Annual Transactions of IESL, 2005

Institution of Engineers, Sri Lanka

Design Guidelines for Timber Ceiling Structures with

Asbestos-cement Sheets or Light Timber Planks
S.R.De S.Chandrakeerthy
Abstract:
Flat independent timber ceiling structures are the most popular in up to 2-storeyed
houses in Sri Lanka, in comparison to sloping ceilings and suspended ceilings. The most popular
ceiling materials for the above applications are the asbestos-cement sheets and light timber planks. It
was considered opportune to study flat independent timber ceiling structures because: (a) structural
engineers show considerable reluctance to design timber ceiling structures; (b) neither the ICTAD
specification nor the Bills of Quantities give adequate information to proportion and construct ceiling
structures; and (c) lack of design guidelines has led carpenters to design them using rules of thumb
which may be under-designed or over-designed.
The investigation consisted of a literature survey and a design study. The design study covered the
normal range of activity spaces typical in up to 2-storeyed houses, which varied from 4.5m x 4.5m
(Living/Dining) to 1.2m x 1.2m (Servants Toilet). It produced 156 structurally optimized timber
structures using the two ceiling materials considered.
The investigation established that relevant British Standards are not very useful for local ceilings, and
resulted in the formulation of design guidelines for proportioning ceiling structures using asbestoscement sheets or light timber planks.
Keywords:

1.

Ceiling, asbestos, timber

Introduction

familiar to carpenters; and (d) they are

economical relative to other options.

A ceiling is defined as a lining that hides the

roof or upper floor of a building to produce an
aesthetically pleasing decorative upper view. It
also helps to hide building services (electric and
communication
wiring,
and
in
more
sophisticated houses air-conditioning ducts,
smoke detectors and sprinkler heads), provide
acoustic control (sound absorption with porous
light materials, and sound insulation with
denser impervious materials). Most ceilings
provide thermal insulation while some provide
fire protection too.

Ceilings can be flat or sloping, the former very

common under roofs and floors while the latter
more common under eaves overhangs rather
than roofs. A flat ceiling can be suspended by
steel wires (often from a concrete slab), attached
directly to a timber flat roof/floor, or supported
by an independent timber structure, with the
last most commonly adopted. Sloping ceilings
are usually carried by the roof structure, and a
difference in slopes between ceiling and roof is
avoided to eliminate the need for a separate
structure, which is uneconomic. Flat ceiling is
more popular because: (a) it provides lateral
support at an effective level to the network of
masonry walls; (b) it reduces wiring costs; (c) it
reduces plastering costs; (d) it provides easier
maintenance for both the roof and the ceiling;
(e) it reduces lighting and fan installation costs;
and (f) in case of ceiling sheets due to mismatch

Ceiling sheets can be of asbestos, plywood,

light thin timber, plain/laminated hard board,
felted/moulded mineral fibre, resin bonded
mineral wool, bonded vermiculite, bonded
perlite, fibre reinforced calcium silicate or cast
gypsum, gypsum plaster board, rigid urethane
foam, wood composites, or plastic diffusers.
Ceiling sheets selected for this study are
asbestos sheets and light thin timber planks,
because: (a) they are most widely used in up to
2-storeyed houses; (b) they can be purchased
everywhere; (c) installation technology is

ENGINEER

Eng. (Prof.) S R De S Chandrakeerthy, B Sc Eng (Hons)

Cey, Ph D (Sheffield), C Eng, F I E (Sri Lanka), is a Senior
Professor of Civil Engineering at University of Moratuwa.

