Until now, drop-out ceiling products have had limited performance and visual appeal. In contrast, the thermoplastic panels, made by Ceilume, look great and meet performance requirements for commercial, institutional, residential, and other architectural projects.
The panels are made of rigid vinyl either 0.013 or 0.030 inches thick and can be installed in standard 15/16-inch T-bar ceiling grid. When exposed to fire, the thermoplastic softens, sags, and drops-out of the grid at a temperature below that required to activate sprinklers. Sprinklers can then operate unimpeded to extinguish fire. Drop-out ceiling panels are allowed under—NFPA 13—Standard for the Installation of Sprinkler Systems, and have been approved by UL, FM, Certmark, IAPMO-UES, and other building product evaluation services.