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I am finishing off a basement and have limited headroom. Drop ceilings seem to require at least 3″ and drywall would make the mechanical systems inaccessable. Does anyone have any suggestions for a material that looks good, is low profile and could be removed and replaced if necessary?
Any ideas here would be greatly appreciated.
Tom
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Replies
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I have seen several ceilings in one neighborhood known for low basements done by attaching 1x3 to bottom of joist and dropping plywood or sheetrock panels on top of the edge of 1x3. it kind of looks like board and batten siding. it allows access to utilities and is inexpensive.
I have also seen it done with strips attached to sides of joist and panels set up inside further. this method saves 3/4" of headroom over first method but is more labor intensive.
you may have to modify blocking in some cases.
one other method that I have used was done by an architect in a basement bedroom uses 1x2 material screwed to bottom of joists, spaced about 1/4" apart.it gives an interesting texture to the room, but is removable and again is only 3/4" thick. an added bonus, and one of the reasons the architect specified it was that it tightened up the floor in the room above it.
*Have seen this but not used it - although it seems like a good idea. T-shaped vinyl strip that fastens to the joists that has a groove in it, with another T-shaped vinyl strip that snaps into the groove. Leaves a space between that holds standard drop ceiling panels. You lose the thickness of the panel in headroom and can pop the strips apart to remove panels if you need access. Seems to me I saw these a Homer D.
*Mechanical systems are also hidden in walls with no access. Sheetrock is easy to repair. Take photos of what's between the joists and cover with strapping & sheetrock, if you want it to actually look finished. IMHO.
*I rcently finished a basement space but didn't want the hassle of sheetrock (getting the sheets into the basement and taping the ceiling) so I used some of the 6" x 48" tongue and groove acoustic tile-like planks. I always thought the regular square acoustic tiles looked cheap but these planks really turned out pretty nice. They are easy to install and it would be easy to replace one row to get access to the ceiling space. It is not a bad alternative to sheetrock or suspended ceilings.
*Tom,What you're looking for is a system called Ceiling Max. Go to theirweb site http://www.ceilingmax.com. I used this system in my basement, and it worked wonderfully. You can get it at "Homer D". It's attached right to furring strips, or the joists. It takes a while to get going, but once you get rolling it works well. Good Luck!!!Gary
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I am finishing off a basement and have limited headroom. Drop ceilings seem to require at least 3" and drywall would make the mechanical systems inaccessable. Does anyone have any suggestions for a material that looks good, is low profile and could be removed and replaced if necessary?
Any ideas here would be greatly appreciated.
Tom