BS 5268[4] specifies a general-purpose

deflection limit including even domestic floors,
but allows the designer to make changes to suit
the application. Asbestos-cement sheeted or
light timber planked ceilings require special
treatment as: (a) loads on ceiling structure are
relatively small; (b) ceiling structure can have
larger deflections as ceiling materials are jointed
at close intervals in contrast to a continuous
surface; (c) Spatial deformation resulting in
these ceilings are not easily detected by the eye
in contrast to line deformation; (d) absence of
any moving traffic over the ceiling also
encourages relaxation of deflection limit; and (e)
traditional ceiling structures with an excellent
record of successful service, fail by deflection
when BS 5268[4] deflection limit is applied,
although individual members have reserve
capacity to withstand imposed stresses. A
comprehensive review of other specifications
[5,6,7] led to the adoption of the following
deflection limit:(1) For secondary beams (span
up to 1.2 m) lesser of (span/150) or 14mm; (2)
For main beams (span > 1.2 m) lesser of
(span/250) or 14mm; (3) For ceiling timber
planks lesser of (span/150) or 14mm; (4) For
deflection calculations, Emean should be used for
flexural members spaced not greater than
610mm and Emin for those spaced further apart;
(5) Wind deflection can be disregarded as
maximum deflection in timber does not occur
within the 5 second duration of a wind gust; (6)
For beams where L (=span)/D(=depth) is
greater than 15, shear deflection can be ignored;
and (7) Creep deflection should be minimized
by installing fairly dry beams of moisture
content around 15%.

of ceiling sheet size and spacing of roof

members, additional structural members are
needed for the roof structure or wastage of
sheets cannot be avoided.
There is a need for research on local ceiling
structures as: (a) there is a general disinterest to
design ceiling structures; (b) neither the ICTAD
Specification [1] nor BOQs give clear
instructions on their installation; (c) carpenters
use rules of thumb and no one is sure whether
they are adequate, under-designed, or overdesigned; and (d) as local ceilings use local
timber and are of an indigenous nature, widely
available design information [2,3,4] is not
directly applicable.
An in-depth study on ceiling structures was
considered opportune, and this investigation
deals with flat ceilings, widely used in Sri
Lanka, made of asbestos-cement sheets or light
timber planks, supported by an independent
structure, in up to 2-storeyed houses. It was
directed to evolve design guidelines to produce
economy to the users.

2.

The Investigation

The investigation consisted of a literature

survey and a design study. The literature
survey focused on validity of available design
information on ceiling structures, generation of
data relevant to local conditions, structural
optimization of timber structures, and
computerization of the design process.
The dimensions of activity spaces commonly
used in local house construction were identified
by studying 30 two-storeyed Architect designed
house plans currently in vogue in Sri Lanka. A
total of 78 arrangements, ranging from a
Servants Toilet (1.2m x 1.2m) to a
Living/Dining Area (4.5m x 4.5m), were
considered, which can effectively cover
adequately the probable ceiling structure sizes
in Sri Lanka. Different arrangements were
obtained by varying length and width from 1.2
m to 4.5 m, in steps of 0.3 m, to give 78
structural layouts obtained from the following
series of layouts (size in m x m of the first
layout) (number of layouts in the series): 1.2x1.2
(12), 1.5x1.5 (11), 1.8x1.8 (10), 2.1x2.1 (9), 2.4x2.4
(8), 2.7x2.7 (7), 3.0x3.0 (6), 3.3x3.3 (5), 3.6x3.6 (4),
3.9x3.9 (3), 4.2x4.2 (2), and 4.5x4.5 (1). Identical
layouts with each ceiling material gave 156
structural layouts and thereby 156 structural
optimizations.

ENGINEER

For various timber elements, the degrees of

lateral support [4] assumed were: timber ceiling
planks (no lateral support); secondary ceiling
beams (ends held in position); and main ceiling
beams (ends held in position and member held
in line by purlins or tie rods at centres not more
than 30 times breadth of the member). Section
sizes for respective members were selected so
that the maximum depth to breadth ratios were
limited [4] to 2 for ceiling planks, 3 for
secondary ceiling beams, and 4 for main ceiling
beams.
Grade stresses in BS 5268[4] cannot be applied
directly in Sri Lanka because, mechanical stress
grading is not available in Sri Lanka and Sri
Lankan hardwoods have different physical
properties. In this study, basic stresses [8]
corresponding to a very low strength local
timber species was adopted so that any error
2

