basement ceiling in wallboard - furring strips or not

Hi,
My husband and I are redoing the basement bathroom. When we took down the current ceiling wallboard, it is attached to furring strips which are attached to the floor joists. My husband thinks it is OK to remove the furring strips and just attach the new ceiling wallboard to the floor joists. Is this kosher? My do-it-yourself books only address the basement ceiling if you are putting up those ceiling tiles. I was worried about excessive movement in the ceiling joists which might cause a problem with the ceiling in the basement bathroom. Am I being too picky? There is nothing wrong with the floor joists they are 50 years old and things were built pretty solid back then.
thanks,
Priscilla

 

If the firring strips were attached to the joists, then if the joists move, so would the firring strips. The original installer may have had their own reasons for the strips. I don't see why they would be necessary unless the thickness of the strips were critical for height of the wall boards. Good luck with your project.

 

Check to see if the furring strips are level (they may have shims under them). The bottom of the joists aren't likely to be level so this may have been done to provide for a level ceiling - no waves.

What is the spacing of the furring strips? Closer than the 16" spacing (I am presuming here) of the joists means more support for the ceiling board and less probability of sagging down the road.