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Paint Basements Design Dilemma

Painted exposed basement ceiling question

last year

Hi there! We are currently finishing out a large rec room in our basement. One of the rooms above it is a step down living room so 2/3rds of the new rec room has ceilings that are only about 7’2 so we decided to go with the black painting to not lose anymore height. I was reluctant to doing this way however after seeing some basements done this way, I’m excited. We also plan on doing crown molding to finish off the look. It is all very clean cut and a large rectangle room (32x14 with no low hanging pipes or furnace pieces) so it’s nice it won’t look choppy. My 2 questions….

Question 1: what is a good flat black paint color to use? We’ve used Benjamin Moore Wrought Iron on our fireplace upstairs and love it. It’s leans a bit toward lighter black/gray.

Question 2: should we do any type of insulation between the joists to cut down on noise? Would a foam board or anything like that really make a difference? We do have carpet in both rooms above so it doesn’t seem like it’s too bad with noise right now.

I would love feedback from anyone who has experience with this type of project! :)

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Comments (4)

PRO
Patricia Colwell Consulting
last year
Sorry but IMO a 1/2 " drywall ceiling is IMO the best way to finishe a space really you will not notice the 1'2 "the black ceiling will make the ceiling feel lower than that 1/2"
PRO
BeverlyFLADeziner
last year
Here's a good tutorial as a check list of what to do before you paint.

https://buildingbluebird.com/how-to-paint-an-exposed-basement-ceiling/

However, as it relates to painting, the professionals use black paint designed so that overspray that falls is dry by the time it hits the floor. Much easier to clean up this way.
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Basement Insulation - Exposed in Utility?
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Thanks so much for the feedback, I'm glad you're thinking it might be reasonable to qualify as a utility space, that gives me some hope ;). Forgive my naivete... but it seems like my local AHJ (the city building inspector is who I think we're referring to here, they have a department for this) is going to be unlikely to answer a hypothetical question about a space they've not inspected and an insulation project for which we did not get a permit...? But then again I don't know. I get the idea of asking them the hypothetical "does all insulation in utility rooms need to be covered with drywall" and "what qualifies as a utility room". It's just that I think they are most likely to tell me they can't answer any questions over the phone, and to apply for a permit, submit the plans as drawn up by a certified person, etc. Or maybe I am wrong and they do answer questions over the phone? I don't see any hotline info or online FAQs. And perhaps when I posted most people would assume we have a permit and are having this inspected, and I should have clarified right away:). Either way, thanks for your feedback, I do really appreciate it! Nicole
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Another question about basement finishing. I see lots of pics of painted exposed basmenet ceilings that look nice. We have piping, ductwork etc in ceiling along with fairly low ceiling height (7' I think). However, there is insulation in between the joists right now. How do you handle the insulation if you paint?
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You could replace the batt insulation with spray on foam that is paintable, but that might not be cheap either.
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We did our basement ceiling that way for part of our basement remodel. i think it looks great, although I do prefer the drywall ceiling in the media room. We used Sherwin Williams Cashmere paint in low lustre, spraying and rolling. We used a dark gray with a lot of brown (Gauntlet Gray). I think anything darker might actually show the imperfections. This is not special paint, just a good quality paint I've used throughout the house. Just be sure to prep well. Clean, sand, then clean again. If the environment in your basement was that different from your main floor where you need special product, I don't think you'd be finishing it for use.
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Jaimie B.
Original Author
last year
Yes we have been in many basements with the painted black ceiling and never thought they felt low or dark with the right lighting. I appreciate the feedback but this is the way we are going.
la_la Girl
last year
We did the open painted ceiling as well (we really like it) we didn't notice too much noise from below so not sure you would need anything for insulation but you could always add something later if needed

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