Hi all, this site is no doubt, valuable! After reading all the threads posted from the past 6 months and asking questions and obtained answers from the past few days, I'm still debating as to what kind of ceiling should I plan for my basement. My basement is about 92" from the joist to the floor. Should I use drop ceiling or simply drywall? Would there be a big different in terms of cost, works, etc.? I also plan to add a subfloor and not sure which ceiling would be more appropriate. Please advice. Thanks.

Gentlemen and ladies, I couldn't find anything in the basement forum archive so I thought I'd try posting a thread...(posted this in masonry forum but - no responses)...here goes: I jackhammered a drain trench across my concrete basement floor (as well as drains for new basement bathroom) and had plumber friend install the drain lines - now - I need to patch over the trench and bathroom floor area. There will be a variety of floor finishes over various sections of the trench: ceramic tile in bathroom, carpet in recroom, perhaps vinyl in entry/hallway... My questions: 1) Should I straighten the irregular jackhammered trench lines (with concrete saw) before pouring concrete? 2) Should I replace the entire bathroom floor rather than just patching the drain trenches? I'm concerned about tiling across a patch line. 3) What type of mix will work best? 4) Should the existing concrete be "primed" in some way to ensure adhesion with the new concrete? 5) In some instances other cracked areas meet the trench - I've removed some adjoining cracked concrete, but, don't want to go on forever - how do I determine a good stopping point to patch to? 6) What else do I need to know or do??? Thanks in advance for your help...regards...Iceman