Understanding Code-Compliant Integrated Ceiling Solutions
Using modern ceiling installation systems to meet design intent, IBC code requirements, and construction schedules
Continuing Education
Use the following learning objectives to focus your study while reading this month’s Continuing Education article.
Learning Objectives - After reading this article, you will be able to:
- Discuss new installation systems that navigate the challenges of designing ceilings from one end of a building to another.
- Explain the design and construction benefits of pre-engineered integrated ceiling systems versus traditional ceiling design and construction practices.
- Describe the environmental and occupant comfort benefits of pre-engineered systems versus traditional systems.
- Apply new construction practice knowledge to make informed product specification choices.
- Implement new construction methods to design ceilings that can be easily constructed.
New solutions are available that make building high-performance, aesthetically pleasing, integrated ceilings faster and easier than ever before. Traditional ceiling construction methods are less and less compatible with current design trends, expedited construction schedules, and sustainability practices. You are challenged with designing spaces that that meet your clients’ design intent and IBC and ASTM requirements, while contractors are pushed to meet accelerated construction schedules. By collaborating early with your ceiling partner, you can ensure best practices are followed for your project to meet design intent.
Integrated Ceiling Solutions Bell Helicopter, Fort Worth, Texas
The Design Need: The client desired a clean, consistent visual across the building, including transitions from the perimeter windows to the interior suspended acoustical ceilings. Much of the design intent was not achievable using conventional framing techniques. Intensive coordination of services above the suspended ceiling, including HVAC, mechanicals, fire suppression, and lighting, dictated a structurally sound system that trades could work in and around easily.
The Solution: Pre-engineered ceiling systems were utilized to guarantee the contractor could build within the design vision and intent and keep the project ahead of schedule and on budget, while meeting LEED Silver certification requirements.
Image courtesy of Armstrong Commercial Ceiling Solutions
Founders Federal Credit Union Lancaster, South Carolina Little Diversified Architectural Consulting, Charlotte, North Carolina Extruded aluminum perimeter shade pocket with fine textured ceiling panels
Pre-Engineered Ceiling Construction
Pre-engineered ceiling components were used in the Bell Helicopter headquarters construction to reduce coordination between trades, labor costs, and to speed the construction schedule. The ceiling components met the same codes and standards as traditionally built, on-site systems and reflected the identical design intent and specifications of the most sophisticated site-built systems using the same architect-specified materials. Thirty to 50 percent faster to build and install compared to traditionally constructed ceilings, they generate less waste, provide consistent quality throughout the building, and meet tighter construction schedules.
Pre-engineered components and related details can be included in specifications to ensure consistent installed visuals throughout a project. Pre-engineered ceiling systems are often already tested and approved for use in Seismic DEF building areas, backed by the required certifications available from the manufacturer. If you are specifying for a LEED project, components can contribute to credits.
In addition to traditional ceiling systems, examples of pre-engineered ceiling system solutions include: drywall suspension systems for ceilings and soffits, light coves, shade pockets, transitions, and acoustical clouds and canopies.
Pre-engineered Trims and Transitions NOAA National Water Center, Tucaloosa, Alabama
The Design Need: The architect for the NOAA National Water Center wanted to feature a “river” that twists and turns its way through the center of the facility’s ceiling. It was formed by creating a separation between the suspended drywall ceiling and its acoustical ceiling. Light coves around the perimeter of both ceilings function as the “riverbanks”. Original plans called for the coves to be built of drywall. However, acoustical contractor Keith Yeager believed this would be extremely time consuming and difficult. “Studs and drywall would take forever,” he says, “because of the need to frame it, hang it, tape it, and sand it. Considering the extremely curved nature of the coves, it also would have been almost impossible not to have cracks or flat spots in the drywall, especially since the radius changed every few feet.”
The Solution: To solve the problem, Yeager designed coves using extruded aluminum perimeter trim, all of which had to be custom made because of the complexity of the curves. Three different sized coves—18 inch, 12 inch, and 6 inch—were required. All consisted of multiple components. The most complex was the 18-inch cove, which required five elements. In total, 400 feet of 18-inch coves were installed, 480 feet of 12-inch coves, and 250 feet of 6-inch coves. To make the job easier and faster, each section of cove was given a letter and each of its components, a number. The ceiling manufacturer then packaged each section and its pieces in a separate crate.“When you have to attach so many custom-made components to each other, it helped to have all the pieces in the same package,” Yeager explains. Once installation began, job superintendent Tim Thomas notes construction of the coves using the pre-engineered trims and transitions was accomplished in half the time as drywall. “We probably saved two months in the construction schedule” he says. “And, there are no cracks or flat spots. Considering the curves and lengths of the spans, this would not have been possible with traditional drywall.”
