How would you finish a basement's ceiling?

[GGKoul]

Hello

I'm just about to start finishing my basement.  Phase 1 of course is to start the framing process.  But before I start, I need to decide how I want to finish my basement ceiling.  And I've been told to insulate the joists and then drywall the ceiling.  But then I'm stuck with whatever wiring I run before hand.

But if I tile or put it a drop ceiling, then I'll have access to drop other lines as required.  But it that worth the added expense and effort puting that in?

What do you think?

Thanks!!
-GG

[ErikRuud]

In my basement, the main duct runs accross the back of the basement.  There is a roughly two foot wide area between the ductwork and the back wall. Almost all of the main wiring and plumbing runs were move to that two foot area and then that area was done as a drop ceiling.  The rest of the basement was done in drywall to keep the ceiling height as high as possible.

[ChadTower]

I'm doing mine with a custom drop ceiling between the joists, not under the joists.  Need to maintain access to the stuff in there.

[GGKoul]

I'm doing mine with a custom drop ceiling between the joists, not under the joists.  Need to maintain access to the stuff in there.

Interesting.  Any pics?

[ChadTower]

No, the work is not underway yet.  Basically, put some trim pieces in between the joists and then cut some thin plywood tiles to fit.  Ceiling height is an issue in my basement.

[menace]

just as an alternative i've also seen the interlok ceiling tiles used and stapled to a 1x2 strapping nailed to the joists--your height losses are a lot less than drop ceiling but if you need access you can pull down the offending tiles and replace with new ones--i'm considering this for our new place.  They are also textured which adds a little to the room architecturally.

[GGKoul]

just as an alternative i've also seen the interlok ceiling tiles used and stapled to a 1x2 strapping nailed to the joists--your height losses are a lot less than drop ceiling but if you need access you can pull down the offending tiles and replace with new ones--i'm considering this for our new place.  They are also textured which adds a little to the room architecturally.

I was thinking about that too.  My buddy did that, but he said it was a lot of work!!

[fredster]

What does the ceiling look like now?

Can you just leave it and maybe paint it all?

[dmsuchy]

I drywalled mine, I first replaced all my plumbing with copper and ran a crap load of spare speaker wire and cat 5 up there. Than drywalled with a bunch of 4" cans. Makes the basement seem less like a basement. If I ever did have to run more wire, cutting access holes and patching them isn't a promblem. I have a couple of shots of my basement under the project ann. section, under RoboMame.

[GGKoul]

What does the ceiling look like now?

Can you just leave it and maybe paint it all?

I'll take some pics tonight

[JackTucky]

I'm going with drywall, but the wiring guy in me says that's bad.  So I ran PVC pipe from/to the locations where I might need some expansion.  I can just snake any wires I need down there.

My basement has one side that is all wiring, plumbing, etc.  So I ran conduit from there to the TV area, the bar area, the bedroom area, the patio (outside), and the pool table area.

Plus, I have soffits almost around the entire perimiter, so those conduits go into those soffits, so I can go in any direction once I get the wire out.

Jacktucky

[CCM]

My basement had a drop ceiling when I moved in, I have ripped that down and put up drywall.  I've never liked the look of drop ceilings.  If you plan well and run all the wires you need you shouldn't have a problem with drywall.

[mccoy178]

I am currently installing a drop ceiling as we speak.  I decided on that because I have the room, and I can .  I like the abiliity to fix a pipe or run wiring if needed.  I bought some nice 2x2 Armstrong tiles to not look like an office space.  The cost is a ton higher than drywall, and it's not as fun as drywall to install.  I have the DeWalt self leveling laser, so setting the brackets will be simple.  I have some oak left to finish around the glass block and the header, then full installation will begin.

[boykster]

I dont think I've ever seen the words drywall and fun used in the same sentence before

Anyway, I chose the drywall for the same reasons as dmsuchy....if you plan ahead (run wires/etc) you don't have to worry too much about future-proofing.  If necessary, built soffits or run conduit.

[Scott84]

Tiling is easy access!

[mccoy178]

I dont think I've ever seen the words drywall and fun used in the same sentence before

I think it's fun because you have the opportunity to get down and dirty in the construction of it.  I had a pool installation company, and I guess I've always loved the hands on approach when building stuff.  Drywall let's you cut and measure and all kinds of neat stuff.  Sounds childish, but that's the only way to look at it in my opinion, otherwise, it would really really suck.  I've finished two basements with drywall ceilings now and I use Jedi mind tricks to get me motivated.

[DrewKaree]

A drop ceiling can be done so that you leave just enough room to move tiles if you ever need to access stuff, which would cost you about 2" in headroom.  The downside is loss of headroom and the look, which some folks don't like.