leeward side, wind pressure will increase the

effect of dead and imposed loads. As the ceiling
is sheltered and more than 0.6 m above likely
window openings, Cpi will be between 0 and 0.3
[13]. The corresponding wind load for a 2storeyed house will be between 0 and 0.09
kN/m2, which is very small; (b) Wind codes
[13,14] do not specifically refer to wind load on
ceilings. As the ceiling is more permeable than a
wall, with holes for fans and other fittings as
well as small slits between wall and ceiling, the
wind load is likely to be small anyway; and (c)
As wind is a short term load, deflection need
not be considered. As timber can develop
higher strengths under short-term loading,
effect of wind load is not significant.

caused is on the safe side. This enabled the

application of design guidelines to be not
restricted to a few timber species. It is accepted
that use of lower bound values sacrifices
economy to some degree for strong timber
species but the effect is not great as deflection
limit controls design. The material properties
(for dry conditions) adopted are [5,6,7]: (a) basic
stress for bending or tension = 12.5 N/mm2; (b)
basic stress for compression parallel to grain =
10.8 N/mm2; (c) basic stress for compression
perpendicular to grain = 2.6 N/mm2; (d) basic
stress for shear parallel to grain = 1.52 N/mm2;
(e) Mean E = 13.8 x 103 N/mm2; (f) Minimum E
= 8.6 x 103 N/mm2; (g) basic lateral load of a 100
or 150mm nail (SWG 5) in single shear = 2315.1
N; (h) basic withdrawal load of a 100 or 150mm
nail (SWG 5) = 25.57 N/mm of point side
depth; (i) grade stress = basic stress * 0.75 (for
grade 75 timber). These values were similar to
those recommended by Karlsen [9].

A timber ceiling structure is a statically

determinate structure, where behaviour of one
structural member depends only on the load it
carries, its material and sectional properties,
and its end conditions, but not on behaviour of
other members. This form of structural
behaviour permitted the use of element-byelement structural optimization, to obtain the
most economical section size for respective
structural members.

Dead loads assumed were: mass of asbestos

cement sheet (1.2 x 1.2m) = 13 kg [10]; and
density of timber ceiling planks and timber
beams = 460 and 900 kg/m3 [1] respectively.
The imposed roof load specified in BS 6399 [11]
is used in Sri Lanka after suitable modification
due to irrelevance of snow loading. The ceiling
imposed load is also related to roof imposed
load as part of the former is due to debris from
local collapse of the roof structure and snow
formation. Hence after suitable modification to
suit local conditions, the following criteria [7]
were adopted for checking the ceiling for
imposed loads; (a) Asbestos sheets and timber
ceiling planks are not subjected [11,12] to any
concentrated imposed loads; (b) For secondary
beams (applicable for asbestos ceilings only)
apply an imposed load of 0.25 kN/m2
(uniformly distributed); (c) For main beams the
worst of 0.25 kN/m2 (uniformly distributed) or
0.45 kN (concentrated) only, with concentrated
load treated as a short term load [11]; and (d)
When main beams are spaced less than 610mm
apart (for light timber plank ceiling ) load
sharing [11] can be assumed with k8 = 1.1 and
Emean used for deflection check.

The rest of the methodology used is

summarized here: (a) Governing inequalities
were developed for each ceiling element to
ensure that bending stress, shear stress, bearing
stress, and deflection limit do not exceed the
respective permissible values; (b) An activity
space was selected and main beams were
placed to span the shorter direction. Manual
design calculations were done, and an EXCEL
program was developed from it; (c) For each
element in that activity space, repetitive
calculations were done using the EXCEL
program to obtain the optimum economic
solution; (d) The process was repeated for all
other activity spaces; (e) Based on these
optimum solutions, design guidelines were
developed for proportioning an asbestos
sheeted ceiling or a light timber plank ceiling;
and (f) Using structurally optimized designs
from 78 activity spaces, characteristic dead
loads were determined using statistical analysis
based on 5% exclusion, for future designs.