Photos courtesy of Armstrong Commercial Ceiling Solutions
NOAA Offices, Tuscaloosa, Alabama Gould Evans Architects, New Orleans, Louisiana Drywall grid and extruded aluminum perimeter trim with fine textured ceiling panels
Design Details: Pre-Engineered Trims and Transitions
Pre-engineered trim and transition options can be used to address changes in elevation, geometry, or material type. Transitions are available that make acoustical panels to drywall, as well as geometric shifts, such as from a rectangular office to a curved hallway, fast and easy to detail and build. Pre-engineered transitions eliminate excess framing, provide consistent fit and finish, and allow for quality control, while reducing the time required detailing and specifying. These transition solutions are designed precisely to fit with a variety of ceiling panel types and suspension systems. Unique curves and shapes as well as crisp detailing are easily duplicated throughout an entire project. Pre-engineered steel and extruded aluminum transitions use significantly less framing to structure and eliminate interferences in the plenum that can reduce the construction schedule, minimizing risk and ensuring design intent. These transitions are often tested to meet the same codes as standard transitions, including seismic requirements, and are available in a wide variety of standard and custom colors.
engineered Shade Pockets EPCORE TOWER, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
The Design Need: The project architect was looking for a clean, integrated installation between the acoustical ceiling system and the shade pockets that surrounded the interior perimeter of the 28-story glass office building that overlooked downtown Edmonton.
The Solution: Nearly 21,000 lineal feet of integrated shade pockets were installed. The pre-engineered system features an extruded aluminum pocket that bridges the transition between the interior of a building’s perimeter and the ceiling plane. The pocket also accommodates a T-bar connection clip and splice plate to provide a mechanical lock to an acoustical or drywall grid system with no visible fasteners. Claude Bachand, co-owner of Alpine Drywall, explained that his firm presented mockups of various perimeter treatments to the architects, and the pre-engineered pocket solution was selected. He also explains that this is the first time his firm has installed the system. The reason: significant time and labor savings. Bachand says the crews normally would have used traditional drywall transition methods, including framing, boarding, taping, mudding, sanding, and painting. However, the perimeter system is far less labor intensive because it replaces all of those steps. “We found that by eliminating all those steps, the shade pocket system was four times faster than a traditional drywall pocket,” Bachand states. “We were able to install it in a quarter of the time. Once in place, the system requires no finishing, which makes a big difference.” The pocket can be installed in one of two ways, either directly to a wall or free floating. “The building has a curtain wall system so we couldn’t attach it to the exterior wall,” explains Alpine Co-Owner Grant Laplante. “It had to be floating.” Describing this reaction to the perimeter system, Laplante states that the architect, owner, and crew were all impressed with the look of the pocket. “They liked it because installation was so much easier and so much cleaner.”
Photos courtesy of Armstrong Commercial Ceiling Solutions
Epcore Tower Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
Photos courtesy of Armstrong Commercial Ceiling Solutions
Kasian Architecture Interior Design and Planning LTD Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Design Details: Integrated Shade Pockets for Acoustical and Drywall Ceilings
Traditionally, ceilings (either acoustical or drywall), shade pockets, and shades require coordination between multiple trades, potentially leading to lengthier construction schedules and poor fit and finish. Pre-engineered extruded aluminum pocket and shade options provide seamless integration between a variety of acoustical and drywall ceiling types, making specification simpler and installation faster and easier, while eliminating additional trade coordination and reducing ceiling construction schedules by 50 percent or more. Pre-engineered shade pocket options also allow consistent quality control at the building perimeter, reducing time required to detail and specify. They can also be customized in depth and dimension to work with almost any popular shade option you might choose.
Monolithic Ceiling Design Greenway Group, Atlanta, Georgia
The Design Need:
Create an office space that provides a functional working environment, while removing the clutter in the ceiling plane. Greenway Group, an Atlanta-based consulting company that advises some of the country’s preeminent architectural and design firms, desired a ceiling that matched the contemporary look and feel of its new office space and eliminated traditional lighting integration issues, such as tall fixture housings and ceiling height specification difficulties.