Drywall can be done so that all you lose is the thickness of the drywall.  The downside is the wiring issue you speak of, and possible leaks in your plumbing.

If the plumbing leaks, you'll be ripping the drywall down anyway, but you'll prolly have to replace ceilig tiles too, so I think that's a wash.  The major difference is the repair work needed if you find you DO need to run more wire.

Cut BETWEEN the joists and cut out a chunk at either end of your wiring run.  When you're done, you screw the chunk back up onto the ceiling (you WERE careful and not going Neanderthal, right? ) and mud the piece back into place.  Not that hard, and if you put some effort into it to make it look nice, you'll never notice the area you cut out.  Using a fish tape would make even less of a repair hassle, but it's been my experience that people can't figure out how to do that type of "arthroscopic surgery" and they're better off cutting the larger chunk.

Other options are making access panels into your ceiling on the off chance that you haven't run enough wire or need to get at your joist area to run wiring. 

Unless you have 7' at joist level, I'd go with a drop ceiling.  GO INVESTIGATE WHAT THE PANELS CAN LOOK LIKE!  Lots of times, people think drop ceilings ONLY come in that "been hit with buckshot" look and simply assume that's what they all look like.  You can get many different patterns - most folks just don't like to do much special ordering.

[Jabba]

I was in Salt Lake city and toured the the various buildings in Temple Square.

In the basement of one of the buildings, they had a drop celiling with "black" tiles, no windows.

You would thinks that it would be dark and grungy, but looked real sleek.

I'm thinking of going this route.

I agree with the others on ability to access everything with a drop ceiling.

In my last -1 houses ago, a pipe burst and I had a drop ceiling Othe than some wall damage, just popped out the offending tiles and put new ones in. Would have abeen a nightmare if drywall. Plus,

I hate mudding, I wonder how hard it would be to mud a ceiling....

[ClubNinja]

I wonder how hard it would be to mud a ceiling....

Only slightly more annoying that mudding a wall - which, relatively speaking, is really 'effing annoying.

[ChadTower]

The more I hear about mudding the less I am looking forward to figuring out how to do it.

[CCM]

The more I hear about mudding the less I am looking forward to figuring out how to do it.

If you've never done it before, it would be money well spent to have someone come in and do that for you.  Any imperfections in the finsihing will show and you will see them everytime you step into your basement.  I'm speaking from experience, the first mudding jib I did was a small bathroom in our house, and I still see every mistake I made.

[dmsuchy]

The more I hear about mudding the less I am looking forward to figuring out how to do it.

If you've never done it before, it would be money well spent to have someone come in and do that for you.  Any imperfections in the finsihing will show and you will see them everytime you step into your basement.  I'm speaking from experience, the first mudding jib I did was a small bathroom in our house, and I still see every mistake I made.

Pay a mudder! They finish the job in half the time and make it look great. Mudding sucks period.

[xar256]

Actually, mudding is the easy part of the whole thing...It's the sanding that sucks monkey balls.     It doesn't take too long to master so long as you don't cut corners, but lordy do I ever hate the sanding.

Xar256

[whammoed]

Actually, mudding is the easy part of the whole thing...It's the sanding that sucks monkey balls.     It doesn't take too long to master so long as you don't cut corners, but lordy do I ever hate the sanding.

Xar256

Agreed.  Isn't that why they invented textured walls? 
I'll, hang it, tape it, mud it....just don't make me sand it.

[CCM]

Actually, mudding is the easy part of the whole thing...It's the sanding that sucks monkey balls.     It doesn't take too long to master so long as you don't cut corners, but lordy do I ever hate the sanding.

Xar256

Mudding and sanding go hand-in-hand,  if you scew up the mudding or put it on way too thick, it's gonna make the sanding that much harder.  For a first-timer getting the walls and corners smooth is very difficult.

[fredster]

There is plaster spraying.

Like they do with textured ceilings.  You can rent one of them at a tool rental place and just spray textured stucco.

You could even color the stucco and you would be done pretty quickly.  It would be pretty cheap and easy to do that.

[DrewKaree]

There is plaster spraying.

Like they do with textured ceilings.  You can rent one of them at a tool rental place and just spray textured stucco.

You could even color the stucco and you would be done pretty quickly.  It would be pretty cheap and easy to do that.

That's called "Knock-Down". It's just chunks of stuff (mebbe styrofoam?) that you throw in a hopper and usually you spray that on, let it set for however long it says in the directions, and then spray a coat or two of paint over it.  Problem comes in if you don't know what you're doing.  That stuff tends to come off easily if it's not done right.

