Asbestos-containing ceiling tile manufacturer or brand identification.

Here we list known producers of various types of ceiling tiles & coverings as an aid in determining whether or not a particular ceiling covering or tile is likely to contain asbestos.

Which ceiling tile brands are reported to have contained asbestos? Which ceiling tiles are asbestos free?

Insulating board panel and ceiling tile and panel manufacturers produced a range of products, many of which may contain asbestos, but other ceiling and wall covering & building sheathing products made of organic fibers, wood fibers, cane fibers generally do not contain asbestos.

Asbestos was used in ceiling products at least as early as the 1800's and continued into the 1980's or possibly later depending on the country of origin and their use of these products.

Our photo (just above) shows an antique plaster and lath ceiling in a pre-1900 home. If your ceiling looks like this it's not ceiling tiles, though some old plaster may also contain asbestos.

Ceiling Tile Manufacturers that DID or DID NOT produce ceiling products containing asbestos

• Affa Tile Company - supplier of terra cotta ceiling tiles [24]
• Armstrong: the company says their ceiling tile products never contained asbestos. See
  
  ARMSTRONG CEILING TILES
  
  ARMSTRONG MINATONE CEILING TILES
• Boise Cascade ceiling tiles & other building products - Asbestos was used in some Boise Cascade products such as gaskets and asbestos sheeting; as of 9/11/2017, we have not found an authoritative source asserting that these ceiling tiles contained asbestos
  
  See BOISE CASCADE CEILING TILES
• BPB ceiling products - [asbestos use not confirmed, dates pending - Ed.] [23] BPB purchased Celotex's ceiling products and drywall (gypsum board) product operations in 2000.
• Capul Brand suspended ceilings - [asbestos use not confirmed, dates pending - Ed.]
• Carey Canada, a Celotex subsidiary, mined and processed asbestos fibers and materials for use in some Celotex products.
• Carillon: See CARILLON CEILING TILES
• Celotex Brand ceiling tiles - [confirmation of asbestos use & dates pending - Ed.]
  
  Asbestos was used in some Celotex products and/or may appear in some Celotex products such as cellulose-based insulating board depending on when and where the product was manufactured.
  
  Celotex was reorganized in 1997. See BPB notes above.
  
  Celotex continues to operate in the U.K. selling polyisocyanurate insulating wallboard, not an asbestos product.
  
  See CELOTEX CEILING TILES
  
  Also see CELOTEX ASBESTOS PRODUCTS
  
  Also see CELOTEX CEMESTO BOARD HOMES

• Chicago Metallic suspended ceilings - [asbestos use not confirmed, dates pending - Ed.]
• Chinese ceiling tile product manufacturers, various; - [asbestos use not confirmed, dates pending - Ed.]
  
  Note: tracking down the manufacturer of a ceiling tile product made in China can be difficult.
  
  Our research (6/30/12) found more than 150 companies in China listed as producing ceiling tiles & coverings for export, using a wide range of materials including aluminum, calcium silicate, fiber cement [??], magnesium oxide, plastic, PVC (most widely used), acoustic materials, gypsum, mineral fibers, plasterboard, veneer-faced OSB panels, MDF, melamine-faced medium-density fiberboard MDF, chipboard, hardboard & similar wood products, porcelain tile, polycarbonate, and more. [25]
• Conwed Ceiling Tile: see CONWED CEILING TILES - Simpson Forestone Ceiling Tiles
• Domtar Ceiling Tiles -
  
  See DOMTAR CEILING TILES
• Flintkote - asbestos was used in at least some Flintkote products.
  
  See FLINTKOTE ASBESTOS PRODUCTS GUIDE
• FRF - see FRF CEILING TILES
• Gyptone brand ceiling tiles - [confirmation of asbestos use & dates pending - Ed.]
• Homart ceiling tiles: see HOMART CEILING TILES
• Johns Manville Corporation Ceiling & Wall Paneling & Tiles - produced a range of products that contained asbestos; [confirmation of asbestos use & dates pending - Ed.]
  
  See JOHNS MANVILLE CEILING WALL PANELS
• Malaysian Ceiling Tiles - see MALAYSIAN CEILING TILES
• National Gypsum Gold Bond - some products such as National Gypsum Gold Bond ceiling tiles packaging describe the product as "wood fiber ceiling tiles".
  
  See details at NATIONAL GYPSUM CEILING TILES
  
  [confirmation of asbestos use & dates pending - Ed.]
• Nu-Wood Ceiling Tiles: see NU-WOOD STA-Lite CEILING TILES
• OWA ceiling products -
  
  See our discussion of OWA ceiling tiles and panels
  
  at OWA CEILING TILES
• Owens Corning Fiberglass Ceiling Tiles - [confirmation of asbestos use & dates pending - Ed.]
• Pinex Ceiling Tiles - see details at PINEX CEILING TILES
• Sears Roebuck Ceiling Tiles:
  
  see SEARS ROEBUCK CEILING TILES
• Sheres Ceiling Tiles made in Canada
  
  See our discussion of Sheres at
  
  SHERES CEILING TILES
• Simpson Forestone Fissured Woodfiber Acoustical tile - reader correspondence with the company indicated that this product did not contain asbestos.
  
