Curtain Track and Pelmet in an HDB Living Room, Singapore: Settle the Curtain Before the False Ceiling Is Drawn and the Aircon Trunking Is Run

Guide · By Larry Hoo, HDB Licensed Renovation Contractor · 9 Nov 2026

Pictured above: a living room from our project archive (C10). Full-height sheer curtains hang behind the sofa, a floating TV console runs along the right-hand wall and a crystal light hangs overhead. Where those curtains hang from, and how much room they have to open, were decided before the ceiling above them was finished.

Curtains are one of the last things to arrive in a renovated flat. The curtain maker usually comes after the painting, and many owners do not think about them until the flat is nearly empty and the windows look bare. But the track those curtains hang from, and the recess that hides it, sit in the ceiling. Once the false ceiling is boarded, a recess cannot be added without cutting into a ceiling you have already paid for.

This guide is for an owner who is putting a false ceiling or a bulkhead into a living room, or any room with a window, and who knows curtains are coming even though they have not chosen any. It uses only what this site publishes: the 4-room programme, and the false ceiling and electrical rates on our cost pages and calculator. We do not publish a price for a curtain, a track or a pelmet, so none is given here.

The short answer

Decide how the curtain will hang before the ceiling is drawn. A track fixed to the face of the ceiling, a track hidden in a pelmet recess and a roller blind each ask something different of the ceiling.
Ask the curtain maker for the track type and the depth it needs before the board goes up. A single sheer and a sheer with a dim-out behind it do not need the same depth.
Know what the track or the pelmet box is fixed to. A curtain is a load that is pulled sideways every day. Ask your contractor to name the fixing on the drawing rather than assume the gypsum board will do.
Put any motor, receiver or power need into the wiring stage, weeks 2 to 3 on our published 4-room programme, not after the ceiling closes in weeks 4 to 5.
Draw the curtain, the downlights, the cove and the aircon on one plan, so none of them lands where another needs to be.

Why a curtain belongs in the ceiling drawing

On our published 4-room programme, electrical work is in weeks 2 to 3, the false ceiling and the concealed aircon trunking are in weeks 4 to 5, and painting, doors and handover are in week 8. The curtain arrives after all of that. Our guide to the order of works says the same: curtains after painting, and loose furniture after the handover inspection.

So the curtain is bought last but its needs are fixed first. By the end of weeks 4 to 5 the ceiling has a shape: a perimeter drop with a cove light, a full drop, or a simple bulkhead. The downlights are cut in, the aircon pipes are boxed and the fan, if there is one, has a fixing. If the window wall was not in the plan for the curtain, it will be fitted around whatever the ceiling left. That is how an owner ends up with a curtain track screwed to the face of a bulkhead that was never meant to carry it, or a curtain that has to hang in front of a downlight and a cove strip.

Three ways a curtain can meet a false ceiling

A pelmet, in this sense, is a box or a recess built into the ceiling above the window that hides the track and the top of the curtain. It is a different thing from a bare track, and it is a different job on site. These are the three common set-ups:

A track on the face of the ceiling or the wall above the window. Nothing is built for it. The curtain maker fixes the track after painting. The risk is that the ceiling above the window has been boarded in a way that gives the fixings nothing solid to bite into, so ask what is behind the board along that line.
A track inside a pelmet recess. A step is formed in the false ceiling along the window wall, and the track sits in it, out of sight. This is built as part of the ceiling in weeks 4 to 5, so the depth and the length have to be known before then. It is also one more level change in the ceiling.
A roller blind or another window treatment. It needs less from the ceiling, but it still needs a clear line above the window and room for its fixings.

None of the three is right for every flat. Pick the one that matches how the curtain will be used: a single sheer, a sheer with a dim-out behind it, or a blind alone.

What the curtain maker needs to tell you before the board closes

You do not need to have bought the curtains. You do need a short conversation, or a message, with whoever will make them. Ask for four things and put the answers in your contractor's hands:

The track or the rail they intend to use, and how many layers it carries. A second layer behind the first needs more depth.
How it is fixed, and what it needs to be fixed to. This is the question that decides whether the ceiling needs a timber or other backing along the window wall. We do not publish a load figure for a curtain, so none is given.
How far the curtain stacks when it is open, so the wall beside the window is not given over to something that blocks it. A wardrobe, a console or a feature wall that comes right up to the window frame can leave the open curtain nowhere to go.
Whether the track is motorised. A motor needs power at one end of the track. That is wiring, and wiring is done in the electrical weeks, not after the ceiling is closed.

