Building a Drop Ceiling Frame Without Hotworks - Strut Systems Installation

Drop Ceiling Frame Challenge: No Welding Allowed

Our design team was recently tasked with designing a drop ceiling frame, to hold surgical lights and service columns. However, the lights were being retro-fitted into an existing surgical room and the hospital building was undergoing major renovations!

The room already contained many pipe lines, gas hoses and ventilation ducts. This meant welding was not permitted in the room. Exposing the chemicals and gases running through these lines to high heat or flame would simply be too dangerous.

As a result of these safety issues, the drop ceiling grid had to be installed as a modular system and fastened in place without welding. The entire system also had to be strong enough to meet the weight requirements of the expensive surgical equipment it was intended to support.

Adding to the degree of difficulty of the project, the span between each of the supporting structural members was very large. An additional cross structural section had to be created, to help span these large gaps. Our Unistrut based drop ceiling grid had to attach to this section, and then drop down fifteen feet, through the interstitial, to reach the proper level for the room’s ceiling.

Our design team coordinated with Sikla USA to find a solution to the structural support problem. Sikla reviewed the requirements and project measurements then recommended we install their siFramo 100 box section.

The siFramo 100 box section is a modular structural support that requires no welding during installation – problem solved. The use of siFramo eliminated the need for welding in this room with active gas hoses and chemical pipes.

We designed the remaining portion of the suspended ceiling grid using Unistrut metal framing. An engineer then reviewed our design calculations and provided a stamp of approval.

Our structural drop ceiling grid design met all of the project requirements, without welding, and the project was a great success.

Our team completed the installation in only a few days. The remaining tradesmen had plenty of time to get into the room and finish their jobs on schedule.

Not only were we able to provide our customer with the solution they were looking for, but we completed the project at a highly competitive price, which fit well inside their budget. A win/win situation for all involved!

Do you have a difficult support problem that requires expert eyes on and a creative, outside the box solution?