[B]First some background: [/B] We have a ~ 30' wide basement. Going from right to left, we have 8' where there is 7.5' from carpeted floor to ceiling. At 8' we have the ceiling come down about 10" to take care of heating vents. That probably goes for 3' or 4' and then it's back up to 7.5' ceilings. The ceilings currently are drywalled. The 8' area from the right wall to the point where the ceiling drops is over our "entertainment area." I am going to be working on making this a home theater area. I'm going to be running wires, putting in at least 8 recessed lighting cans, etc. Currently, the lighting on the 8' side consists of one piece of track lighting with 4 lights. This STINKS as it is in such a position as to reflect light off of the TV if the lights are pointing anywhere near down or towards the TV. Therefore, the lights have to be tilted back towards the rear wall. This basically blinds anyone sitting on the couch. Since I know I'm going to have to virtually destroy the drywall above in this area (in order to cut several holes for the lighting cans, access holes to run wiring, etc) I thought rather than worry about patching the drywall, I might as well take it down for this section of the basement, put up all the lights, etc and replace the drywalled ceiling with a drop ceiling. I would [b] only [/b] be doing this for the 8' wide section. The remainder of the basement ceiling would be drywalled. Because of the point where the ceiling lowers for the air duct, the drop ceiling would not be visable from any point in the basement except where the ceiling is visable from above. The area that I want to cover with the drop ceiling is about 18' x 8'. I'm probably going to use 2' x 2' panels (hopefully a different color than beige or white or whatever). [b]Now for the questions: [/b] 1. Does what I'm doing make sense? I know that drop v drywall is mostly personal preference, but does my logic hold up? 2. 2' x 2' panels makes sense, right? 3. How far does the drop have to go? I don't want to lose a lot off the ceiling height. Can I have the drop 3" or 4" below the rafter or will it be a lot more? 4. I've done a lot of "fix it" stuff since we bought the house in August '01 (including tiling from scratch, some electrical work--very minor), is this a project that I should be afraid of, or should it run pretty smoothly (as much as any project should)? 5. Is it possible to get different colored ceiling tiles? 6. Is there anything else I should consider that I haven't already?

I have read several messages regarding the placement of the vapor barrier. Can anyone clarify if where it should be placed if using a thin poly barrier? I have applied a sealant (Dryloc) to the floor and walls and was thinking that the next step would be to line the walls with a thin poly "vapor barrier before proceeding to frame, then roll in fiber insulation and then drywall. Is this wrong? Which comes first, the plastic barrier or the insulation? Thanks. Lipper767