[ChadTower]

Can't stand that stuff, anyway.  I don't like textured wall surfaces... bugs me for some reason.  We have textured swirls on our ceilings and I find them distracting.

[fredster]

So many patterns.  It's disturbing to you isn't it?

[DrewKaree]

It's like wunna dem Horseshack tests ta Chad!

[ChadTower]

It won't shut up.  It keeps telling me to do things.  I won't do them.  Make it stop.

BTW, the best way to finish a basement ceiling is with a roundhouse kick.  Chuck Norris cannot be wrong.

[shmokes]

I don't see much need for drop ceiling, regardless of whether you put in all the wiring you could possibly ever need.  $10 of PVC pipe will give you all the wire chase you'll ever need.  Drop ceiling is certainly easy access, but I don't think access needs to be that easy to something you only need access to once every three or four years -- or never.  Personally, I'd be inclined to not even give myself any access to the wire chase and if I realized down the road that i needed to upgrade to Cat 7 I'd just punch a hole in the ceiling and run my wire.  It would take all of fifteen or twenty minutes to patch and paint the hole. 

[mccoy178]

...I'd just punch a hole in the ceiling and run my wire.  It would take all of fifteen or twenty minutes to patch and paint the hole. 

I think you are grossly misrepresenting the time and effort it would take to do that.  It's not child birth, but that doesn't mean it doesn't suck.  I thought you lived in an apartment?  I'm just asking, have you done work like this before?

[DrewKaree]

You're forgetting the cost, time, and amount of repair needed if you have a plumbing problem.  With a drop ceiling, if a major problem happens, you'll generally have far less to repair, costs can and will mount with a drywall ceiling, and if you do it yourself, the time needed to redo drywall is way more than just popping out a few panels and replacing them.

[SirPeale]

Jutting spikes at random angles.  Sharp ones.  Keep those darn kids from jumping on the bed.

[mccoy178]

Hey!  I saw your kids lip.  Jumpy little buger eh?

[shmokes]

I think you are grossly misrepresenting the time and effort it would take to do that.  It's not child birth, but that doesn't mean it doesn't suck.  I thought you lived in an apartment?  I'm just asking, have you done work like this before?

I live in an apartment but I grew up in a house where we refinished our basement when I was about 15, and I've worked for my brother, who is a carpenter, a dozen or so times doing drywall work. 

You're forgetting the cost, time, and amount of repair needed if you have a plumbing problem.  With a drop ceiling, if a major problem happens, you'll generally have far less to repair, costs can and will mount with a drywall ceiling, and if you do it yourself, the time needed to redo drywall is way more than just popping out a few panels and replacing them.

Your plumbing disaster scenario is specious.  Why not make all your bathroom walls out of tiles that can be pushed out of place too?  And why not use a concrete tunnel in your yard instead of, you know, dirt and lawn in case you need access to those pipes?

I don't for a second contest that the time it takes to punch a hole in the ceiling to access the wire run and then patch it back up will be far more than what it takes to pop up a drop ceiling tile.  But saving an extra hour or even three hours of work once every 3-10 years is not worth the time and expense and loss of ceiling height and poor aesthetic of installing a drop ceiling in the home.

[DrewKaree]

Your plumbing disaster scenario is specious.  Why not make all your bathroom walls out of tiles that can be pushed out of place too?  And why not use a concrete tunnel in your yard instead of, you know, dirt and lawn in case you need access to those pipes?

You're being idiotic on purpose.  The odds that you'll have a problem INSIDE the house are more likely, which is why your yard scenario is retarded, and you make cleanouts and access panels for your bathroom. 

Since you PURPOSELY create access panels for things elsewhere in the house, why not make the ceiling a series of access panels? 

There's more problems associated with drywall that JUST plumbing problems, that just happens to be the largest one.  Time spent up front for installing a drop ceiling would equal out if you needed to replace your drywall.  Money spent on drywall, tape, mud, paint, mudding knives, etc will add up to be quite comparable to installing a drop ceiling, especially if anything needs to be fixed on that drywall.  Loss of ceiling height.  Seriously?  2 friggen inches?  You make it sound like you're going to lose a foot if you install a drop ceiling.   Aesthetics?  They make TONS of different tiles, and if you want to go that route, you have many to choose from to suit your needs.

I never said drywall for a ceiling was a terrible way to go, but it seems like since you think they're "aesthetically challenged" (read: ugly), you're making it sound like putting in a drop ceiling makes a person an idiot for choosing that route, when clearly there's many pluses to it.

[mccoy178]

I feel the love in the air.