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Options for a finished basement ceiling

8 years ago

Our basement was finished in the 80's with an industrial looking drop ceiling and big fluorescent lights. We use that space as a living/play area so we want to fix it up. I hate the ceiling and lights. Part of me wants to drywall the ceiling but there is an argument to be made for being able to get to the pipes (but there are pipes in my other ceilings and I don't worry about them). What are my options??

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diydadinpa

8 years ago

I finished my full basement and I also heard the "don’t drywall the ceiling you’ll need access to <fill in the blank>. I agree with the previous post, there is no difference between the first floor ceiling containing pipes, wires, etc. vs the basement. I just used a camera and mapped out where all of the major basement "things" are for future reference. I much prefer the look of a drywall ceiling since it keeps with the rest of the house and it doesn’t look like a basement.

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Comments (8)

theresse
8 years ago
I feel like I shouldn't be giving advice since I'm just beginning the basement "journey" myself but I like your point about how you don't have to access pipes in other parts of your house, so why shouldn't the basement be the same! We've had to access pipes in part of our dining room and kitchen but our house is 100 years old. It was a pain but not terribly expensive when it came to the opening up or re-drywalling or patching after (forgot what they technically did). I'd say the biggest pain comes down to having to re-paint the entire ceiling to make paint match! Especially if it's a big basement ceiling! However again... if you have a good plumber/electrician do the work and think ahead about anything you might want later (assuming you're talking newly-added plumbing/electrical), it seems you have a pretty good chance of not having to access it for many many years to come (?). I was just adding to my ever-building list of questions to research: what would it look like (would it even be possible) to drywall the majority of the living space in our basement - which will have an open kitchen - but then put some sort of access panels in the ceiling (drop ceiling or whatever it's called) in the kitchen portion? Same with bathroom? But again, maybe not necessary! Plus I really want to sound-insulate between floors as much as possible in case we need to rent out the basement because we have 3 loud boys!! : - /
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Having fixed a few drywalled basement ceilings, I think drywall is a really, really bad idea. Inevitably a pipe springs a leak and the water never appears directly below the leak. Now you're hacking up the drywall trying to find it. Sometimes your needs change or you discover the space isn't quite works as planned and you want to reposition lights or run new wire/cable. Maybe you want to add a spigot outside or run a gas line to the new grill. Having access makes all of that a whole lot easier. While something like a suspended ceiling might not be as attractive some kind of ceiling that comes down easily in reusable pieces is a better plan overall. Frankly, most people don't spend that much time staring at the ceiling and the walk down the steps will tell your visitors they're in a basement.
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Our basement
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handmethathammer
8 years ago
Our last house had the drop ceiling in the basement with can lights, and we did have to move one of the panels to shut off/turn on water to the outside water faucet. I hated the look. Our new house has a drywall ceiling and it looks so much cleaner....and I don't worry about mice hiding up there and falling through the ceiling!

I, too, heard the advice of not closing off the ceiling in case you need to access pipes, and am secretly happy the previous owners ignored it!
mushcreek
8 years ago
The only reason I can think of for accessing the pipes and wires is A) If there's a leak (unlikely) and, B) To make changes to something upstairs, like moving a plumbing fixture. Either way, it's not a big deal to remove a section of drywall, then patch it after the fact. You wouldn't want to seal in a valve or switch, however. It's easy enough to create a small access hatch for that. On the plus side, drywall is good for slowing the spread of fire, especially fire rated drywall. Modern floor systems with open trusses or I-Joists burn much faster than the traditional wood framing.
bob_cville
8 years ago
Mushcreek wrote:

You wouldn't want to seal in a valve or switch

I just want to add: or any electrical junction box.
monika2024
8 years ago
yeah I heard that too, guess what? my master bathroom is leaking on my drywalled ceiling on the first floor.. oh no- anyway same with the basement. as long as you have valve/junction access- drywall it.
Dave Johnson
8 years ago
If you don't want to go through all that trouble of dry walling the whole ceiling, you can just replace the fluorescent lighting panel. I know there are companies that make these. They are supposed to take away the ugly lighting look.

Look up Skypanels. I've seen those a couple times.

Good luck!
stir_fryi SE Mich
8 years ago
We drywalled the ceiling down there and it looks fantastic. We have little "doors" for things we need to get to like the hot shut off valve for outside.

The only time it has been a problem is when the laudry tub upstairs overflowed and water came thru the basement ceiling. Its a little bubbly in that spot now!

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