Extended short span tee for drywall ceiling

Abstract

A short span flat drywall ceiling construction comprising a pair of spaced parallel wall angles facing one another, the wall angles each having a vertical leg secured to vertical support surfaces and a horizontal leg cantilevered from its respective vertical leg towards the other wall angle, a plurality of substantially identical roll-formed sheet metal tees extending between the wall angles and vertically supported thereby, each tee having a main body formed of a single strip of sheet steel, the tee having a horizontal single layer lower flange, a vertical double layer central web disposed above the flange, and a bulb at the top of the web centered on a plane of symmetry, a sheet metal U-shaped reinforcement channel fitted on a central part of the length of the tee such that it is in contact with at least the sidewalls of the bulb.

1 . A short span flat drywall ceiling construction comprising a pair of spaced parallel wall angles facing one another, the wall angles each having a vertical leg secured to vertical support surfaces and a horizontal leg cantilevered from its respective vertical leg towards the other wall angle, a plurality of substantially identical roll-formed sheet metal tees extending between the wall angles and vertically supported thereby, each tee having a main body formed of a single strip of sheet steel, the tee having a horizontal single layer lower flange, a vertical double layer central web disposed above the flange, and a bulb at the top of the web centered on a plane of symmetry, the bulb having a pair of opposed generally vertical walls each spaced from the plane of symmetry, a top bridging a space between the vertical walls and a bottom that merges with the double layer of the web, a sheet of drywall secured against lower faces of the tees with screws driven through the drywall into the flanges of the tees, a sheet metal U-shaped reinforcing channel fitted on a central part of the length of the tee such that it is in contact with at least the sidewalls of the bulb, the nominal height of the main body of the tees being between about 1½″ to about 1⅝″, the length of the tees being between preferably about 7′ to preferably between about 8½′ to about 9′ long. 
     
     
         2 . A ceiling construction as set forth in  claim 1 , wherein the reinforcing channel is on the inside of the bulb and runs the full length of the tee. 
     
     
         3 . A ceiling construction as set forth in  claim 1 , wherein said reinforcing channel is fixed to the outside of the bulb. 
     
     
         4 . A ceiling construction as set forth in  claim 3 , wherein said channel has a central rib extending above the bulb. 
     
     
         5 . A ceiling construction as set forth in  claim 4 , wherein the bulb has a vertical height, the central web of the reinforcing channel extends above the bulb a distance at least half the height of the bulb. 
     
     
         6 . A ceiling construction as set forth in  claim 1 , wherein the tees are spaced from one another a nominal distance of 16″ or 24″ or metric equivalent. 
     
     
         7 . An extended short span tee for constructing flat drywall ceilings, the tee being roll-formed from two strips of steel sheet and being symmetrical about a central vertical plane, a first of said strips forming a single layer horizontal lower flange, a double wall central vertical web and a hollow upper reinforcing bulb, the reinforcing bulb being generally rectangular in cross-section with generally vertical sidewalls, the second strip being formed into an inverted U-shaped channel with a pair of vertical sidewalls and a horizontal web, the channel sidewalls being proportioned to abut the sidewalls of the reinforcing bulb, the first strip of the tee having a length of between about 7′ and about 9′ or metric equivalent.