Field note
What a gypsum house stocks for ACT
A gypsum house stocks acoustical ceilings because commercial wall-and-ceiling shops bid them: main tees, cross tees, wall molding, hanger wire, lay-in tile, and the seismic / hold-down accessories the drawings named. That family is ACT, not a gypsum lid. Drywall-suspension (screwable tees that take board) sits in the same aisle and is a different product.
This page is stock language — what to pull, what to confirm at the counter, what is rarely on the floor. How to split the bid between ACT, gypsum ceilings, and drywall-suspension lives on ACT vs gypsum ceilings. Do not copy catalog SKUs, edge names, or prices off a national web aisle onto a takeoff.
Interiors distributors such as FBM list acoustic ceilings as a public family. The national catalog is not the pallet on that yard. Confirm mill, edge, grid width, color, and fire / humidity rating with the counter that will load the truck. Branch finder: myfbm.com. Hub: What a gypsum house stocks.
Families on the ticket
Lay-in grid. Main tees, cross tees, wall angle or shadow mold. Grid width (15/16 vs 9/16 and the mill’s narrow profiles) is a specified item. ASTM C635 is the manufacture document; ASTM C636 is installation. Do not mix tee systems across mills unless the spec allowed it.
Tile. Mineral-fiber, fiberglass, metal, and specialty panels. Edge (square lay-in vs tegular), thickness, face, NRC, CAC, and any fire-rated or humidity-rated panel the room named. NRC lives on the tile face; CAC lives in the plenum and the partition head. Do not copy an NRC onto a gypsum lid.
Wire and hanging. Hanger wire gauge and spacing, including extra wires at fixtures, ramps, and soffits. Compression posts, splay wires, and stabilizer bars belong with the seismic category on the structural notes (ASTM E580 / IBC seismic design category), not with “whatever was on the last job.”
Drywall-suspension. Screwable main and cross tees made to take gypsum, not tile. Board, tape, finish level, and gypsum control joints still apply. Pricing this as “ACT plus mud” omits hang and finish. See ACT vs gypsum.
Accessories. Hold-down clips, seismic clips the mill lists for that category, shadow mold at gypsum bulkheads, access doors where lay-in is not enough — access doors.
USG and peer mills publish the catalogs the submittal will cite. The yard stocks what that market runs. Directory: Acoustical ceilings (ACT).
What to confirm before the truck leaves
National “in catalog” is not “on the floor.” Before scatter or will-call:
- Mill named on the reflected ceiling plan vs mill on the pallet
- Edge and grid width as a pair (tegular tile on the wrong grid is a face full of reveals that do not land)
- Color and face — “white 2×2” is not a spec
- Fire-rated panels where the listed floor-ceiling or roof-ceiling named them
- Kitchen / pool / healthcare humidity or wash-down panels
- Drywall-suspension tees vs ACT tees on the same sheet
- Seismic accessories for the category on the structural notes
- Cut tile and extra grid at clouds, ramps, and height changes
Specialty tile and narrow-face grid are the lines that strand a crew. Common 2×2 lay-in in a market-standard mill is more likely floor stock. Ask.
Commercial vs residential
Commercial wall and ceiling. ACT is a core interiors family. Many W&C shops sell grid-and-tile with metal stud and board as one package to the GC. Keep the material ticket split anyway: different pallets, different punch, different mill submittals. Tools follow the ceiling — rotary laser and wire on ACT; panel lift and screw gun on gypsum. Production tools.
Residential production. House ceilings are gypsum. ACT in a basement rec room is a different SKU and a different layout skill. Do not send a production hang crew to a 2×2 grid with a chalk line and hope. If the shop does not sell ACT, exclude it.
Bid and trailer notes
- Grid and tile as separate lines even in a lump sum
- Drywall-suspension as a gypsum ceiling, not as ACT
- Gypsum bulkheads and returns at ACT fields — hang and finish, not leftover tee
- Access panels in gypsum lids; lay-in is access until the spec wants a lockable / rated door
- Waste on cuts, clouds, and linear diffusers
- Seismic package as a counted item
Do not invent a tile unit price from another metro. Do not substitute a “similar NRC” panel for a named fire or healthcare product.
Yards: Distribution. Mill-side products: Products. FBM stub: FBM.
Related
How to bid the three ceilings: ACT vs gypsum ceilings. Openings in lids: Access doors. Family map: What a gypsum house stocks. Will-call when the tile is short: Gypsum-house will-call.
FAQ
Does every FBM yard stock the tile on my RCP?
No. The public family is acoustic ceilings. The floor is whatever that branch runs. Confirm mill and edge; use the finder on myfbm.com. Drywall Insider does not publish a yard list.
Can I hang gypsum on ACT grid?
Not on lay-in tile grid. Drywall-suspension members are a different product. Details: ACT vs gypsum ceilings.
Is ACT in the residential drywall number?
Rarely. Production houses are gypsum. Bid ACT only if the shop sells it.
Do I need seismic clips if the last job did not?
Follow the seismic design category on this job and the mill’s listed accessories. Habit is not a category.
Who stocks hanger wire?
The same interiors house that stocks grid, if that counter runs ACT. Gauge is a spec item. Confirm before the first main tee goes up.