For the following reasons, wind loads were not

considered on the ceiling structure: (a) Wind
loads can occur on ceilings only if a dominant
opening occurs on the surrounding walls. If the
dominant opening occurs on the windward
side, wind pressure on the ceiling is beneficial
as it acts upwards against dead and imposed
loads. If the dominant opening occurs on the
ENGINEER

3.

Results and Analysis

3.1
From the Literature Survey:
Findings of the literature survey, not presented
elsewhere in this paper, are presented here: (a)
Although ICTAD specification [1] covers the
widely used asbestos sheeted flat ceiling, it
3

not, equivalent bearing area should be

provided by broadening the bearing
with nailed side packing placed
symmetrically. In the latter case,
bearing should extend at least half the
wall thickness into the wall;
e) Generally, ceiling main beams run
below the roof wall plate;
f) Bottom surfaces of the ceiling
secondary beams, ceiling main beams,
and packing pieces of the secondary
beam/main beam joints are all in a
horizontal plane to receive the asbestos
ceiling sheets. Ceiling sheets are nailed
to the bottom surfaces of secondary and
main ceiling beams on the perimeter of
the ceiling sheets;
g) Edges of ceiling sheets are usually
covered by fixing beadings over
jointing lines; and
h) Edge main beams or edge secondary
beams are placed flush with the wall
surface, and wall plaster is done up to
the ceiling level, after construction of
the ceiling;

does not deal with the second most popular

light timber plank ceiling; (b) As regards the
asbestos sheeted ceiling there are discrepancies
in ICTAD Specification [1] and SLS 263 [15].
Former specifies two beam sizes (mm wide x
mm deep) 50 x 50 and 50 x 100. Latter specifies
three beam sizes (mm wide x mm deep) 50 x 50,
50 x 75 and 50 x 100. Further, cross (secondary)
beams are spaced too closely in the former; (c)
Suspended ceilings should be fixed to
manufacturers specifications [3]; (d) Overseas
ceiling standards [2,3] are of not much
significance to local ceiling design; (e) Although
SLS 263 [15] recommends light timber ceiling
planks (mm wide x mm deep) of 100 x 19 and
140 x 13, currently popular sizes are 100 x 13
and 150 x 13; and (f) Computerization of the
design
process
will
make
structural
optimization easier [5,6,7].
3.2

From the Design Study:

3.2.1
Asbestos Sheeted ceiling:
The design guidelines formulated for
proportioning
asbestos
sheeted
ceiling
structures are as follows:

Section Sizes

General Arrangement

i)

Main beam size (width (mm) x depth

(mm)) for various spans are as follows:
50 x 100, up to 2.7m; 50 x 125, above
2.7m up to 3.3m; 50 x 150, above 3.3m
up to 3.9m; 50 x 175, above 3.9m up to
4.2m; and 50 x 200, above 4.2m up to
4.5m;
j) Width of edge main beam shall be
50mm, and depth for various spans are
as follows: for spans up to 2.7m same
as main beam; depth for span above
2.7m up to 4.5m 25mm less than main
beam depth; and
k) All secondary beams and edge
secondary beams are 25mm wide x
50mm deep; and

a) Main beams are placed to span the

shorter span length at spacing of 1.2m
(asbestos ceiling sheet is 1.2x1.2m),
including two edge main beams
touching along the end walls. When the
long span is not a multiple of 1.2m, a
symmetrical arrangement is obtained
by placing a minimum of parts of
asbestos sheets on two ends, or one
suitable part of asbestos sheet at the
centre. When both arrangements are
separately feasible, latter arrangement
was found to be cheaper as the wastage
of asbestos sheets and wastage of
timber main beams are smaller;
b) Secondary beams are also placed at a
spacing of 1.2m, including two series of
edge secondary beams touching along
the end walls. When the short span is
not a multiple of 1.2m, a symmetrical
arrangement of sheets is obtained as in
(a) above, using parts of sheets in
addition;
c) Main beams span from wall to wall,
while secondary beams span from main
beam to main beam (or edge main
beam);
d) Bearing length of a timber beam into a
wall should be at least brick long. If
ENGINEER

