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Finish Ceilings, speaks to types of finish ceilings, what are finish ceilings and why finish ceilings.
When ceilings are being installed, the building construction is nearing the end. The components of the mechanical and electrical systems that remain exposed are either finished or concealed, intersections of interior surfaces are trimmed and painters complete their work to reveal for the first time the interior character of the building. Inspections are completed and the building is turned over.
Functions of Ceilings
The ceiling surface is an important functional component of a room. It helps control the diffusion of light and sound about the room. It may play a role in prevenying the passage of sound vertically between the rooms above and below, and horizontally between rooms on either side of a partition. It is often designed to resist the passage of fire and must itself be appropriately noncombustible.
Frequently, it is called upon to assist in the distribution of conditioned air, artificial light and electrical energy. In many buildings, it must accommodate sprinkler heads for fire suppression and loudspeakers for intercommunications systems. It’s colour, texture, pattern and shape are prominent in the overall visual impression of the room.
A ceiling can be a simple, level plane, a series of sloping planes that give the sense of a roof above, a luminous surface, a richly coffered ornamental ceiling or even as frescoed plaster vault such as Michelangelo’s famous ceiling in the Sistine chapel in Rome. The possibilities are endless.
Considerations
Acoustical ceiling tile can be a source of volatile organic compound (VOC) emissions as well as a reservoir from emissions from other sources.
Low emitting acoustic tiles are available, as are tiles with high recycled materials content.
When the space above suspended ceilings is used as a return air plenum for the building’s HVAC system, contaminants and emissions from the acoustical tile can be introduced into the system’s air air system and redistributed to other parts of the building.
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