The Solution:
A ceiling system was installed that integrated and organized narrow light fixtures, air diffusers, and sprinkler heads into a compact linear zone that visually coordinated with large-scale, fine-textured ceiling panels. The system eliminated the need for cluttered penetrations in the acoustical ceiling panels, making fixtures more streamlined as well as easier to service and maintain. This provides a very clean, custom look that coordinates with the space, even though it used standard components and installation methods.
Photos courtesy of Armstrong Commercial Ceiling Solutions
Greenway Group, Atlanta, Georgia DAG Architects, Destin, Florida Ceiling system with compact linear zones for light fixtures and diffusers
Design Details: Monolithic Ceiling Design
Traditional suspended ceiling systems are often riddled with lighting, HVAC, sprinklers, and other visual “nose” break points, disrupting the appearance of the ceiling plane and the design of the space. Integrated ceiling solutions offer the ability to organize layouts to reduce visual clutter and integrate lighting, air diffusers, and other accessories, such as sprinkler systems into “zones” as narrow as 4 inches wide.
Photo courtesy of Armstrong Commercial Ceiling Solutions
Ceiling system with compact linear zones for light fixtures
Some ceiling manufacturers prequalify lighting fixtures from partner companies for fit and finish. This option makes designing and installing a customized, integrated ceiling and lighting layout using standard ceiling panels and suspension systems faster and easier.
Integrating linear lighting fixtures in a symmetrical, on-center continuous, or non-continuous layout can also be done using factory-finished or made-to-order ceiling panels and suspension systems. Wall-to-wall and cloud or canopy LED light fixtures can now be easily installed without independent suspension, and comply with IBC Seismic Design Categories (SDCs) D, E, and F for areas with high or very high seismic vulnerability.
There are six SDCs ranging from A to F. Structures posing minimal seismic risk are assigned as an SDC A, and structures posing the highest seismic risk are assigned an SDC F category. As a structure’s potential seismic risk increases, as represented by the Seismic Design Category, the NEHRP Recommended Seismic Provisions requires progressively more rigorous seismic design and construction as a means of attempting to ensure that all buildings provide an acceptable risk to the public. According to the National Institute of Building Sciences (NIBS), structures are assigned to a Seismic Design Category based on the severity of ground shaking and other earthquake effects the structure may experience and the nature of the structure’s occupancy and use.
Design Details: Lighting Integration
Lighting integrated within a ceiling’s suspension system offers the benefits of code compliance, easy installation, and plug-and-play capability needed for today’s flexible spaces. Ceiling manufacturer suspension systems specifically designed for integration with lighting, reduce trade coordination and labor requirements. Lighting fixtures can even install from below into the ceiling suspension system, eliminating construction coordination hassles, while reducing required plenum depth.
For example, pre-engineered extruded aluminum light coves for direct and indirect applications can integrate with acoustical or drywall ceiling suspension systems even in low plenum clearance areas and provide predictable lighting performance with a variety of prequalified lighting partners. Installation time and labor are reduced up to 50 percent. Working with the ceiling manufacturer early in the process as the lighting plan is considered ensures details are per your specifications and are not solved for on the jobsite.
Pre-engineered lighting options include:
Photo courtesy of Armstrong Commercial Ceiling Solutions
T-bar suspension system lighting: zero plenum lighting fixtures install like a standard cross tee for increased ceiling heights and minimal plenum interference.
Photo courtesy of Armstrong Commercial Ceiling Solutions
Acoustical cloud lighting: custom-look acoustical clouds with integrated lighting are packaged in easy-to-specify kits. These options provide outstanding performance for collaborative and focus areas in open plenum environments.
Photo courtesy of Armstrong Commercial Ceiling Solutions
On-center linear lighting: acoustical suspension systems provide lighting layout symmetry options using standard components to compliment your building design.
Photo courtesy of Armstrong Commercial Ceiling Solutions
Technical zone lighting: effectively integrate all technical services for an organized, simplified, monolithic ceiling visual, including lighting, diffusers, and sprinklers in metal, wood, and acoustical ceilings.
Photo courtesy of Armstrong Commercial Ceiling Solutions
Direct and indirect cove lighting: pre-engineered extruded aluminum light coves with integrated light fixtures provide predictable lighting performance.