Nail Joints
l)

A ceiling sheet should be nailed along

its perimeter to main and secondary
beams of the ceiling structure with 8
nails (5.6mm diameter (5 SWG) and
25mm long) placed symmetrically and
spaced well apart; and
m) A secondary beam is connected to a
main beam via 25mm thick x 50mm
deep x 200mm long timber packing
pieces. Secondary beam is connected to
the packing pieces by 2 nails (5.6mm
4

e) Light
timber
ceiling
planks
recommended are 100mm wide x
13mm deep. Those planks are nailed to
the bottom surface of the timber main
beams;
f) Wall/timber ceiling plank junctions are
usually covered by fixing timber
beading strips;
g) Edge main beams, are placed flush with
the wall surface and wall plaster is
done up to ceiling level, after
construction of the ceiling;

diameter (5 SWG) and 50mm long

spaced 25 mm vertically in lateral
shear. The packing piece is connected
to the main beam by 2 nails (5.6mm
diameter (5 SWG) and 50mm long)
placed symmetrically about the
secondary beam in lateral shear.
General
For design purposes, the required design data
were developed, and the characteristic dead
load of the ceiling can be computed with the
following data:
(i)
Characteristic dead load of asbestos
cement sheets is .089 kN/m2 of
ceiling area;
(ii)
Characteristic dead load of the
timber ceiling structure is 0.116
kN/m2 of ceiling area (at 5%
exclusion limit); and
(iii)
Characteristic nail weight as a
percentage of dead load of timber
ceiling structure is 2.954% (at 5%
exclusion limit).

Section Sizes
h) Main beams size (width (mm) x depth
(mm)) for various spans are as follows:
50x75, up to 1.8m; 50x100, above 1.8m
and up to 2.7m; 50x125, above 2.7m and
up to 3.3m; 50x150, above 3.3m and up
to 3.9m; 50x175, above 3.9m and up to
4.2m; 50x200 above 4.2m and up to
4.5m; Edge beam size details are as in
3.2.1(j) above; and
Nail Joints

3.2.2
Light Timber Planked Ceiling
The design guidelines formulated for
proportioning light timber planked ceiling
structures are as follows:

i)

General Arrangement
a) As the timber ceiling planks can span
1.2m on their own, main beams (or
edge main beams) are placed to span
the shorter span length of the activity
space, at a spacing of 1.2m. When the
long span is not a multiple of 1.2m, a
symmetrical arrangement is obtained
by allowing timber ceiling planks to
span two equal spans (shorter than
1.2m) on the two ends, This makes two
end shorter spans unnecessarily
stronger. To make the entire ceiling of
approximately equal strength, equal
spans are used to give a value less than
1.2m depending on the length of the
activity space;
b) Main beams span from wall to wall in
the short span direction, while timber
ceiling planks span from main beam to
main beam (or edge main beam);
c) For bearing details of main beams, see
3.2.1(d) above;
d) For level of main beams, see 3.2.1(e)
above;

ENGINEER

Each light timber ceiling plank should

be nailed to main beams by 1 nail
(5.6mm diameter (5 SWG) and 50mm
long) each. A plank should either
extend from end to end of the activity
space, or be split once or more under
main beam(s).

General
For design purposes, the required design data
were developed, and characteristic dead load of
the ceiling can be computed with the following
data: (i) characteristic dead load of light timber
ceiling planks should be calculated depending
on the species of timber, where density varies
from 400 kg/m3 to 640 kg/m3. If the species of
timber is not known use a value of 640 kg/m3
(i.e. 0.082 kN/m2 of ceiling area); (ii)
characteristic dead load of the timber ceiling
structure is 0.088 kN/m2 of ceiling area (at 5%
exclusion limit); and (iii) characteristic nail
weight as a percentage of dead load of timber
ceiling structure is 3.223% (at 5% exclusion
limit).

