Ceiling

tract home with an open-beam ceiling, 1960 Ceilings are classified according to their appearance or construction. A cathedral ceiling is any tall ceiling area similar to those in a church. A dropped ceiling is one in which the finished surface is constructed anywhere from a few inches or centimeters to several feet or a few meters below the structure above it. This may be done for aesthetic purposes, such as achieving a desirable ceiling height; or practical purposes such as acoustic damping or providing a space for HVAC or piping. An inverse of this would be a raised floor. A concave or barrel-shaped ceiling is curved or rounded upward, usually for visual or acoustical value, while a coffered ceiling is divided into a grid of recessed square or octagonal panels, also called a "lacunar ceiling". A cove ceiling uses a curved plaster transition between wall and ceiling; it is named for cove molding, a molding with a concave curve. A stretched ceiling (or stretch ceiling) uses a number of individual panels using material such as PVC fixed to a perimeter rail. ==Elements==

Ceilings have frequently been decorated with fresco painting, mosaic tiles and other surface treatments. While hard to execute (at least in place) a decorated ceiling has the advantage that it is largely protected from damage by fingers and dust. In the past, however, this was more than compensated for by the damage from smoke from candles or a fireplace. Many historic buildings have celebrated ceilings. Perhaps the most famous is the Sistine Chapel ceiling by Michelangelo. Ceiling height, particularly in the case of low ceilings, may have psychological impacts. ==Fire-resistance rated ceilings==

The most common ceiling that contributes to fire-resistance ratings in commercial and residential construction is the dropped ceiling. In the case of a dropped ceiling, the rating is achieved by the entire system, which is both the structure above, from which the ceilings is suspended, which could be a concrete floor or a timber floor, as well as the suspension mechanism and, finally the lowest membrane or dropped ceiling. Between the structure that the dropped ceiling is suspended from and the dropped membrane, such as a T-bar ceiling or a layer of drywall, there is often some room for mechanical and electrical piping, wiring and ducting to run. An independent ceiling, however, can be constructed such that it has a stand-alone fire-resistance rating. Such systems must be tested without the benefit of being suspended from a slab above in order to prove that the resulting system is capable of holding itself up. This type of ceiling would be installed to protect items above from fire. Image:Durasteel_4h_ceiling_1.jpg|An unrestrained non-loadbearing ceiling undergoing a 4-hour fire test. Deflection is measured off the I-beam. Image:Durasteel_4h_ceiling_2.jpg| Durasteel ceiling after successful fire test, being raised from the furnace and readied for an optional 45PSI (3.1 bar) hose-stream test. ==Gallery==

Image:Ste Chapelle Basse s.jpg|Gothic ceiling in the Sainte-Chapelle, Paris, 1243-1248, by Pierre de Montreuil Palais du Louvre, escalier Henri II, voûte 01.jpg|Renaissance ceiling of the Henry II staircase in the Louvre Palace, Paris, by Étienne Carmoy, Raymond Bidollet, Jean Chrestien and François Lheureux, 1553 Chambre de parade du Louvre (224).jpg|Renaissance ceiling of the king's bedroom in the Louvre Palace, by Francisque Scibecq de Carpi, 1556 Ceiling of Salon des Saisons (2019 92).jpg|Baroque ceiling of the Salle des Saisons in the Louvre Palace, by Giovanni Francesco Romanelli, Michel Anguier and Pietro Sasso, mid 17th century Ceiling of Salle Duchâtel (28006345120).jpg|Neoclassical ceiling of the Salle Duchâtel in the Louvre Palace, with The Triumph of French Painting. Apotheosis of Poussin, Le Sueur and Le Brun in the centre, by Charles Meynier, 1822, and ceilings panels with medallion portraits of French painters, 1828-1833 Ceiling of Escalier Mollien in the Louvre - Paris, France, 2019 2.jpg|Neoclassical ceiling of the Mollien staircase in the Louvre Palace, designed by Hector Lefuel in 1857 and painted by Charles Louis Müller in 1868-1870 18 Calea Dorobanților, Bucharest (27).jpg|Moorish Revival ceiling in the Nicolae T. Filitti/Nae Filitis House (Calea Dorobanților no. 18), Bucharest, Romania, de Ernest Doneaud, 1910 Image:Trier.ceiling.jpg|Demonstrative reconstruction of a Roman suspended ceiling in an Imperial palace of circa AD 306 at Trier, Italy Lightmatter Sistine Chapel ceiling.jpg|Part of the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel in Vatican City in Rome, showing the ceiling in relation to the other frescoes Villa Schutzenberger, ceiling.jpg|Ceiling of the Villa Schutzenberger from Strasbourg, France, decorated with Art Nouveau ornaments Image:Plafond du grand salon Comte Velbruck - Société littéraire Liège.jpg|Painted ceiling in Liège, Belgium File:Ceiling of Dayuan Renshou Temple-05.2024-06-11.jpg|Traditional Chinese ceiling of Dayuan Renshou Temple at Taoyuan, Taiwan File:Suspended-ceiling-0a.jpg|Dropped ceiling File:Torun Kopernika 21 pietro strop (2).jpg|Wooden beam ceiling == See also ==