Acoustical ceiling tile can make a room noisy.
Acoustical ceiling tile is a form of drop-ceiling tile designed to limit sound. Acoustical tiles come in a variety of designs and offer some options in color. The national average cost for a do-it-yourself installation of a suspended ceiling in a 15-foot by 20-foot room is $650 at time of publication. But before you invest in an drop ceiling with acoustical tile, you need to understand the disadvantages of acoustical tile.
Water Damage
When your roof leaks or a pipe above your ceiling leaks onto a drywall ceiling, you can touch up the water stain after fixing the leak. When water leaks on an acoustical tile, the tile will start to yellow and eventually begin to fall apart. All of the ceiling tiles stained and affected by the water leak will need to be replaced.
Smoke
When people install an acoustical ceiling, they can sometimes forget how their own habits will affect their home's decor. When cigarette, cigar or pipe smoke discolors a drywall ceiling over time, you can either scrub the ceiling clean or use a fresh coat of paint to solve the problem. Acoustical ceiling tiles absorb smoke and begin to turn yellow. Once your ceiling tiles have been discolored by smoke, replacement is the only option.
Room Height & Energy Costs
A drop ceiling with acoustical tile will reduce the head space in your room after it is installed. Areas that already have a low ceiling, such as a basement, prove impractical for an acoustical tile ceiling. Drop ceilings also help capture heat and make a room more energy efficient in the winter. A finished room in an attic, though, may become too hot during the summer if it has a drop ceiling. The extra cost of running an air conditioner to combat the heat created by the ceiling may offset any energy savings.
Sound
Drop ceilings help prevent some noise from the floor above from affecting the people in the rooms below. Commercial buildings such as schools and hospitals use this feature of acoustical tile to create quieter rooms. But acoustical tile also captures sound within a room and can affect the sound quality of stereos and home theater systems. Extra sound deadening measures will need to be taken to help offset the sound retained by the ceiling tiles.
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