The collisions to look for on the drawing

A window wall is where several ceiling items meet. Put the curtain on the same sheet and check these:

Aircon trunking and pipes. If the concealed trunking runs along the window wall, the recess for the curtain and the box for the pipes compete for the same strip of ceiling. Our guide to aircon piping and ledge placement shows what the pipes need.
Downlights and cove light. A downlight close to the curtain line will light the fabric from the top, and a cove light along the window wall can show the track or the gap above it. Decide whether you want that effect before the points are cut.
The ceiling fan. A fan near the window wall needs to clear the curtain when the curtain is open or half-drawn. Our guide to the ceiling fan covers what the fan hangs from.
Anything under the window. A raised platform, a bench or a desk below the window changes where the curtain should end and how it is operated. Our guide to a raised platform under the windows covers the height and the edge.
The window itself. If a window opens outward or has a handle that sticks into the room, the curtain has to clear it. If the window is to be replaced, do that before the finishes, as our window replacement guide explains.

What it costs, and what we do not publish

We do not publish a price for curtains, blinds, tracks or a pelmet. What is published is the ceiling that carries it: the false ceiling at $4.80 per sq ft of floor area on our room cost calculator, $5 to $10 per sq ft for gypsum with cove lighting on our 4-room cost page, and $90 each for a light point or a power point.

The cost of a false ceiling is usually not the flat board. It is the bulkheads, boxes and level changes around beams, aircon pipe runs and window pelmets, as our false ceiling guide explains. A pelmet recess is one of those level changes, so check that your quotation lists it as a line instead of burying it in one lump sum. Ask too whether curtains and blinds are in the quotation at all. Practice varies across the industry, so ask rather than assume. Any price for your flat depends on a site visit.

If the ceiling is already built

If you are reading this after the ceiling is closed, the question changes. You can still have a good curtain, but the choice narrows to a track on the face of the ceiling or the wall, or a blind. Ask the curtain maker to look at what is behind the board along the window line before they fix anything, and ask your contractor if there is a record or a photograph of the ceiling void from before it was boarded. If a pelmet recess was never built, do not cut one into a finished ceiling without asking what runs above it.

Questions to put on the drawing and the quotation

Is the window wall drawn with the curtain on it, and which of the three set-ups is it?
Has the curtain maker given the depth and length of any recess in writing?
What is the track or the pelmet box fixed to, and is that fixing in place before the board goes up?
Is any motor, receiver or power point drawn and placed in the wiring stage?
Where do the aircon trunking, the downlights, the cove and the fan sit in relation to the curtain line?
Is the recess a separate line on the quotation, and are curtains and blinds in or out of it?

We are an HDB Licensed Renovation Contractor, HB-09-5667H. Planning curtains with a new ceiling? WhatsApp us on 9107 2601 with your flat type, your estate and the window wall you have in mind, and we will arrange a site visit to go through the ceiling, the wiring and the order of works. Any price depends on that visit. The published programme is on our 4-room HDB renovation cost page, you can run the published ceiling and electrical rates on the room cost calculator, our work is described on the HDB renovation contractors page, and you can see more of this flat in our project photos.

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Frequently asked questions

Do I need to decide on curtains before the false ceiling is built?

Decide how the curtain will hang, and ask the curtain maker for the track type and the depth it needs, before the ceiling is drawn. The curtains themselves can be bought after painting, but a recess for the track has to be built into the ceiling, and that is done in weeks 4 to 5 on our published 4-room programme.

What is a pelmet in an HDB false ceiling?

In a false ceiling a pelmet is a box or a recess built into the ceiling above the window that hides the curtain track and the top of the curtain. It is one more level change in the ceiling, so ask that it is listed as a line on the quotation.

What should the curtain track be fixed to?

A curtain is pulled sideways every day, so ask your contractor to name on the drawing what the track or the pelmet box is fixed to, and whether that fixing is in place before the board goes up. We do not publish a load figure for a curtain, so none is given.

Can I add a pelmet recess after the ceiling is finished?

Not without cutting into a finished ceiling. If the ceiling is already built, the choice narrows to a track on the face of the ceiling or the wall, or a blind. Ask the curtain maker to check what is behind the board along the window line before fixing anything.

How much does a curtain pelmet or curtain track cost?

We do not publish a price for curtains, blinds, tracks or a pelmet. What is published is the ceiling that carries them: $4.80 per sq ft of floor area on our room cost calculator, $5 to $10 per sq ft for gypsum with cove lighting on our 4-room cost page, and $90 each for light points and power points. Any price for your flat depends on a site visit.

Larry Hoo — HDB Licensed Renovation Contractor (HB-09-5667H)

Larry Contractors Pte Ltd · 15+ years · 500+ projects · own carpentry factory in Singapore. Read more about Larry →

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