  See SIMPSON CEILING TILES
• United States Gypsum (USG) Ceiling Tiles - contained asbestos, 1967-1976 and possibly as late as USG ceiling tiles manufactured in 1981
  
  See details at US GYPSUM CEILING TILES

Not all ceiling tiles contain or ever contained asbestos. Knowing the the history of ceiling tiles and their various ingredients, combined with the size, brand (usually unknown), visual appearance and location of ceiling tiles, and adding the age of the building or of the ceiling tile installation itself can often quickly decide whether special handling or further investigation is warranted when demolishing, remodeling, or otherwise disturbing a ceiling.

Watch out: During any construction, demolition, or building remodeling project, as dust and particles from many materials, even paper and wood can be irritating or harmful to workers and occupants, prudent procedure would include appropriate dust control, personal protection equipment, and cleaning methods.

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Reader Q&A - also see RECOMMENDED ARTICLES & FAQs

On 2023-12-31 by Rindalnicole - asbestos in Exxon Chemicals Esteem Ceiling Tiles?

I found an old box of ceiling tiles in the garage. These are the same ones in my basement.

On 2024-01-02 by Rindalnicole - photos of Exxon Chemicals Esteem Ceiling Tiles

Cross section of ceiling tile

On 2024-01-02 by InspectApedia Publisher - yellow woody fibers look like a plant product not asbestos

@Rindalnicole,

Those yellow woody fibers look like a plant product.

[Ed. note: this reader's comment and photos and our reply were originally posted on a different page.]

On 2023-12-31 by Rindalnicole - Exxon Z384 Caballero 34562 E.D. ceiling tile identification

Exxon Chemicals Esteem Ceiling Tiles. Z384 Caballero 34562 E.D. are the only markings on the box. No mention of composition of tiles

I've tried to research these to see if they are asbestos, with no luck. I've added a photo for reference. Any ideas?

On 2023-12-31 by InspectApedia Publisher - do Exxon Chemicals Esteem Ceiling Tiles contain asbestos?

@Rindalnicole,

I don't know that specific pattern of ceiling tile but if you go through the six easy steps at

https://inspectapedia.com/hazmat/Asbestos_Ceiling_Tiles.php#asbmaybe

DO THESE CEILING TILES CONTAIN ASBESTOS? (you are on this page)

You can make a reasonable guess.

As a general rule of thumb, though not completely reliable, if you look at the edge of the ceiling tile and it's obviously yellow or tan woody material, it's probably not an asbestos containing product.

You can post one photo per comment but as many comments (and therefore photos) as you wish.

A clear image of the pattern as well as any of the box labelling will be helpful.

On 2022-11-11 by Paul Stein - does this production code identinfy the brand & tell me if the ceiling tile contains asbestos?

S30CT code on back of ceiling tile. Concerned it contains asbestos

On 2022-11-11 by InspectApedia (Editor) - production code doesn't answer asbestos question

@Paul Stein,

I suspect that's a production lot code or date code; it doesn't identify the product nor the manufacturer, nor answer the asbestos question, but you might want to look at the easy questions above on this page to make a reasonable guess about asbestos in that ceiling tile.

Unfortunately without more data even the code alone doesn't identify the manufacturer or brand. Look at the ceiling tiles to see if there are more imprints or codes, and look in the building to see if there is any packaging, extra ceiling tiles stored somewhere, or records of their purchase.

...

Continue reading at DO THESE CEILING TILES CONTAIN ASBESTOS? , or select a topic from the closely-related articles below, or see the complete ARTICLE INDEX.

Or see these

Recommended Articles

• ASBESTOS CEILING TILE IDENTIFICATION - 5 Easy Steps to tell if CEILING TILES are likely to contain asbestos -
• ASBESTOS-FREE CEILING TILES
• ASBESTOS TESTING LAB LIST - certified asbestos testing labs
• CEILING TILE HISTORY / DATES - asbestos ceiling tile history & dates
• CEILING TILE MANUFACTURERS - list of asbestos ceiling tile brands & how to identify them
  • ARMSTRONG CEILING TILES
  • ARMSTRONG MINATONE CEILING TILES
  • BOISE CASCADE CEILING TILES
  • CARILLON CEILING TILES
  • CELOTEX CEILING TILES
  • CELOTEX ASBESTOS PRODUCTS
  • CELOTEX CemestO BOARD HOMES
  • CONWED CEILING TILES
  • DOMTAR CEILING TILES
  • FRF CEILING TILES
  • HOMART CEILING TILES
  • JOHNS MANVILLE CEILING & WALL PANELS
  • MALAYSIAN CEILING TILES
  • NATIONAL GYPSUM CEILING TILES
  • NU-WOOD STA-Lite CEILING TILES
  • OWA CEILING TILES
  • PINEX CEILING TILES
  • SEARS ROEBUCK CEILING TILES
  • SHERES CEILING TILES
  • SIMPSON CEILING TILES
  • US GYPSUM CEILING TILES
  • US GYPSUM CEILING TILES
• CEILING TILE REMOVAL PROCEDURES
• CEILINGS, DROP or SUSPENDED PANEL

Suggested citation for this web page

CEILING TILE IDENTIFICATION at InspectApedia.com - online encyclopedia of building & environmental inspection, testing, diagnosis, repair, & problem prevention advice.

Or see this

INDEX to RELATED ARTICLES: ARTICLE INDEX to ASBESTOS HAZARDS

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