Basement with 8 foot ceilings with a Tray

jawhe

Hello-
I really need some help here. We are currently finishing off our lower level in our 4 year old home and the number one big mistake I made was putting 8 foot ceilings in our basement. Our basement area is very open but has 2 large beams (12 inch high) that run perpendicular to each other which defines 3 areas. One being a rec room (wet bar and pool table) Second (home theater) and Thirdly (rec area for card table and gaming/sitting area). Walls are framed and would like to put in a tray ceiling to give it a nice look and try to make it appear taller.

My plan was to go 6" down which is half of the support beam height and go 11" out from the wall to create a trey. Do you think this is okay to do or would it make the basement feel more cramped due to to the ceiling height? I know that taller the better is great for tray ceiling. Just never seen one with 8 foot. Your help and advice would be greatly appreciated.

mikegp

How high will the ceilings be if you max them out? Can you just make soffits around the beams? What's the height of the beams? My house has 8 foot ceilings and it doesn't bother me at all. My basement has 9 foot ceilings and I don't really notice a difference.

jawhe

Hi Mike-
Ceiling height is set in stone at 8'. I would have to go down to build a so called tray. After doing some research it sounds like a true tray ceiling is when it's built up. Anyway, The beams are supports for the upper floor and they are 12" which is 7' from the floor. My concern is that we don't want to feel confined. We have 9' upstairs and I find it a big difference going to my basement at 8 ft.