Other Ceilings
Other ceilings speaks to Suspended linear metal ceilings, Suspended fire resistance rated ceilings as well as Interstitial ceilings.
Suspended Linear Metal Ceilings
This ceiling type is made of long elements that are formed from sheet aluminum attached to a special type of concealed grid.
Suspended Fire Resistance Rated Ceilings
These are suspended ceilings that are part of a fire resistance rated floor-ceiling or roof-ceiling assembly and may be made of gypsum board, plaster or lay in panel and grid systems that are specially designed to have the necessary resistance to the passage of fire.
Penetrations in such membrane ceilings must be detailed so as to maintain the required degree of fire resistance throughout the ceiling. Lighting fixtures must be backed up with fire resistive material and air conditioning grills must be isolated from the ducts that feed them by means of automatic fire dampers and any access panels provided for maintenance of above ceiling services must themselves meet requirements for fire resistance.
Interstitial Ceilings
Many hospital and laboratory buildings have extremely elaborate mechanical and electrical systems, including not just the usual air conditioning ducts, water and waste piping, electrical and communications wiring. They also have such services as fume hood ducting, fuel gas lines, compressed air lines, oxygen piping, chilled water piping, vacuum piping and chemical waste piping.
These ducts and tubes occupy a considerable volume of space in the building, often in an amount that virtually equals the inhabited volume. Furthermore, all these systems require continual maintenance and are subject to frequent change. As a consequence, many laboratory and hospital buildings are designed with interstitial ceilings.
An interstitial ceiling is suspended at a level that allows workers to travel freely in the plenum space, usually while walking erect and is structured strongly enough to support safely the weight of the workers and their tools. In effect, the plenum space becomes another floorof the building, slipped in between the other floors and the overall height of the building must be increased accordingly.
Its advantage is that maintenance and updating work on the mechanical and electrical systems of the building can be carried on without disturbing the activities below. Interstitial ceilings are made of gypsum or lightweight concrete and combine the construction details of poured gypsum roof decks and suspended plaster ceilings.
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