HELPFUL ARMSTRONG TOOLS YOU NEVER KNEW EXISTED

Bet you don’t realize how many helpful tools there are on the Armstrong website.  Based on the theory that you don’t use what you don’t know about I thought it would let you know about some of the more useful tools and where to find them.  Start at the Armstrong Commercial Ceilings website:  www.armstrong.com/commceilingsna

Let’s start with a simple one I use frequently:  Competitive Comparison Tool

You will find this under “Products” on the green line near the top of the page.  This lets you put in another brand tile and find out the Armstrong equal.  This can be a good way to see if what someone tells you is equal to an Armstrong tile really is or not.

The most useful tool on the website – in my opinion:  Reverberation Calculator

Under the same “Products” heading the drop down with have “Selection Tools” that will offer several helpful items such as performance, LEED, healthcare and my favorite:  “Improve Speech Intelligibility” also found in another spot labeled “Reverberation Calculator”.  This is one of the best tools I have ever seen to help a designer figure out the acoustical function of a space.  If you have problems using it please just give me a call and we’ll walk through it – this tool doesn’t replace an acoustician but it sure beats just guessing.

There are some fun and useful tools for the designer such as:  InVision

This is found on the main commercial ceilings page but in the lower right hand corner.  This is a nice way to help give a client a visual aid.  There are multiple room styles with some different ceiling options that can be applied.  This is a pretty cool tool but I do hope Armstrong adds more product options to the list.

Another design tool:  SwatchIt

This is another visual aid; you can pick products, colors, perforation patterns and see how it looks.  This won’t replace actual samples but may help you narrow down your selection.  When it comes down to needing actual samples, as always give your local Armstrong distributor a call.  That’s us of course and we keep lots of samples on hand and with some luck we’ll have the one you want.

Another tool under Design Tools:  ConfigureIt

This aids in figuring out clouds, TechZone ceilings, Serpentina products.  It helps you to figure out just what to spec.

Also in the lower right corner you will find “Selection Tools” this will have many helpful sections such as learning about acoustics.  This might be a good way to help less experienced people understand the part acoustics play in design.  There are also some very good white papers in this area such as “Suspended Ceilings or Open Plenum”. 

The single most helpful tool you have is your local Armstrong distributor so don’t hesitate to give us a call.