Hate drop celing, how can I make it look better?

RyanD

I would love to remove it and put up drywall but everyone tells me not too in case a pipe brakes or I need to change something. With that said I still hate the look of drop ceiling so I was thinking of changing the big long lights to inset lighting and maybe changing the tiles so they look better. What else can be done to make it look better?



This is a picture of the house as it is now, we're moving in in two months so I plan to make this a nice hangout and I don't want to look at that ugly drop ceiling. I don't know why I don't like it I just don't! :-)

Mazz

You can change to tiles that are flushed with the grid.

Get smoother tiles. Less texture.

I'd paint the grid to match the tile also.

Maintenance 6

You could do a lot with different styles of lighting. Armstrong has a lot of different panels, including some that look like old tin ceilings. Link below.

http://www.armstrong.com/resclgam/na....asp?shapeId=1

RyanD

Wow, some of those are nice. $60+ for 6 panels, ouch! I like the options though, I guess if I paint the bar white and put some of those up it might look a little better. Is it hard to raise it a little if I can, I would like as much head room as I can possibly have. Also, are there kits for inset lighting or will I have to install cans on the studs and try to align them up with the drop ceiling?

ponch37300

There is also a product called grid max that snaps over your existing grid to make it look new and it comes in a variety of colors. Here is a link http://www.acpideas.com/index.cfm?XlinkID=14

I've used it a couple of times and it's really easy to use and looks good. It comes in chrome, gold, silver, and all sorts of colers.

bjbatlanta

I think the revealed edge tile looks nicer than flat, personally. Never have cared for black (or silver or gold...) grid. Have heard of the "grid max" (and got a sample from the mfgr.), but I think it would be more for a commercial/restaurant application where the grid is rusted, greasy, etc. It's been a couple of years since I got the samples, so it may be better now. If you want to leave it as a drop ceiling, I'd opt for painting the grid, go to can lights, and new tile...
If it were mine, and the cost wasn't prohibitive, I'd sheetrock it. I've installed thousands of feet of grid ceilings, but I still don't like them in a residential application unless there's just no other choice. What are the odds of a pipe breaking?? You have them in your walls. If it's a two story house, they are run through the floor joists between the first and second story. They stand just as good of a chance of breaking as the ones in the basement. You can add access panels for shutoffs where needed. If a pipe WERE to break, you would have to replace tiles and possibly grid. (I've seen it rust when exposed to water even for short periods of time.) Price someone coming in to remove and replace half your grid and tile to get to the rusty spot in the middle of the ceiling. Way more than patching a half or even a whole sheet of drywall. The main concern is probably how much framing needs to be done around the existing "impediments" to hanging drywall. If you really hate the look of a drop ceiling, get some quotes to get rid of it.......

__________________
If you can read this, thank a teacher. If you can read this in English, thank a soldier. Support our troops.

Mazz

I want to add that if you do sheetrock it to take this opportunity while the ceiling is open to draw a layout of the piping and electrical that you may need to access in the future.

gma2rjc

.....and it's a good time to insulate the rim joists, tape the seams on the heat ducts and insulate them, wrap foam tubing around water pipes, etc.

DangerMouse

i agree, that's one ceiling i would not want to lay back and stare at!
here's what i did, maybe you could do similar?
My $40 (300 sq. ft.) Homemade Birch/Walnut Ceiling
and those tin ceiling tiles look gorgeous... wish i could afford them....

DM

__________________
[SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]Click
To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 10 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.
to see some of my original magic tricks and trick boxes!

Wildie

Before I retired I operated a small telephone service company! Every time that I encountered a drywall ceiling in a residential basement I shuddered!
Installing a new cable, for a repair or expansion always increased the cost of the job by a factor of four!
And of course Murphy's law always comes into play! Cables only go BAD in closed ceilings!

bjbatlanta

How about all the cables run in the walls and ceilings on the other floors? They only go bad in the basement?? Fishing wires anyplace in a house can be a challenge and sometimes drywall HAS to be cut to facilitate it. You repair it and go on.....

__________________
If you can read this, thank a teacher. If you can read this in English, thank a soldier. Support our troops.