My basement has a drywall finished ceiling and I hate it...
#1
03-31-22, 03:26 PM
My basement has a drywall finished ceiling and I hate it...
Hi all,
I'm an avid DIYer. I pretty much handle mostly all home electrical, plumbing, HVAC, and other repairs as needed. That said, we bought this house 9 years ago (built in 1992), and there's been a fair share of projects and repairs, which all required me to cut out drywall from the ceiling in the basement.
Sure, I can patch the holes, but I'm only so-so with drywall work.. and the effort here is lost of me since odds are pretty good I'll be cutting things out again.
While it would be quite a project, does it make sense to rip out the drywall ceiling and replace with a drop ceiling grid? Or, are there alternatives that make for an accessible ceiling with low clearance? Also, it is clear to me that the finishing of the basement was not done as part of the original house construction.
The basement is primarily used for storage, but we'd like to eventually make it functional for a play room or workout room.
I'm working on drafting a floor plan and such in AutoCAD... but there's an approx 27'x6' area that has a 7'6" ceiling, an adjacent area that's around 23'x8' with a 6'7" ceiling, and a room that's maybe 14'x12' with a 7'6" ceiling. I believe that lower section is dropped down for the drywall to be under some HVAC.
The drywall in the higher spots is obviously screwed right to the floor joists... so I realize doing a drop ceiling means I'd be at least 3" lower than this.
I'm an avid DIYer. I pretty much handle mostly all home electrical, plumbing, HVAC, and other repairs as needed. That said, we bought this house 9 years ago (built in 1992), and there's been a fair share of projects and repairs, which all required me to cut out drywall from the ceiling in the basement.
Sure, I can patch the holes, but I'm only so-so with drywall work.. and the effort here is lost of me since odds are pretty good I'll be cutting things out again.
While it would be quite a project, does it make sense to rip out the drywall ceiling and replace with a drop ceiling grid? Or, are there alternatives that make for an accessible ceiling with low clearance? Also, it is clear to me that the finishing of the basement was not done as part of the original house construction.
The basement is primarily used for storage, but we'd like to eventually make it functional for a play room or workout room.
I'm working on drafting a floor plan and such in AutoCAD... but there's an approx 27'x6' area that has a 7'6" ceiling, an adjacent area that's around 23'x8' with a 6'7" ceiling, and a room that's maybe 14'x12' with a 7'6" ceiling. I believe that lower section is dropped down for the drywall to be under some HVAC.
The drywall in the higher spots is obviously screwed right to the floor joists... so I realize doing a drop ceiling means I'd be at least 3" lower than this.
#3
03-31-22, 06:17 PM
Group Moderator
I like to build soffits around things like ductwork or just build a header and install ceiling tile on the bottom.
There is also a surface-mounted ceiling grid system called ceiling max https://www.homedepot.com/p/Ceilingm...E&gclsrc=aw.ds it is not as easy to gain access to the ceiling joists but it is easier than cutting/repairing drywall.
There are also surface-mounted track systems for tiles and plank ceilings.
https://www.homedepot.com/p/Armstron...=aw.ds#overlay
There is also a surface-mounted ceiling grid system called ceiling max https://www.homedepot.com/p/Ceilingm...E&gclsrc=aw.ds it is not as easy to gain access to the ceiling joists but it is easier than cutting/repairing drywall.
There are also surface-mounted track systems for tiles and plank ceilings.
https://www.homedepot.com/p/Armstron...=aw.ds#overlay
