question: Why do modern homes have such high ceilings?
comment: Cooling a house is cheaper if the ceiling is high, as the hot air rises toward the ceiling, leaving comfortable cooler air down where the people are. Buyers like high ceilings for their appearance.
passages: Ceiling height contributes to the atmosphere; low ceilings are homely, and high ceilings are theatrical. As English ceilings are generally low Muthesius outlines two methods of addressing soundproofing. The first involves inserting mineral wool between the ceiling beams, and the second, producing a shortened form of a double height ceiling. This involves the lower ceiling being constructed independently of, but positioned as close as possible to, the upper floor-bearing ceiling.
  
  BULLET::::- Floor
   Other types of ceiling include the cathedral ceiling, the concave or barrel-shaped ceiling, the stretched ceiling and the coffered ceiling. Coving often links the ceiling to the surrounding walls. Ceilings can play a part in reducing fire hazard, and a system is available for rating the fire resistance of dropped ceilings.
  
  Section::::Types.
   Some roofing materials, particularly those of natural fibrous material, such as thatch, have excellent insulating properties. For those that do not, extra insulation is often installed under the outer layer. In developed countries, the majority of dwellings have a ceiling installed under the structural members of the roof. The purpose of a ceiling is to insulate against heat and cold, noise, dirt and often from the droppings and lice of birds who frequently choose roofs as nesting places.
   Section::::Design objectives.:Environmental factors.:Integration with infrastructure.
  
  Integration with mechanical, electrical, and plumbing (MEP) is important with dropped ceilings, since most of these systems are by definition above the ceiling. Fortunately, most ceiling system products are now designed with this integration in mind. Decisions here can also affect aesthetics as well as access and maintenance.
  
  Section::::Design objectives.:Environmental factors.:Cost.
  
  Dropped ceilings may have an improved return on investment (ROI) over open ceilings
  
  Section::::Suspension grids.
   In contrast, the tiles and other parts of a dropped or stretch ceiling are easily removed to allow access to the area above the grid to do any necessary wiring or plumbing modifications. In the event of remodelling, nearly all components of the grid can be dismantled and reassembled somewhere else.
   The modern great room concept traces back to the "multipurpose room" in modernist homes built by Joseph Eichler in California in the 1950s and 1960s. Developers started building high-end houses with great rooms in the 1970s and 1980s, at first simply adding vaulted entryways to ranch-style houses. An example of this is the house in the television series "The Brady Bunch". Great rooms became a nearly ubiquitous feature of suburban homes constructed in America in the 1990s and 2000s.
   The most common type of ceiling is the dropped ceiling, which is suspended from structural elements above. Panels of drywall are fastened either directly to the ceiling joists or to a few layers of moisture-proof plywood which are then attached to the joists. Pipework or ducts can be run in the gap above the ceiling, and insulation and fireproofing material can be placed here.
   Wiring and piping installed behind traditional plaster or wallboard ceilings is extremely difficult to modify once the finished ceiling is in place. Wires must either be fished through hollow spaces in the walls behind the finished ceiling, or the ceiling must be demolished in order for wiring or piping changes to be made.
   My dad thought the corners of rooms were wasted space as were the corners of the ceiling. He thought the dome ceiling gave the feeling of openness. He was right. The rooms felt very large and open.
   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.
   With the exception of the kitchen, laundry and bathrooms, rooms have split bamboo ceilings with ceiling lights and fans set in patterned cane or bamboo panels. Architraves and skirtings are also of bamboo, as is the door into the studio. This use of split bamboo is a particularly striking feature of the house. A long strip of what appears to be batik is set into the studio ceiling. The interior timber-framed floor is lined generally with timber boards.
   The house's interior plan represents a break with previous styles. Houses built by pioneering European settlers in the region had kept their ceilings low to conserve heat during the long, cold winters. But that era had ended by the late 18th century, and the descendants of those settlers, more prosperous in their lives and sophisticated in their tastes, wanted to live in less cramped, more elegant homes, and so built higher ceilings such as those in Maizefield. This change occurred without any corresponding improvement in home heating; the four hearths were thus necessary to keep the house sufficiently heated during the winter.
   Ceiling
  
  A ceiling is an overhead interior surface that covers the upper limits of a room. It is not generally considered a structural element, but a finished surface concealing the underside of the roof structure or the floor of a story above. Ceilings can be decorated to taste, and there are many fine examples of frescoes and artwork on ceilings especially in religious buildings.
   The "in-core ceilings" are roofline-like curve beneath the actual roofline that may be present due to the lack of some form of parallelism. These ceilings effectively limit how high performance can reach. Performance cannot exceed an in-core ceiling until the underlying lack of parallelism is expressed and exploited. The ceilings can be also derived from architectural optimization manuals other than benchmarks.
  
  Section::::Adding ceilings to the model.:Locality walls.
   As a renovation tool, dropped ceilings are a quick and inexpensive way to repair a ceiling or reduce HVAC costs. Some materials may show their age quickly— for example, mineral fiber sags, is damaged easily when handled, and stains easily, but stretch ceiling, tin and vinyl do not have these characteristics.
  