Acoustics in Flexible Building Design Sempra Energy, San Diego, California
The Design Need:
When Sempra Energy began drawing up plans for its new corporate headquarters building in downtown San Diego, acoustics was top of mind for the design team charged with meeting specific criteria for noise levels inside the 16-story office building. The need was to absorb noise in the open-plan offices and prevent noise from private offices and conference rooms from being overheard in adjacent spaces.
The Solution:
To meet the noise level criteria for the open-plan offices, the design team needed an acoustical ceiling with a noise reduction coefficient (NRC) of at least 0.70, meaning it absorbs 70 percent of the sound that strikes it. In the adjacent private offices and conference rooms, where speech privacy is important, a ceiling attenuation class (CAC) of at least 35 was needed to effectively block sound from traveling across the plenum into adjacent spaces. The design team satisfied both requirements by selecting a fine texture mineral fiber ceiling panel for all the office spaces in the 320,000-square-foot building. The panels feature new acoustic performance, which is the ability to provide both sound absorption (NRC) and sound blocking (CAC) in the same panel. “The NRC was very important in the open-office areas,” says lead interior designer Stuart Fromson. “By utilizing very low furniture partition system heights, we are providing daylight and views to 70 percent of the building occupants. This creates a very open environment.” In the old Sempra Energy building, which was built in the 1960s, there were frequent complaints about being able to hear private conversations between offices. “That’s why it was important to have CAC in the ceiling of the new building,” says Fromson. “It’s critical that we don’t get sound transfer over the top of the walls.” A movable wall system that coordinates well with the flush suspension system provides the design flexibility needed to reconfigure the office spaces when needed. “With high NRC and CAC in one panel, we can move walls as needed to make private offices into open spaces and open spaces into private offices, and still maintain the sound blocking and sound absorption we need for each space.”
Photo courtesy of Armstrong Commercial Ceiling Solutions
Sempra Energy San Diego, California Carrier Johnson CULTURE San Diego, California Fine textured ceilings with both high NRC and high CAC
Design Details: Acoustics in Flexible Building Design
Increased building flexibility and adaptive reuse over the life of a structure are not only hallmarks of modern design, they are sustainable strategies. While traditional design practices focused on development, commercial buildings focused on developing nonintrusive, moderate distraction zones and confidential spaces, today’s flexible designs think of end users of spaces based on needs of today’s workers: focus, collaboration, and confidentiality. Demountable partitions, open offices, and the ability to expand and contract footprints as needed lend flexibility but can severely complicate a designer’s job to match the best-performing ceiling panels to the changing clients needs.
Nowhere is this more true than in the ability to meet the acoustical needs within this new design approach. Today’s flexible spaces call for the ability to concentrate one minute and to collaborate the next.
The Gensler 2013 U.S. Workplace Survey showed that excessive noise at the office reduces worker effectiveness, raises stress, and lowers employee satisfaction, as verified by the Center for the Built Environment.
Image: Jensen, K., and E. Arens, 2004. Acoustic Quality in Office Workstations, as Assessed by Occupant Surveys. Proceedings, Indoor Air 2005, Sept. 4–9, Beijing, China.
Today’s open-plan areas can become tomorrow’s closed-plan areas, making both absorption (NRC) and blocking (CAC) important for not only current, but also future space flexibility. Understanding how to design for acoustics in today’s flexible interiors takes on new importance because traditional acoustical recommendations are not always compatible with today’s performance requirements.
Acoustic comfort means an acoustic environment that provides:
• speech intelligibility for clear communications and safety;
• speech privacy for confidentiality;
• low distractions and annoyance for a nonintrusive work space.
Advances in ceiling panel technology allow one ceiling panel to be installed across all spaces to provide both high sound absorption and sound blocking. Ceiling panels featuring a more comprehensive acoustics performance, offering the ideal combination of both sound absorption (NRC greater than 0.60) and sound blocking (CAC of 35 or greater). Installing a single ceiling panel with performance that controls both types of auditory distractions results in increased use flexibility and increased occupant comfort.
Custom Ceiling Capabilities Harrah’s Cherokee Casino, Cherokee, North Carolina
The Design Need: Harrah’s Cherokee Casino Resort completed a major expansion and renovation. As part of the facility’s new look, the Cunningham Group design team was searching for a way to draw attention to the casino’s high-limit slots area.
The Solution: To attain the “wow factor” the design team desired, it created a large abstract tree in the center of the area’s gaming space. According to the architect Scott Krenner, “Cuningham Group believes that every building tells a story. The story here is a walk through the Great Smoky Mountains. As a result, we decided to create a woodland setting in this area, but with a much more modern interpretation.”
