Suspended ceilings in condos

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Any thoughts on suspended ceilings?  I'm thinking that surely it must dampen any possible noise from unit above.  Though how much noise do you get from above in a modern condo?  I have lived in a condo before but that was top floor low-rise so no noise from above.

And presumably you cannot have ceiling fans in a suspended ceiling?

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hi,

A suspended ceiling does nothing to reduce noise from above. As it's suspended it needs to be lightweight and all noise reduction is a factor of mass. Concrete walls are great for reducing noise, partition walls are useless.

Any noise reduction will depend on the mass of the concrete floor. And the type of floor finish used. Hard floor finishes such as ceramic tiles echo noise (especially footsteps) through the floor. Luckily in Malaysia, and regionally, it's a wonderful habit/courtesy to remove shoes when entering the unit.

The noise that you'll get can be toilet flushing, washing machine/dryer, and footsteps. Also dropping the microwave or TV or a hammer adds a bit of a thud, echo, shock.   

For safety, a ceiling fan will need to be attached to the underside of the concrete floor which is the ceiling. Any suspended ceiling being used for decorative purposes would need to be cut around the fan.

You can get down lighters in a suspended ceiling which gives the unit a classier look (IMO, and this is really subjective). A suspended ceiling does not need to be level across a room but can drop down at the edges, like an enlarged cornice, and form a surround for the lighting and creating areas. So you can use the ceiling to "sculpture" the room.

However it's worth remembering that the floor to ceiling height is probably a developer's minimum so cutting it down further may be oppressive.

You can also use a variety of ceiling finishes. There's plasterboard which gives a much smoother surface than the concrete ceiling will have. Or you could try acoustic board to dampen any resonance that you create, although acoustic board tends to give more of an office look.

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Thanks for that Scott - that's very interesting.  So, in a nutshell, suspended ceilings do nothing to dampen any possible noise.

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In our previous condo the floor-ceiling height was 12.5 ft. We had the developer installed suspended ceilings & cornices throughout the unit during renovation. Looked good, but fl-ceiling height reduced by about a foot, still ok because original ceiling ht was high.
My upstairs neighbor had a leak in the floor drain due to negligent in water proofing and the patch of cornices and ceiling under the drainage area were damaged. Condo was still under warranty and developer fixed neighbor's and our affected areas.
By the 5th year I noticed a few spots of little round nail perimeters showing faintly where the plaster previously covered. But one advantage is the lizards didn't seem to climb up to the cornices. I'm not sure why,but my termite guy said it could be the chemically treated materials that were used by the developer rather than the regular ones. I paid the developer RM7+k for the wall paint, cornices and ceiling works.
Now I don't have suspended ceiling in the house 

BB

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Thanks BB - I'm starting to get the picture    Mr P was never that keen on the idea of suspended ceilings but I'm rapidly going off the idea too, and doesn't make a lot of sense in a new condo unit I guess.

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Whilst it is an old thread (just happened to see it) I'll ad my two cents worth:

Most condos that I know of do a pretty good job of isolating noise from the floor above. I have never lived in a condo (have lived in many is different places in M'sia and S'pore).

Floating ceilings do provide some level of sound attenuation but its effect is geared to WITHIN the immediate area - hence great for acoustic corrections within the living space. Being an audiophile, I have worked some solutions using floating ceilings in a couple of condos where the boomy sounds of speakers were corrected somewhat. Actually, the sound of all hi-fi and TV equipment was improved considerably with the treatment. The drop was about 10 inches and I had canister lights also installed. if you have high ceilings, the desired effect (sound attenuation) might not interfere with the aesthetics. If "normal" height, then you will certainly lower the ceiling 'look" to an unpleasant sight.

I still don't understand the noise level (coming from the floor upstairs) issue....does anyone else experience this? Personally, I dont see a need for this. These days, I do acoustic treatment through draperies and sono-bricks/panels.

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I have issues with upstairs noise.  It is due to a bad condo design where noise reduction wasn't a high priority - it is a bit older.  But the ceilings are 11 feet.  I would like to put in something to even partially reduce the noise and secondary ceilings are suppose to be able to do this to some extent.  In what I have read it is much much better to deal with noise from floor (so the floor of the unit above) than the ceiling, but if that isn't possible suspended ceilings can provide some benefit.

Does anyone have suggestions for contractors in Johor Bahru to do this?

Also I am looking for heavy curtains (again for noise reduction).  I have had an enormously large problem making any progress on this front.  Does anyone have any suggestions in Malaysia for a provider of noise reduction curtains.  I understand curtains can't make a huge difference, but they can make some.

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h,

All noise reduction is really a function of mass. The heavier the wall etc the better the noise reduction. And the sturdier the construction the less vibration and reverberation.

It also has to do with tightness of seals on openings. Heavy curtains will absorb very littlenoise but help to reduce reverberation (echo) so they add a dampening effect.

On the windows of my place in Portugal I once tried taping up a duvet - heavier than heavy curtains - and zip for noticeable noise reduction. I'd suggest that you first try a good door/window seal.

Get the type that is "P" or "D" profile that has a hollow section like a tube. IME, these work better than the "V" or "E" shaped sections. .

For suspended ceilings you could try the normal ceiling with an inverted acoustic tile laid on top of the ceiling board to absorb some of the noise as it makes it's way through the ceiling. I've never tried this so it's a maybe suggestion.

You could also fill the void between the suspended ceiling and the real ceiling with spray-in expanding foam which has some acoustic properties and gives trillions of small dead air spaces. A large tube of the stuff is around RM35.

Without an acoustic engineer, instruments and calculations, it's really a case of trying things out.

In space no-one can hear you scream.   

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On the windows of my place in Portugal I once tried taping up a duvet - heavier than heavy curtains - and zip for noticeable noise reduction. I'd suggest that you first try a good door/window seal.

So when moving to Malaysia, remember to bring your tapestries with you. What do you mean you don't have any tapestries?

What sort of castle are you living in ?

 

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hi,

It was a heavy duty duvet. No difference. The problem got ameliorated by around 60% with the window seals. However they made it somewhat difficult to open the sliding windows but ventilation wasn't a problem.