This is topic Tell Me About My False Ceiling! in forum Film Handlers' Forum at Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE.


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Posted by Steve Kraus (Member # 476) on 10-09-2016, 12:19 PM:
 
My booth has an ordinary suspended false ceiling with tiles fitting in a grid. I'm doing something above it all the time.

My screening room's ceiling, however, is the gridless design you see in these photos. In all the years I've had the screening room I have never had a need to do anything above it and consequently I don't know how it works. How do you pop open a tile or can you even? I do know it is a false ceiling and not just tiles glued to a surface because I can push up and the entire area rises an inch or two with no disruption of the individual tile I pushed on.





The reason for the question is that my building is putting in fire suppression sprinkers. Work has been going on over the last few years and I was recently given notice that my floor is due for the work soon. The contractor says it would be almost impossible to run pipes above the ceiling and one can no longer get those kind of tiles. (The screening room was built in 1985.) The plan is to run a couple of pipes out from the booth just under the ceiling, paint it to match, and call it a day.

That might in fact be a good plan. But thought I would look into the situation first. Plus there may come a time when I have need for additional cables or some other reason to get above that ceiling so it would be good to know in general.

PS: Not sure if this is the best forum for this but no offense taken if a moderator sees fit to move it.
 

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Posted by Mike Blakesley (Member # 26) on 10-09-2016, 01:35 PM:
 
Those look like interlocking tiles. There's probably a grid made from 1x4s they are attached to. My old bedroom ceiling at Mom's house looks just like that. You can't really take one tile out since they all fit into slots on the neighboring tile.
 

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Posted by Steve Kraus (Member # 476) on 10-09-2016, 04:59 PM:
 
Yes, most likely. I think I should make an exploratory opening from above the booth to see exactly what's up there. Interlocking tiles are supposed to have one or more removable and others can be slid that way. But probably too much trouble for the sprinkler people.
 

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Posted by Gordon McLeod (Member # 33) on 10-09-2016, 05:42 PM:
 
mostlikely they are glued to a layer of drywall above it
virtually impossible to work above but there may be a access hatch
 

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Posted by Dave Macaulay (Member # 813) on 10-09-2016, 05:46 PM:
 
This is usually done because there's very limited space above the ceiling, but you have pot lights so there's at least the height for them. They can attach to light wood (1x2 is about minimum) strips at 1' spacing (assuming 1' tiles!) and they interlock like plywood sheething: one edge of a row is stapled to the wood and the next row locks into it, hiding the staples. The moulding around the walls hides the first and last rows of staples. The strapping is usually rigidly mounted but I suppose you could use wire hangers.
You could rip them down and install T-bar tiles, but might not have enough clearance to get them in.
I had them in a finished basement. You can cut out tiles and then reattach them with staples or brads but it is never invisible.
 

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Posted by Randy Stankey (Member # 64) on 10-09-2016, 05:49 PM:
 

quote: Dave Macaulay

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they interlock like plywood sheething: one edge of a row is stapled to the wood and the next row locks into it, hiding the staples

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