Alternative to suspended ceiling panels?

guywhofishes

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I don't want that same goofy square drop ceiling tile pattern I see everywhere - but don't want to sheetrock the basement ceiling because it's handy having access.

Anybody seen or installed a decent alternative?
 
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MuskyManiac

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The smaller square stuff looks better than the larger panels. You can get some really cool looking different textured/colored stuff and some nice looking modern lights.
 

LBrandt

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They make a real nice copper metal looking tile that you would have to touch to tell the difference.
 

guywhofishes

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Armstrong has a plank ceiling that has me intrigued - but access after install doesn't look as easy as the tiles.
 


guywhofishes

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What kind of look are you going for?

basement-ceiling-002-768x512.jpg

I'd love this... but be able to access - ha ha.
 

LBrandt

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OK get regular 1x6 or 1x8 V-grove knock the tongue off and apply with small headed finish screws. You can take down anywhere.
 

dschaible

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Make your own panels out of sheetrock. Cut, tape edges so they lay flat in grid, finish with whatever pattern you choose
 


watson

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What I did in our TV room downstairs was white washed the trusses, nailed quarter round in between them, then cut old galvanized corrugated tin to fit between leaving about an inch of the floor truss showing
 

Bed Wetter

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Just hang sheetrock and come up with clever ways to hide your stash in the walls instead of the ceiling. Wall compartments also mean easier access for guywhocantreach. You can’t count on your wife to lift you up to retrieve your hash stash forever.

B3298D3F-F17D-42E0-9AB0-284C9A3664E8.jpg
 

sierra1995

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Sheetrock. It's not that hard for a pro to repair an area or two of Sheetrock if you need to add something later. Just install more recessed lights than you'll think you need and put them on a dimmer, maybe install an electrical sub-panel in the basement somewhere (if your main panel isn't in the basement), plan for a fire place by running a natural gas line somewhere, stub out water for a bar, etc. Try and think every thing that you may want in the basement and then prioritize from there. Also think about if you need to run anything for outside electrical service, like a 220V outlet for camper or hot tub, etc, and it needs to run through the joists to get to a certain part of the house.

With sheetrock you'll also get the benefit of better fire protection for your floor joists/trusses for a few for extra minutes minutes. Drop ceilings offer no fire protection in the eyes of building code.
 

guywhofishes

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It's a remodel BTW - already had an old drop ceiling in it which we tore out.

Ranch style built in 1976 - by a shop class at North High in Fargo I think.

Hauled out and plopped down on a Camrud Foss basement. Thank goodness.... the expansive clays in the Red River Valley are wicked on basements.
 

Whisky

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What I did in our TV room downstairs was white washed the trusses, nailed quarter round in between them, then cut old galvanized corrugated tin to fit between leaving about an inch of the floor truss showing

This sounds awesome.
I have seen an office where they plasma cut their own tiles from weathered corrugated metal and it looked great.
 


Petras

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In one of the rooms in the basement I installed suspended ceiling but instead of using the ugly ass tiles I grabbed a few sheets of a wood look paneling at Menards. Cut it to size, dropped it in and it looks way better then the normal crap that gets used...
 

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