Buildipedia Staff

Buildipedia Staff

The Buildipedia research and writing staff consists of dozens of experienced professionals from many sectors of the industry, including architects, designers, contractors, and engineers.

Laminate Flooring

Mon, Aug 17, 2009

Laminate flooring is a product that represents the most significant change in floor covering materials in the last twenty five years, and its history has been an interesting one.  This type of material can be traced to Sweden in the early 1980's. It was originally developed as a possible use for high pressure melamine.  Early versions of the product had a base composed of several layers of resin impregnated paper which were pressed together under high pressure.  This created a highly  wear-resistant composite material.  A decorative top sheet was then applied to the base, and the completed composite material was glued onto a carrier material and cut into sections.

Acoustical Ceiling Suspension Assemblies

Mon, Aug 17, 2009

Acoustic ceiling suspension assemblies came into use because architects, engineers, and designers needed an affordable way to lower the ceiling height of modern rooms. Lower ceilings help to control noise, increase the efficiency of heating and cooling systems, and provide a place to mount light fixtures. There are several variations of acoustic ceiling suspension assemblies; most common are concealed systems and accessible systems.

Acoustical Ceilings

Mon, Aug 17, 2009

Acoustical ceilings are used by interior designers seeking an affordable way to lower the height of a modern room and also deaden ambient noise. Typically, a grid work of metal strips is hung from the room's true ceiling and individual panels of sound-absorbing material are dropped into the sections. Heating and cooling ducts can be hidden behind acoustical ceilings, along with wires for overhead lighting and pipes for plumbing fixtures.

Ceramic Tiling

Mon, Aug 17, 2009

Ceramic tile has been used as an artistic, functional, and enduring building material for the last 4000 years or more. Ceramic tile is nothing more than a mixture of clays which are shaped and fired at a high temperature to create a hard, dense product.  This product can be left untreated or receive a glazed wearing surface.

Flooring Restoration

Mon, Aug 17, 2009

Flooring restoration can be done in many different ways, depending on the type of floor, the type of damage the floor has sustained, the amount of damage the floor has sustained, and the condition to which the floor needs to be brought back.

In both residential and commercial situations, flooring tends to be ignored until something goes wrong.  There are many reasons for restoration or repair.  Floors could suffer from simple problems such as age, wear from traffic patterns, scratches, or cracks, to name a just a few, or they may suffer from more complex issues. Problems stemming from structural or water damage, for example, will require research into the underlying problems, so that those can be found and corrected before restoration is undertaken.