Batt insulation over suspended ceiling

[smcarthur]

Are there any regulations that address the practice of installing fibergalss batt insulation directly on top of suspended ceiling tiles in a commercial building?

[rcooke]

Originally Posted by smcarthur

Are there any regulations that address the practice of installing fibergalss batt insulation directly on top of suspended ceiling tiles in a commercial building?

I have seen this and it is frequently done for sound deadening .

Roy Cooke

[David P. Valley]

You may have issues...

http://www.insulate.org/tech1.html

[Marcel R. Cyr]

Originally Posted by rcooke

I have seen this and it is frequently done for sound deadening .

Roy Cooke

http://www.certainteed.com/NR/rdonly...Insulation.pdf

As usuall, Roy has been around and is correct in his statement that insulation above suspended ceilings is meant to be installed to increase the STC ratings for multi-level occupancies.

The insulation used should not have a vapor retarder of any kind to the batt insulation, because those retarders are flammable and have to be covered with a fire resistant material.

The batt insulation should be unfaced and can be of various thicknesses varying on the STC required.

Batt insulation above suspended ceilings have been used for years for sound control and is being used a little less in todays economy due to the improved STC ratings of drop in tiles that are available.

The only thing to note in this application would be the facing that might exist such as paper facings or foil facings that can not be left exposed due to fire hazards. Other than that, it can be used for sound or additional insulation supplements.

Marcel
</IMG></IMG>

[rcooke]

Originally Posted by mcyr

http://www.certainteed.com/NR/rdonly...Insulation.pdf

As usuall, Roy has been around and is correct in his statement that insulation above suspended ceilings is meant to be installed to increase the STC ratings for multi-level occupancies.

The insulation used should not have a vapor retarder of any kind to the batt insulation, because those retarders are flammable and have to be covered with a fire resistant material.

The batt insulation should be unfaced and can be of various thicknesses varying on the STC required.

Batt insulation above suspended ceilings have been used for years for sound control and is being used a little less in todays economy due to the improved STC ratings of drop in tiles that are available.

The only thing to note in this application would be the facing that might exist such as paper facings or foil facings that can not be left exposed due to fire hazards. Other than that, it can be used for sound or additional insulation supplements.

Marcel
</IMG></IMG>

WOW! .........Marcel fantastic ,
Sorry I will be too busy to write an exam on all this great material.

Thanks for the Plug,, yes age does have some small advantages .Cooke

Roy

[smcarthur]

Thnks for all the great info, even though it wasn't what I had hoped for. I personally hate the practice of installing batt insulation over ceiling tiles. It makes the tiles sag and make my job (electrical contractor) much harder. I was hoping to see that there was a regulation that would impose a life sentence of hard labor to anyone who installed or spec'd the installation.

[Marcel R. Cyr]

Originally Posted by smcarthur

Thnks for all the great info, even though it wasn't what I had hoped for. I personally hate the practice of installing batt insulation over ceiling tiles. It makes the tiles sag and make my job (electrical contractor) much harder. I was hoping to see that there was a regulation that would impose a life sentence of hard labor to anyone who installed or spec'd the installation.

Steve;

I apoligize for not informing you on what you wanted to hear.

Unfortunately, there are ways of eliminating sag due to insulation weight on ceiling tiles and yes, it is a pain in someone's ##s to come back and add electrical complementaries after the fact. I have been there.

It is uncommon today to see this type of Construction due the advancement of Suspended Ceiling Tiles designed for either supplemented insulation or sound control.
As far as I know, there is no Code Section that I can find to make this type of installation to side in your discontent to dealing with it.

I guess you will have to go home itching tonight and did you replace the insulation to it's original position when you were done installing your wires? ha. ha. Most don't.

Marcel