Have you ever been in an office building or anyplace similar?  Did you ever look up while you were there?  Did you see a bunch of white square or rectangular tiles with a bunch of irregular holes punched in them?  If you answered yes to all of the above, then you already know what suspended ceilings are.

Faster Than Plaster

Suspended ceilings, also known as drop ceilings, are a metal grid you attach to the walls of a room just below the roof or else just below the floor above.  You then fill in this grid with a set of tiles, tiles which are usually made of mineral fibers, coated with a waterproof paint, and then punched through with holes so that they absorb sound.

The main advantage of suspended ceilings over plaster is expense.  The usual plaster ceiling you see in most homes can cost quite a bit to install, and while that’s just fine for a house it can be a bit much for a business that’s only concerned with keeping the rafters and the plumbing out of sight.  Suspended ceilings also offer easy access to the plumbing and wires hidden away above, whereas you would have to knock a hole into a plaster ceiling in order to reach a broken pipe or a faulty wire hidden behind it.

The Metal Edge

While mineral fiber tiles may be the default option for suspended ceilings, there is an alternative which has a number of advantages over them.

While mineral fiber tiles are waterproofed on the side that faces down, they are usually vulnerable from above, making it easy for them to soak through from a water leak in the roof or in a pipe.  Even if nothing happens to them, they typically need replacing every few decades.

Metal tiles, on the other hand, can resist rust and corrosion indefinitely with the right coating, and metal tile ceilings installed a hundred years ago are still in great condition today.  Metal tiles also come in a wide variety of styles and patterns, far more than plain white (and if that’s your preference, you can get metal tiles in that shade, too).  Better still, there’s a good chance you can retrofit your existing suspension grid to work with metal tiles, too.

If you own a home with an unfinished ceiling or an office that needs new ceiling tiles, you should seriously consider going with metal tiles.  Even if you’re simply unsatisfied with the ceiling that came with your home, you can cover it up with an inspiring suspended metal ceiling with a minimum of effort and damage to your home.  After all, if you’re remodeling your home, there’s no need to stop at four walls and the floor.