[jasongilliland]

Hello,
I am currently remodeling half of my basement (roughly 400 sq ft.) and have framed the middle wall and am going to hang the drywall this week. I need advice on dropped ceilings. I don't wish to drywall because I don't want to move all of the pipes and other various things so I chose to go with the ceiling tiles. I have done some searching on the internet and I can not really find a good site that tells me exactly what I need. I don't want to spend a lot of money but I also don't want it to look cheap. I have seen some modern dropped ceiling tiles that look good but don't know much about the products that are available? Any information would be helpful!! Also interested in about how much space I will lose with a dropped ceiling vs. drywall.

Thanks!

 

[hyunelan2]

Basically, you need the grid pieces, hangers, the panels, and a lot of patience.

The unfortunate side of drop ceilings, is they can kill a lot of ceiling height - which can be limited in some basements. They have to be hung level, so depending on what you have hanging down, that is going to be the height you have to lower the whole ceiling. You could box-out obstructions and use the drop ceiling higher, if you have a large pipe or beam hanging down. I think code says you need 7' of clearance between floor and ceiling.

You can also use drywall without moving all your pipes, you just need to use strapping boards on the ceiling and attach the drywall to the strapping. A 2x2 thickness will be enough to let you rock over most conduit and water pipes, then frame out soffits around larger obstructions.

If you are still completely sold on the grid ceiling, and want to maximize headroom, there are types that attach directly to the joists. Since you have pipe obstructions though, you will still have to use some furring strips to buffer the grid mounting. This is the first example I found on google: http://www.kensa.com/

 

[jasongilliland]

hyunelan2,

Thanks for your response. I will look into that.

 

[High Gear]

http://www.armstrong.com/resclgam/na/ceilings/en/us/panels.asp?shapeId=1

http://www.armstrong.com/resclgam/na/ceilings/en/us/video-Panels.asp

http://www.armstrong.com/resclgam/n...suspended-drop-ceiling-panel-installation.asp

You can lose as little as about 4 inches of headroom but it makes it more

challenging to install the panels.

You can rent a laser level or get by with a cheap $60.00 spinning one that I

bought at HD , even a water level will work.

Lowes has samples of Armstrong and also sells USG brand .

 

[Fantastic]

My basement drop ceiling only needed 2" of clearance to put the tiles in place. Any low spot was dry-walled around. Keeps the ceiling higher. Here's a couple pics

 

[Ron6519]

Go to any manufacturers website to get an idea of what you need to do the job. They will have comprehensive information.
There are 2 tile materials. Fiberglass and rigid cardboard like tiles. The fiberglass ones can be installed in about 2" of space. The rigid ones require at least 4".
Ron

 

[mrgins]

My experience with wood fiber ones is that they will absorb any moisture and curl up at the edges/sag in the middle. I always use the fiberglass ones in basements

 

[jasongilliland]

Basically, you need the grid pieces, hangers, the panels, and a lot of patience.

The unfortunate side of drop ceilings, is they can kill a lot of ceiling height - which can be limited in some basements. They have to be hung level, so depending on what you have hanging down, that is going to be the height you have to lower the whole ceiling. You could box-out obstructions and use the drop ceiling higher, if you have a large pipe or beam hanging down. I think code says you need 7' of clearance between floor and ceiling.

You can also use drywall without moving all your pipes, you just need to use strapping boards on the ceiling and attach the drywall to the strapping. A 2x2 thickness will be enough to let you rock over most conduit and water pipes, then frame out soffits around larger obstructions.

If you are still completely sold on the grid ceiling, and want to maximize headroom, there are types that attach directly to the joists. Since you have pipe obstructions though, you will still have to use some furring strips to buffer the grid mounting. This is the first example I found on google: http://www.kensa.com/

Thanks for the Ceiling Link link. This looks like exactly what we want. I will have to frame a couple of ducts, but it looks like the rest will work after furring strips are attached. Thanks! I am assuming with this system that a spinning laser is not needed since it attaches right to the joists/furring strips?

 

[Ron6519]

Thanks for the Ceiling Link link. This looks like exactly what we want. I will have to frame a couple of ducts, but it looks like the rest will work after furring strips are attached. Thanks! I am assuming with this system that a spinning laser is not needed since it attaches right to the joists/furring strips?

You need a level plane to install the frame. Joists are rarely level. Wood attached to joists are rarely level unless installed that way with shims. And to know where level is, you need someting to guide you. It could be a laser or it could be a series of strings with a string level attached.
Ron