  Section::::See also.
  
  BULLET::::- Ceiling tiles
  
  BULLET::::- Gypsum
  
  BULLET::::- Drywall
  
  Section::::Further reading.
  
  BULLET::::- "Drop‐Out Ceiling Panels – A Discussion on Their Use with Fire Sprinklers" by Gary G. Piermattei of Rolf Jensen & Associates, Inc., 2014
   The acoustic performance of suspended ceilings has improved dramatically over the years, with enhanced sound absorption and attenuation. This is sometimes achieved by adding insulation known as Sound Attenuation Batts (SABs), more commonly referred to as "sound batts", above the panels to help deaden sounds and keep adjacent rooms quieter.
  
  Section::::Design objectives.:Environmental factors.
  
  Section::::Design objectives.:Environmental factors.:Indoor environmental quality.
  
  Indoor environmental quality includes ventilation, VOC emissions, lighting and thermal system control, thermal comfort, use of daylight for natural illumination, acoustics, and optimization of outdoor view availability.
  
  Section::::Design objectives.:Environmental factors.:Sustainability.
   In modern buildings, there are numerous services provided via ducts or wires underneath the floor or above the ceiling. The floor of one level typically also holds the ceiling of the level below (if any).
  
  Services provided by subfloors include:
  
  BULLET::::- Air conditioning
  
  BULLET::::- Communication fibers
  
  BULLET::::- Electrical wiring
  
  BULLET::::- Fire protection
  
  BULLET::::- Thermal insulation
  
  BULLET::::- Plumbing
  
  BULLET::::- Sewerage
  
  BULLET::::- Soundproofing
  
  BULLET::::- Underfloor heating
   When installing a stretch ceiling, semi-concealed plastic/aluminum track, the preferred choice for most architects and designers, is cut to size and fixed to the perimeter of the ceiling area. The membrane is stretched and the harpoon or catch edge is clipped into the track. Stretching is aided by heating up the membrane or sheet prior to fitting.
  
  Section::::Drop out ceilings.
   For many years, dropped ceilings were made of basic white tiles, but modern innovations now offer a plethora of options in sizes, colors, materials (including retro designs and faux leather, wood, or metal), visual effects and shapes, patterns, and textures as well as support systems and ways to access the plenum. Custom runs of specialty ceiling tiles can be done at relatively low cost compared with the past.
  
  Section::::Design objectives.:Acoustics.
  
  Acoustic balance and control was another early objective of dropped ceilings. A noisy room can overstimulate occupants, while a too quiet interior may seem dull and uninviting.
   Section::::Design objectives.
  
  Effective building design requires balancing multiple objectives: aesthetics, acoustics, environmental factors, and integration with the building's infrastructure—not to mention cost of construction as well as long-term operation costs.
  
  Section::::Design objectives.:Aesthetics.
  
  Modern dropped ceilings were initially created to hide the building infrastructure, including piping, wiring, and/or ductwork, by creating a plenum space above the dropped ceiling, while allowing access for repairs and inspections. Drop ceilings may also be used to hide problems, such as structural damage. Further, drop out ceilings can also conceal the sprinkler systems while still providing full fire suppression functionality.
   "The home owner and the plasterer's boss will usually decide beforehand what styles they will use in the house". Typically walls are smooth and sometimes ceilings. Usually a homeowner will opt to have the ceilings use a "texture" technique as it is much easier, faster, and thus cheaper than a smooth ceiling.
   Section::::Stretch Ceiling.
  
  With similar advantages to a dropped ceiling, a stretch ceiling is often used to conceal pipework, wires or the existing ceiling. On top of this there is usually a broad choice of colour or texture and the membrane can be manipulated into a variety of shapes.
  
  A stretch ceiling is a suspended ceiling system and it is made of three main components
   BULLET::::- Wall cabinets are usually deep. Their heights are often , for example, if mounted to a soffit. In a kitchen with ceilings, a wall cabinet will leave about of space above the cabinet which can be covered with a crown molding; a full wall cabinet will run straight to the top of the ceiling. Wall cabinets are sometimes called "upper cabinets." The distance from countertop to wall cabinet is usually , but this distance is sometimes less if there is undercabinet lighting. Cabinets can have an open top for displaying ornaments. Ceilings higher than can permit another level of cabinets.
   Larger windows than those on other floors are usually the most obvious feature of the "piano nobile". In England and Italy, the "piano nobile" is often reached by an ornate outer staircase, which negated the need for the inhabitants of this floor to enter the house by the servant's floor below. Kedleston Hall is an example of this in England, as is Villa Capra in Italy.
   If you're allowed 60 percent lot coverage and in height and the allowable floor area is a 2.0 FAR and that gives you three-and-a-half floors, what do you do with the extra height? We pushed that into the living spaces, creating double-height units with mezzanines. And you want that space in the living room and dining room and maybe the main bedroom, but not in the other rooms (kitchens, baths, home office etc). And we were allowed to exclude the mezzanines from the floor area based on memorandums that were circulating in the 1980s.
  
  Section::::Controversy.:Worker death.
  