Measuring 60 feet across and 18 feet high, the massive, eye-catching tree was created using acoustical clouds. While they are offered in 14 standard colors and 10 standard shapes, custom shapes, sizes, and colors were also available.
At Harrah’s, the design team used standard 4-foot by 4-foot hexagons to represent the tree branches, while custom shapes and sizes were used for the trunk and transition from the trunk to the canopy. The branches feature standard colors; the trunk and transition are custom colors. Color-changing lights shine on the tree from below for added effect. In addition to aesthetics, Krenner notes that acoustics were also important part of the design.
Photos courtesy of Armstrong Commercial Ceiling Solutions
Harrah’s Cherokee Casino, Cherokee, North Carolina Cunningham Group, Minneapolis, Minnesota Hexagon and custom clouds in custom colors
Standard Product Capabilities Enable Unique Looks on Tighter Budgets
When your design calls for a signature space with a custom look, but your budget is tight, many standard capabilities are available from ceiling providers to help you achieve a unique design. In the Harrah’s case study, standard 4-foot by 4-foot hexagons panels were used to represent the branches, supplemented by special sizes and shapes of panels for the trunk and transition to the canopy. This could have been done in a specific color, coordinated with other interior furnishings, or been taller plank-like panels. So, from a nonstandard panel size or shape to a special color, veneer, or perforation, many options are available to help you meet both your budget and design goals. From options in metal, wood, mineral fiber, and fiberglass to different shapes and forms, ceiling to wall transitions, sloped ceilings, faceted installations, canopies, clouds, blades, and baffles, there are ways deliver your vision and address your budget and construction schedule. Additionally, Revit and CAD details are often readily available for all standard products used in custom ways.
Custom Ceiling Capabilities Westfield Santa Anita, Arcadia, California Westfield Design & Construction
The Design Need: With the completion of a multi-million-dollar revitalization, Westfield Santa Anita promised a refreshed and sophisticated shopping, dining, and entertainment experience for its guests. The centerpiece of the revitalization is a sophisticated Center Court, which serves as a meeting place for the entire mall. When designing the space, lead architect John Reistetter envisioned a new living room environment that would draw visitors to the 41,500-square-foot Center Court. Reistetter wanted to include an architectural element that would reduce the scale of the exposed 80-foot ceiling. “We needed a second ceiling layer-something that would bring the ceiling closer to the floor-while allowing transparency to the clerestory windows in the existing ceiling.”
The Solution: The solution was a custom metal baffle ceiling system installed in two runs on each side of the Center Court. Designed to resemble an open trellis, each run of the white vertical panels is roughly 226-feet long and 26-feet wide. The panels are 12 inches high and 23⁄8 inches deep with 3-foot vertical returns at each end. They are installed approximately 16 inches apart on center at a height 45 feet above the floor. Prior to installation, ceiling contractor Martin Integrated designed a drywall suspension system that complied with the load-carrying and seismic requirements for the area. “We had to build vertical faces out of the drywall grid and brace them to control movement of the panels,” explains Owner Marty Hovivian. “During an earthquake, the ceiling moves left to right. The vertical face provides the seismic control needed to keep the panels from breaking free during seismic activity.” The design team was pleased with the result, describing the ceiling treatment as one of the most successful elements of the overall project. “The ceiling system aesthetically defines the way we wanted the space to appear,” says Reistetter. “It breaks down the overall volume of the Center Court, while allowing illumination and providing contrast to the darkly painted existing ceiling. It creates an ambience and makes the space feel more intimate.”
Photo courtesy of Armstrong Commercial Ceiling Solutions
Santa Anita Mall, Arcadia, California Westfield Design & Construction, Arcadia, California Custom metal baffle system
Custom Ceiling Capabilities Armstrong Student Center at Miami University, Oxford, Ohio BHDP Architecture, Columbus, Ohio
The Design Need: The Armstrong Student Center at Miami University is designed to provide the 16,000 students with a home of their own on campus. One of the signature spaces within the Student Center is The Commons, a dining and gathering place with tiered seating for more than 450 students. When designing the space, the design team wanted a ceiling that would create visual interest and control acoustics in the large, open space. “We wanted to create interest in a place where people wanted to be,” says design team member Samantha Delabar. “Acoustics was also important so we could keep the noise from bouncing around in the space.” Acoustics also played a role in the design of the Galleria, a long, two-story corridor adjacent to the dining area. Here, the design team wanted a ceiling that would control noise in the busy walkway, while reflecting light from the exterior windows back into the space.