4.

Design Example

For an activity space of 3.3m x 2.7m,

recommend suitable ceiling structures for: (a)
5

Practice for permissible Stress Design,

Material and Workmanship, London, 1988.

an asbestos sheeted ceiling; and (b) a light

timber planked ceiling.
Solution (a): (see Figure 1)
Main beam size (MB1, MB2) = 50mm wide x
100mm deep;
Main beam spacing (central, ends) = 0.9m,
1.2m;
Secondary beam size (SB1 to SB4) = 25mm wide
x 50mm deep;
Secondary beam spacing (central, ends) = 0.3m,
1.2m.
Solution (b): (see Figure 2)
Main beam size (MB1, MB2) = 50mm wide x
100mm deep;
Main beam spacing = (3.3-0.05)/3 = 1.0833m (or
nearest).

5.

Conclusions

The following findings are made in this

investigation: (a) Structural Engineers show a
general reluctance to design ceiling structures,
and neither ICTAD Specification nor Bills of
Quantities provide adequate guidance to install
ceiling structures; (b) Recommended design
guidelines for asbestos ceiling structures are
given in 3.2.1, while those for light timber
planked ceiling structures are given in 3.2.2; (c)
Recommended data for obtaining characteristic
dead load of the two types of ceilings, for
design purposes, are also presented in 3.2.1 and
3.2.2; and (d) The study produced 156
structurally optimized ceiling structures for
both types of ceilings, and covered a range of
activity spaces of up to 2-storeyed typical
houses varying from 1.2m x 1.2m to 4.5m x
4.5m.

References
1.

Ministry of Local Government, Housing and

Construction, ICTAD Specification for
Building Works, Colombo, 1983.

2.

British Standards Institution BS 8103: Part 3:

1996: Structural Design of Low rise Buildings
Code of Practice for Timber Floors and
Roofs for Housing, London, 1996.

3.

British Standards Institution, BS 8290: Parts

1, 2 and 3:1991: Suspended Ceilings, London,
1991.

4.

British Standards Institution, BS 5268: Part

2:1988: Structural Use of Timber- Code of

ENGINEER

5.

Chandrakeerthy, S.R.De S., Guidelines for

Proportioning Asbestos Sheeted timber Roof
Structures, Transactions of the Institution of
Engineers, Sri Lanka, Vol.1, No.B, pp 143-165,
October 1996.

6.

Chandrakeerthy, S.R.De S., Development of

Guidelines for Proportioning Calicut Tiled
Timber Roof Structures, Transactions of the
Institution of Engineers, Sri Lanka, Vol.1,
No.B, pp5-31, October 1997.

7.

Ananthiney, M., Sukanthini, T., and

Subashini, V., Design Guidelines for Timber
Ceiling Structures of up to 2-storeyed
Houses, Final Year Project Report, University
of Moratuwa, 2004.

8.

Booth, L.G., and Reece, P.O., The Structural

Use of Timber A Commentary of the British
Standard Code of Practice CP 112, E. & F.N.
Spon Limited, London, 1967.

9.

Karlsen, G.G., Wooden Structures, MIR

Publishers, Moscow, 1967.

10.

Sri Lanka Standards Institution, SLS 629:

1983: Unit Mass of Building Materials,
Colombo, 1983.

11.

British Standards Institution, BS 6399:Part 1:

1996: Loading for Buildings Code of Practice
for Dead and Imposed Loads, London, 1996.

12.

British Standards Institution, CP3: Chapter

V: Part 1: 1967: Loading Dead and Imposed
Loads, London, 1967.

13.

British Standards Institution, CP3: Chapter

V: Part 2: 1972: Loading Wind Loads,
London, 1972.

14.

Ministry of Local Government, Housing and

Construction, Design of Buildings for High
Winds, Sri Lanka, Colombo, 1980.

15.

Sri Lanka Standards Institution, SLS 263:

1974: Building Timber, Colombo, 1974.

ENGINEER

ENGINEER