Learning center / Ceiling acoustics

How wood plank and slat ceilings affect room acoustics

What wood plank and slat ceilings do to reverberation and speech clarity.

2 minute read · Updated Nov 2026

Wood plank and slat ceilings are any height. Solid wood planks reflect; slatted ceilings with acoustic backing absorb.

At 500 Hz the bare ceiling absorbs about 10% of the sound that reaches it. In a room with a hard floor, the ceiling and floor reflect sound back and forth, so treating the ceiling is often the single most effective step.

Options: clouds, baffles or ceiling tiles.