Pop Goes The Ceiling Tile: Surprises and Discoveries

Even Superman might not be able to predict what’s going to pop out of your facility’s ceiling tile, so we asked our friends in the facilities community to share their most unexpected stories about one of the most mysterious zones in buildings.

Here’s one thing that’s been confirmed: every ceiling tile can sometimes be a surprise waiting to be discovered.

“Due to a rain event the front office was flooded and required a full renovation,” said Bill Gendreau, Facilities and Environmental Manager, Fairbanks Scales Inc.

“While removing the ceiling tiles a set of black bear jaws fell down greatly startling the cleanup crew who were from Argentina. (They thought they were rat jaws!) After some inquiries it was determined that under that spot many years before an engineer/amateur taxidermist worked in the cubicle underneath. He had passed so we couldn't confirm or ask why they would have been stashed on top of the ceiling tile.”

Facilities manager Dianne Gnatzig said she’s still trying to figure out how a squirrel got into our space on the 23rd floor!

“We had two live doves that got into the restroom ceiling by way of an abandoned RTU,” chimed in Ken Senkow, Facilities Manager, Vantor.

Maria Ruiz, who we interviewed for Women in Facilities, said, “Our ceilings tiles are constantly being replaced. The rain has damaged so many of them. I had one look like an hourglass as we had to create this ballon-like funnel to channel the water a way that wouldn't accumulate and it looked like the Goodyear blimp hovering over the bucket holding the water. I wanted to call the area the Goodyear Blimp Hallway. It was funny, but scary all at the same time.”

Maybe the real lesson is that you never quite know what’s above a ceiling tile—unless you have the right information. With ARC Facilities, teams can map assets and building systems, so they can see what’s above the ceiling before they start pulling tiles, chasing leaks or wondering where that abandoned RTU leads. Because while you can’t predict a pair of bear jaws, two doves or the next Goodyear Blimp Hallway, you can know what equipment is supposed to be up there.

Before the Ceiling Tile Goes Back Up

Renovations and facility projects are an opportunity to capture what’s behind the walls and above the ceilings before it’s covered again. These resources can help:

On-Demand Webinars:

Closing The Loop-Building Lifecycle Documentation and Management

Bridging The Knowledge Gap in Design/Construction & FM

Have your own “you won’t believe what we found” facilities story? We’d love to hear it. Share your story with us by emailing jack.rubinger@arcfacilities.com