Ceiling tiles in garage?

[ldemory]

I'm converting part of my basement into a garage. According to the builidng code I have to use a minimum of 1/2" gypsum for all walls and ceilings. Does anyone know if drop-in ceiling tiles can be used and meet code? I went to Home Depot and saw that some of the tiles are fire rated, but I'm not sure if that makes them to code for an attached garage or not.

TIA!

Lee

 

[Bill K]

Unless access is an issue I would go with sheet rock. Way less expensive plus if you go with the suspended type you loose more headroom. That said s/r can be a PITA to hang and finish overhead by yourself.
Bill

 

[mleichtle]

Some are and some arn't. I'd asume the ones that are, are quit pricy like Bill said. Also if one tile is broke or missing, there goes your fire rating.

 

[sjsfire]

Go with sheet rock my friend. That is easy to repaint when you need to. The tiles would look good for a while and may be fire rated but not as well as the sheet rock. In my area they require 5/8 sheet rock on ceilings. As Bill K said you will loose some head room by the time you mount the grid system. I've helped repaint those drop in tiles before and painting the tile plus the grid system is a royal pain.

 

[wantedabiggergarage]

In the restarant at work, we have those tiles. If you go the cheaper route of sheet rock, please think about access panels for things like shutoffs and in case you ever need to run anything.