A drywall ceiling |
The above is a conventional drywall
ceiling. It consists of sheets of drywall screwed directly into the
joists of the floor above. This is the most common type of ceiling
seen in residential homes and apartments.
Traditional suspended ceiling |
This is a suspended ceiling or drop
ceiling. It is made of metal railings which form a grid suspended
from the joists above by wire (between 18 and 12 gauge) with panels
filling the square or rectangular spaces. This image also shows a
fluorescent troffer, the most common lighting used in such ceilings.
These shallow light fixtures normally hold 2 or 4 florescent tubes
whose length is either 24 or 48 inches depending on whether the
opening the in grid is 1 or 2 panels wide respectively. The panels
used are flat, white, and have a bit of small scale texture to them.
These ceilings are commonly found in commercial structures as they
are not very attractive but provide good access to the mechanical
systems which run through the ceiling.
Awesomeness++ suspended ceiling |
This is another, much more awesome,
suspended ceiling. Here the panels are beveled so they sit proud of
the grid plane. They also have a much larger scale texture which in
this case gives the appearance of naturally cloven and weathered
stone.
This room makes use of indirect
lighting above the bookshelves so there are no light fixtures in the
ceiling. The white ports shown are vents attached to the HVAC system
ducting. Other options for lighting are also available for these
ceilings.
Suspended ceiling with can lights |
Above we have another ceiling making
use of can lights. These are the kind of lights you commonly see
recessed into drywall ceilings. These lights can also be used in
suspended ceilings. In fact the standard can lights sold at you local
home center may be install into either a drywall or suspended
ceiling.
Why don't more people have suspended ceilings?
People think they are ugly.
Most people associate suspended
ceilings with the dull ultra utilitarian ceilings they see in their
offices. This prejudice is so intense those who see an
excellent suspended ceiling will not even recognize that it is a
suspended ceiling. This prevents them from acquiring counter examples
to their experience.
Houses do not commonly come with them.
Installing a suspended ceiling in existing construction requires removing the existing drywall
ceiling. This is a very messy process. It generates a tremendous
amount of fine dust and even a small room will have so much drywall
you will want to either hire someone to remove it or rent a dumpster.
It is expensive per square foot.
While
you will spend less on labor to install a suspended ceiling compared
to a drywall ceiling you will spend a lot more on materials. Drywall
is cheap but ceiling tiles are not. Expect to spend at least triple
(or more) on suspended ceiling materials compared to a drywall
ceiling.
You will loose some ceiling height.
Four to six inches is the minimum distance you want between the
joists and the grid of the suspended ceiling. Any less and it will be
hard to place the tiles. Since drywall ceilings are attached directly
to the joists this is ceiling height you will loose from the room.
Recessed lights, or can lights, are taller than six inches but are normally installed between joists so their use will not force the
ceiling lower. Other type of lights may so advanced planning is
important.
Some of the benefits of a suspended
ceiling over a drywall
ceiling.
Provides access to the space above the ceiling.
This is very important if you ever have
plumbing leaks, electrical problems, need to run new cables (security
camera, home theater, networking), or want to remodel. Most
contractors which provide these services do not work with drywall.
Thus if their work requires making holes in your ceiling (which is
very often does) they will either get a subcontractor to do the work
or leave it to the homeowner to fix. Drywall work is slow and
requires repeated layering, drying, and sanding of
drywall compound. This makes it expensive.
The tiles are removable, replaceable, and paintable.
If a tile is damaged, perhaps by
gouging it with something you were not careful enough in moving, it
can be easily removed and replaced.
The tiles are also easily painted with
aerosol (spray) paints. Many restaurants and hotels use suspended
ceilings with the tiles and grid painted in combination with crown
molding to match their decor. The grid is a bit more troublesome to
paint since the existing hard coating needs to be roughed up and is
not normally removable once installed.
A huge variety of tiles are available.
Everything from the standard white tile
to tiles made to look like stone is available. Some specialty
manufactures even make metallic tiles to look like hammered tin or
brass, fine cast plaster tiles, or luminescent tiles.
In the end if you are unable to get an
awesome ceiling using a suspended ceiling system then you are doing
it wrong.
Hey guys a warm welcome from Suspended Ceilings Qld, here in Brisbane Australia. Quite a nice little article you have here on suspended ceilings. It would be awesome if you could update it at some point to encase some changes that have come about in the industry since the time of writing.
ReplyDeleteI'll definitely return here at some point. Of course, you are always welcome to visit me at www.suspendedceilingsqld.com.au to say hi, have a look around a throw a link back here. Take care and keep up the good work.