WDYT? Uncovered basement ceilings?

[downtoearth]

What do you think about these?  We're going to have to rip out our basement ceiling at some point anyway and I'm curious if ripping it out and living with exposed/sprayed celings for awhile would be fun.

[simpsongal]

Exposed ceilings look cool in a loft, and places w/high ceilings. I don't know how many bugs and nests are living in our basement drop ceiling. I don't want to know.

Methinks this is one of those 'looks good in a magazine' type things. But I could be wrong.

Plus, I think it would take a lot of time to paint and prep to make it look nice - may as well finish the space.

[bunnymendelbaum]

It all depends on what your ceiling looks like. There might be a bunch of mech/plumb/elec up there.

How old is your house? Most of those images are from older houses w the x bracing and older, thicker joists and wood diagonal subfloors.
The other is chezerby right? I'm pretty sure they furred that floor/ceiling down and that is drywall between the joists. (The joist depth looks shallow.) you could do that, but it would be a ton of work.

I really like the look, and you could always just cover it up if you didn't like it right?

[Velar Fricative]

I'm not a fan of the exposed ceilings (seems more high-maintenance), although the second picture doesn't look bad.

[nomad100]

We have too much plumbing and wiring to make that look good (hot water baseboards so pipes running all over the place).

We are just planning on doing a low profile drop ceiling since drywall would be too much of a PITA and be more expensive because we would have to move all the heating pipes that are below joist level.

[Susie]

Aug 1, 2014 11:52:00 GMT -5 downtoearth said:

My parents basement ceilings like like that.  This picture is a little deceptive as to what it looks like in a basement though, because of all the light from those windows.  In my parents' basement, the windows are small and few, so all the light comes from down lights - which hides most everything in the ceiling.  It all just fades away.  It was reasonably easy to do with a paint sprayer, and all the plumbing and wiring is accessible if it ever needs to be.  As a bonus, it's not technically considered a "finished" basement for tax purposes, due at least in part to not having a ceiling.

I think I prefer the look to the drop ceiling that's in our basement.  It was there when we moved in; we didn't choose it.

[msmerymac]

I kind of want to do this to my dad's cottage when I get my hands on it someday. It only has 7 foot ceilings, so I think ripping down the drywall and opening it up to the rafters will look and feel better... in theory. But who knows what 30 years worth of stuff is up there.

[downtoearth]

Aug 1, 2014 11:57:08 GMT -5 @juno said:

I like those a lot, but our basement ceilings are exposed and completely filled with wiring/plumbing/huge ducting. I think it would cost us a fortune to get our in that sort of shape. Do you know what you'll be dealing with?

Sent from my SPH-D710 using proboards

I have no idea what we'll be dealing with.  Right now we have ceiling tiles in the bedrooms, bathroom, and family room, but drywall in the hallway and nothing in the storage room.  I will have to look through the storage room into the bathroom to see what might be there.

[munkii]

I saw a semi-open ceiling in a show home a few years ago. They wouldn't let us take pics, so I'll do my best to describe how it looked.

The ceiling and everything in it was painted black, so anything exposed would be less obvious. The cover material was just stained pieces of plywood cut into various length rectangles, all about 7 or 8 inches wide. They nailed the plywood tiles to the wood beams and left about 6" between the end of each board. They also left about 6" between each row and staggered the plywood tiles kind of like flooring.

It looked like it would be easy to access plumbing/wiring/etc. It was really nice and a more contemporary look than standard finish techniques.

[downtoearth]

munkii

Like this - or different?

This is a good idea to have it partially hidden/partially open and then paint it all one color. Thanks.

[munkii]

It was different since the wide part was flat against the ceiling, but that looks good too.

ETA: Not flat against the ceiling, but against the joists/beams.

[mlvmd]

We have an unfinished basement so we are already rocking the exposed ceilings. I briefly considered painting and leaving them when we finish but then I look at comparable houses and it's just not the right look for a 1940s colonial. We also have pipes and ducts and I feel like those are dust catchers so I would prefer to just cover it all in drywall.

[moonlight]

I have always loved that look every since I saw a nestie do this in her basement years ago. Although the wood slats look awesome too. I like both a lot better than a traditional drop ceiling.

[TBM]

Aug 1, 2014 20:16:11 GMT -5 moonlight said:

I have always loved that look every since I saw a nestie do this in her basement years ago. Although the wood slats look awesome too. I like both a lot better than a traditional drop ceiling.

This.


We have been big fans of the look for many years.  I remember my sister working in a restaurant in the 70s that had exposed ceilings, and we thought it was pretty cool.  We've never lived anywhere that we have had the opportunity to actually do it, but it is one of those things that we would have done in a heartbeat if we did have the opportunity.

[chickens987]

Aug 1, 2014 20:29:05 GMT -5 TBM said:

Aug 1, 2014 20:16:11 GMT -5 moonlight said:

I have always loved that look every since I saw a nestie do this in her basement years ago. Although the wood slats look awesome too. I like both a lot better than a traditional drop ceiling.

This.


We have been big fans of the look for many years.  I remember my sister working in a restaurant in the 70s that had exposed ceilings, and we thought it was pretty cool.  We've never lived anywhere that we have had the opportunity to actually do it, but it is one of those things that we would have done in a heartbeat if we did have the opportunity.

We are planning to do this in our master. The ceiling was kind of low and we found some awesome steel beams when we ripped out the drywall; it would be a shame to cover them up.

As an alternative to a traditional dropped ceiling, check out Armstrong wood haven. We used it in our kitchen and love it so far. (You can see it behind my DD's head)

[auntie]

A few of those houses look as if they aren't basements, but perhaps converted industrial or loft spaces. Otherwise, I would expect mechanicals.