vault drops in as a two-slope Cathedral by default, with its inspector open along the bottom.
Drag out the area — it snaps to the walls — and the inspector opens with the vault's controls. - 3
Choose Cathedral or Angled, then set the heights
In the inspector along the bottom, use the Cathedral / Angled toggle: Cathedral is two slopes meeting at a ridge; Angled is a single slope from a low eave up to a High edge. Set the Eave (the low side, where the ceiling meets the wall) and the Ridge — or High edge for an angled ceiling — to the heights you want. Width and Depth fine-tune the footprint.
- 4
Shape the slopes
On a cathedral, the two slope runs are Slope 1 and Slope 2 — type an exact run for either (or drag the ridge line on the canvas) to make one slope longer than the other for an off-centre ridge. On an angled ceiling, Flip slope swaps which side is high. On a rotated or traced plan, Rotate 90° turns the vault square to the room, and you can type an exact angle in the rotation field.
- 5
See it rise in 3D
Switch to the 3D view. The ceiling rises to its ridge, the walls underneath take their real sloped shape, and any ceiling fan or chandelier hangs from the actual sloped ceiling — not a phantom flat one. Elevation views and every export (PDF, image, CAD) show the vault too.
In 3D the ceiling rises to the ridge and the walls beneath follow the real slope. - 6
Hide the markings while you furnish
The vault draws its ridge and slope lines on the 2D plan. When they get in the way of arranging furniture, open the Layers button (formerly Labels) and flip Hide ceiling — the vault stays, its markings just step out of the way.
Tips
Watch the low side with Flow Check
The eave side is where headroom runs out. Smart Flow Check warns when a tall piece — a wardrobe, a bookcase, a fridge — won't clear the low side of the vault, so you catch the clash before you build.
Off-centre the ridge on purpose
A ridge doesn't have to sit in the middle. Give Slope 1 and Slope 2 different runs (or drag the ridge line) for the asymmetric look of a room tucked under one side of a roof.
Roughly is fine — it snaps
Don't fuss over the drag. The rectangle snaps to your walls, so a quick sweep over the area lands the vault where the roof really sits.
Common mistakes
Drawing a vault you can't see
Picking the tool automatically un-hides the ceiling layer, so a fresh vault always shows. If an older vault seems missing, check the Layers menu — Hide ceiling may be on from an earlier furniture pass.
Expecting the slope in the flat 2D plan
The top-down plan shows the ridge and slope lines, but the rise itself reads in the 3D view and in elevation views — that's where a too-low eave or a wrong ridge height jumps out.
Frequently asked questions
What's the difference between Cathedral and Angled?
A Cathedral ceiling has two slopes that meet at a ridge, like the classic peak down the middle of a room. An Angled ceiling is a single slope that climbs from a low eave to a high edge — a shed or lean-to ceiling. Switch between them any time with the toggle in the inspector.
Can the ridge sit off-centre?
Yes. The two slopes are Slope 1 and Slope 2; give them different runs, or drag the ridge line on the canvas, and one slope becomes longer than the other.
Does the vault work on a rotated or traced floor plan?
Yes. It aligns square to a rotated plan, Rotate 90° snaps it to the room, and you can type an exact angle in the rotation field to match a wall drawn at any angle.
Do hanging lights follow the slope?
They do — ceiling fans and chandeliers hang from the actual sloped ceiling, at the real height under the vault, not from a flat ceiling that isn't there.
Does the vault show up in exports?
Yes. Elevation views show the sloped profile, and the vault appears in your PDF, image, and CAD (DXF) exports.
Start designing your room
Draw it, furnish it, walk through it in 3D — on web, iOS, and Android.
Open RoomSketch3DOne-time purchase · No subscription · Web, iOS & Android