Exploring Uses Of A Dropped Ceiling

The drop ceiling is a second ceiling employed to create an area called a plenum space between the second and primary ceilings of a house. The plenum space is commonly used for airflow in most instances, but it has other uses. This kind of ceiling has many benefits, and they are used both residentially and commercially.

Other Names

A drop ceiling has a few more names including:

Dropped ceiling

Secondary ceiling

False ceiling

Suspended ceiling

How Drop Ceilings are Created

They require two main things; a suspended T shaped metal grid-work, and tiles that can be constructed from a number of different materials. Materials include metal, plastic, and wood. The standard size for the grid in the United States is 2′ x 2′ or 2′ x 4′, while the tiles tend to be 595mm x 595mm or 595mm x 1195mm. Once the grid-work is snapped together, cells are formed, each of which is filled with a tile.

Advantages of Having One

The popularity of the design continues to grow, causing it to be a regular fixture in lots of homes, as well as offices. The initial purpose of a drop ceiling was hiding the upper flooring in houses built with upstairs. The architectural element also proved useful with improving the acoustics in a room. It does this by lessening noises or absorbing sounds. The result is less noise transfer to other rooms. Using sound batts, along with other varieties of insulation, significantly boosts this benefit. In addition, the area created between the two ceilings is available to conceal wires, pipes, vents along with other pieces of heating, ventilation, and air conditioning systems. It is also utilized to hide structural faults, water damages, loose or damaged wiring, different kinds of equipment, and infestations of assorted kinds. Plus, it is utilized to hide the primary ceilings in houses, and also to remodel office areas without making changes to the fixtures that are included with the primary ceiling.

Besides hiding things, the space allows constant access without doing damage to the ceiling, which is a huge advantage. This is possible because the space is concealed with completely removable tiles. This access makes repairs, modifications as well as new installations much easier. It even has a high aesthetic value because tiles come in many colors. It is possible to modify the look of any room with little work, which makes make overs easy. Last but not least, this kind of ceiling can easily be removed. Once removed the sections can be reused, whether as a part of a new ceiling within the old location, or as a ceiling for a new location.

Installing a Drop Ceiling

Fire hazards, unauthorized access through the space, and rapid aging of the ceiling are all possible in case a very poor job is done. This is exactly why it is advisable to have something of this nature installed by a drywall contractor, because proper installation is an important part of safety and longevity. Working with a drywall company with a track record for performance, and great customer satisfaction is one way of guaranteeing that the job gets done right.