# fabric ceiling over joists/insulation?



## ecx (Jun 27, 2021)

Hi all. I've researched this here and elsewhere and my conclusion was I should just ask. (Homeowner here, not a contractor.)

My wife and I just bought a building here in Chicago that was once a mixed use commercial building with an open office plan on the first floor and living upstairs. Just the two floors on a concrete slab, no basement. It was rezoned residential a number of years ago, and we're the only occupants. The first floor currently has a pretty standard T-grid drop ceiling, over 2x10 joists with R-30 batts in between.

The plan for the first floor is music/movies/holidays, etc., with an emphasis on recording music. For both aesthetic and sonic reasons, that drop ceiling has to go. The ideal for the ceiling is a combination of acoustic reflection/diffusion with large zones of absorption. For the reflective areas, I'm planning on using pine T&G. For absorption, the sonic ideal would be to just leave the joists exposed and let the pink stuff eat sound; my plan instead was to cover those areas with the same fabric I use for wall mounted absorbers:









						FR-DMD™ Fire Rated Acoustic Fabric by the Yard 64" Wide
					

Fire Rated Acoustically transparent acoustic fabric with a diagonal mesh texture.3 Yard Minimum per order  CLASS-A FIRE RATED FABRIC CLICK TO DOWNLOAD TEST RESULTS




					www.acoustimac.com
				




This fabric is Class A fire rated, with a flame spread index of 0. (Independent lab results are linked on the product page.) My first thought is that it should be fine, but my second thought is that I don't understand fire codes and for all I know there's some factoid I'm missing about this. We're getting rid of the fluorescent lamps but want to keep the electrical. The fabric would be mounted about 1/2" under the joists, rather than the 8" or so the T-grid is hanging at.

And, just to be clear, not trying to circumvent anything or play fast and loose. This is our home and I want it to be both safe and correct. Thanks!
-E


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## cda (Jun 27, 2021)

Welcome 

Does the building have a fire sprinkler system??

So will the first floor be a business???

“”The plan for the first floor is music/movies/holidays, etc., with an emphasis on recording music””

I am not into acoustics but the link says 

DMD fabric is acoustically transparent,,, do you have to mount it to something to make it work???

Give it a few days for some great replies from others


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## ecx (Jun 27, 2021)

Thanks for the quick reply! A few things:

- No sprinkler system (1st floor is about 1250 square feet total)
- First floor is for private use only
- Was planning to stretch it over a thin mounting frame (3/8" plywood cut into strips is the current plan) to make panels, which would then hang from the joists


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## cda (Jun 27, 2021)

Please wait for others to reply but sounds like you are ok

Not into Acoustics or insulation requirements.

And this is for personal use / man cave kind of?


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## ecx (Jun 27, 2021)

Essentially---we'll of course have people over for movies, hear music, etc., but nothing that wouldn't comport with our residential zoning.


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## e hilton (Jun 28, 2021)

Rather than cutting plywood into strips, could you use aluminum window screen frames?


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