The Solution: In both spaces, the design team addressed all these criteria with two custom metal ceiling designs created in collaboration with the ceiling manufacturer. The design team chose a wave-shaped ribbon design for the 2,300-foot ceiling above the dining area. The wave-shaped ribbons were created by suspending rows of 12-inch by 56-inch white metal ceiling panels on a curved suspension system. Each wave is enclosed by field-cut pieces of white metal trim. For the 6,900-foot ceiling above the Galleria, the design team chose a barrel vault design. The vaulted ceiling was created by suspending 18-inch by 105-inch white metal ceiling panels on a curved suspension system above the corridor. “The curvilinear shape and reflective finish on the vaulted white ceiling helps bounce the natural light from the windows back down into the space,” says Delabar. Perforated and backed with acoustical fleece, both custom ceiling systems have an NRC of 0.65, absorbing 65 percent of the sound that strikes them. “In spaces this large, where student’s gather and people walk back and forth, these metal ceilings provide the necessary acoustical control for the space,” she adds.
Photos courtesy of Armstrong Commercial Ceiling Solutions
Miami University, Oxford, Ohio BHDP Architecture, Columbus, Ohio and William Rawn Associates, Boston, Massachusetts Custom barrel vault metal ceiling system in a barrel vault orientation
The Effects of Value Engineering
An academic definition of value engineering refers to a systematic method of valuing a good or service by examining its function and the ratio of function to cost. Yet too often, value engineering means a focus on cost cutting alone and gives little thought to the long-term impacts and effects of the decision on the final built environment.
In ceilings, the impacts of value engineering often play out during construction by means of well-intentioned budget management that can, too often, lead to owner and occupant dissatisfaction due to poor aesthetics or reduced performance.
Tested Ceiling Systems Versus Non-tested Systems
Tested ceiling systems are engineered to perform according to IBC/ASTM standards. Ceilings are typically subject to seismic guidelines, as defined by IBC, and other requirements, such as FEMA 302 NEHRP Recommended Provisions for Seismic Regulations for New Buildings and Other Structures.
The performance of a suspended ceiling system is based on its specific combination of components and methods of installation. The purposes behind installation requirements for suspended ceilings are to both guarantee that suspension systems are strong enough to resist lateral forces imposed upon it without failing and to prevent border panels from falling from the ceiling plane.
Seismic performance during recent large California earthquakes prompted FEMA to address several concerns, including suspended ceiling performance during a seismic event. Research and tests demonstrated that current industry seismic standards (UBC Standard 25-2) were not adequate. To support individual panels around the perimeter, FEMA determined that the key to good seismic performance is a wider wall molding on all sides. This led to the International Building Code requirement for 2-inch wall molding on all sides. Some ceiling manufacturers have a special clip solution that maintains seismic code requirements of opposite wall ¾-inch clearance and necessary cross tee to main beam spacing with a preferred 7⁄8-inch wall molding. This solution eliminates the need for a 2-inch wall molding.
Photo courtesy of Armstrong Commercial Ceiling Solutions
Engineered seismic solution eliminates need for 2-inch wall molding
Photo courtesy of Armstrong Commercial Ceiling Solutions
2-inch wall molding required by IBC
Verifying that a ceiling is planned, drawn, created, and built precisely to specifications maintains the integrity of the entire system. If codes and requirements for a ceiling system are not discussed and planned for up front, not only will this delay construction schedules, but it could also lead to ceiling failure.
Acoustical Performance
As noted previously, complaints about noise and acoustical performance of a space are at the top of workplace gripes. To achieve comprehensive acoustic quality—an ideal combination of sound blocking and absorption of unwanted sound—acoustical ceiling products should perform at a high level according to two essential measurements: CAC and NRC.
Ceiling panels with high CAC and NRC ratings help block and absorb unwanted sound in open and closed office spaces that are used for both collaboration and focus work. These attributes are even more important in closed offices where privacy is key and sound could otherwise travel to adjoining spaces, such as other offices and corridors.
Failure to plan appropriately for sound or deciding to control for only one acoustic variable will spell dissatisfaction with the final built environment.
The decision to select a less-expensive product or traditional construction method that skimps on design control can mean owner dissatisfaction. Last-minute plan alterations typically add to the budget through increased labor and materials, and can make for an unsightly and inconsistent finish. Use of preconstruction services actually saves time and money for the project, particularly in designs calling for acoustical or drywall ceilings that require a unique solution or that call for special attention; with one-of-a-kind products; in custom applications; in new systems; in plans with complex geometries; and in systems with challenging transitions. By using detailed manufacturer shop drawings, specification sheets, and CAD/Revit drawings, you can easily create a perfectly finished ceiling using less time, labor, and material.
Code Compliance
Ceiling installation requirements follow the International Code Council’s International Building Code, or IBC. The IBC has been adopted by all 50 states. The code spells out the minimum performance standards for installation, acoustical standards, fire performance, and seismic restraint.
Code requirements continue to proliferate as higher-performance buildings with increased use flexibility are specified.
The important codes related to suspended acoustical or drywall ceilings include:
• C636/C635 M-13: Standard Practice for Installation of Metal Ceiling Suspension Systems
• E580/E580 M-14: Standard Practice for Installation of Metal Ceiling Suspension Systems in Areas Subject to Earthquake Ground Motions
• C645-14: Standard Specification for Nonstructural Steel Framing Members
• C754-15: Standard Specification for Installation of Steel Framing to Receive Screw-Attached Gypsum Panel Products
Code updates can spawn confusion over which new products or systems meet code requirements. If a product or installation does not meet the prescriptive requirements in the code, then an evaluation report may be required. To complete the evaluation, a manufacturer must submit product information and testing to independent evaluation agencies, like the ICC Evaluation Service (ICC-ES) and International Association of Plumbing and Mechanical Officials Uniform Evaluation Service (IAPMO ES). These evaluation services appraise the building products based on acceptance criteria. Products that meet the acceptance criteria receive an evaluation report stating that the product either complies with the code or is an alternate to what is specified in the code. Product reports are nationally recognized reports and are usually accepted by code officials to verify compliance.
As ceiling systems advance and buildings demand higher performance and in-depth certification, it is important to ask for and obtain reports from the manufacturer’s representative in the submittal process to ensure the products specified meet code requirements, both for IBC and ASTM.
Embracing the Latest in Ceiling System Innovation to Meet Client Needs
With innovations in pre-engineered ceiling systems, you can create high-performance, constructible ceiling designs faster and easier than ever before. For specifiers, pre-engineered component options and a broad variety of standard products with added capabilities and one-of-a-kind design support means design choices for every application, with assurance of quality and consistency. For the contractor, pre-engineered ceilings offer reduced labor and jobsite risk, and faster, more accurate installations.
Embracing the Latest in Innovation to Fully Realize Design Potential
Ceilings play a fundamental role in supporting a building’s design and purpose. Grid and framing systems form the backbone of the ceiling plane, and work in concert with panel materials not only to carry forward the aesthetics of a structure, but also to host a building’s vital mechanical, electrical, and support systems.
Photo courtesy of Armstrong Commercial Ceiling Solutions
Lyric Opera House Kansas City, Missouri HJM ARCHITECTS INC. Kansas City, Missouri Wood Panels hung on faceted suspension system
With the innovation and abilities of pre-engineered ceilings, creating high-performance, constructible, integrated systems is faster and easier than ever before.
For the architect, pre-engineered ceilings mean design choices for every application, but also provide the assurance that design aesthetics and acoustics are constructible, ensure enhanced installation quality and consistency, and lower project costs. The performance requirements of the space—aesthetics, environmental, durability, acoustics, seismic, recycling, light management, fire performance, humidity, durability, color, and codes/standards—are secured from the initial set of drawings to the final walk-through.
Pre-engineered ceiling solutions take on new importance, as traditional ceiling construction methods are no longer compatible with current design trends and today’s expedited construction schedules. Pre-engineering allows architects to win the challenge of designing spaces that use modern, best construction practices and that meet design intent, code requirements, and accelerated deadlines.
Amanda Voss, MPP, is an author, editor, and policy analyst. Writing for multiple publications, she also serves as the managing editor for Energy Design Update.
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Armstrong Commercial Ceilings is the global leader in acoustical ceilings with the broadest portfolio of standard & custom metal and wood options available including clouds, canopies, baffles, and blades. www.armstrong.com/commceilingsna |