[Rich Turley]

Customer wants suspended ceiling in basement bathroom. Due to upstairs plumbing issues the ceiling would be bi-level. Any ideas on how to handle this?

Also, part of the ceiling would be over a shower. I'm worried that the humidity may lead to rusting of the grid and problems with the panels.

Rich

 

[Greg Di]

DON'T DO IT.

Unless you really research the material and buy some serious commercial grade tile, you'll just have a mess on your hands. Even then, I wouldn't warranty it.

You are the pro and tell the customer that's not how its' done. They don't know the options and are taking the obvious way out because they don't know any better.

The right way to do it is to rock it and build soffits. Also, if the ceiling joists are crappy, I usually use a laser level and sister 6" metal studs to the wood joists. You'll have a dead flat ceiling everytime and you can drop it from 1/4" to about 4".

 

[K2]

[

QUOTE=Rich Turley]Customer wants suspended ceiling in basement bathroom. Due to upstairs plumbing issues the ceiling would be bi-level. Any ideas on how to handle this?

Also, part of the ceiling would be over a shower. I'm worried that the humidity may lead to rusting of the grid and problems with the panels.

I just did another block panel ceiling in a rental bath with 3/8 ac ply and 1x4 and 1x6. I lay it out and use trim screws so the blocks drop out for access to the upper plumbing. I've been doing block panel ceilings for years, mostly on ceilings that have serious cracking problems. The only problem I've found so far is that if painted, the paint will yellow faster than paint on drywall. I've tried several primers and it seems the water based kiltz works good.> I usually have a tough time convincing people to do a block panel but when they see it they love it.

 

[Mike Finley]

Okay, I admit it I have no idea what a block panel ceiling is, care to share?

 

[TimNJ]

12x12 ceiling tiles?? My plumber friend calls 12x12 vinyl floor tile "block tile".

 

[Greg Di]

Okay, I admit it I have no idea what a block panel ceiling is, care to share?

Mike,

I think he's cutting "tiles" out of the 3/8 and resting them on a grid built out of 1X.

Like I said, drywall works really well for ceilings....

 

[K2]

[

QUOTE=Mike Finley]Okay, I admit it I have no idea what a block panel ceiling is, care to share?

[/QUOTE]

I guess I hear that alot. It was popular in the 70's and probably goes back a ways before that. Basically you cover the wall with plywood, figure out how to cover the joints with various built up trims and making 2ft. or 4 ft. blocks on the wall. Usually they were dark like cherry or walnut. The ceilings they might make a drop down false beam on maybe 4 ft centers and block in between. The carpenters that I knew who did this work pretty much did there own designs and usually had a cabinet making background. I never did any of the elaborate ones, I just used the idea for a quick fix for cracking ceilings. You are probably familiar with expansive soils and old houses in Colorado where drywall patching is an endless process. I guarantee this block panel work for my lifetime which 20 years ago was a pretty good guarantee. Naturally my simple design of ac ply and #2 1x would be out of the question on some homes but the thread started with a suspended ceiling in a bathroom. I'll see if I can get some pics up.

 

[mdshunk]

A suspended ceiling in a basement bathroom is really no big deal if you use the right material. They make plastic and aluminium T-bars for high humidity areas such as this, rather than the typical steel grid. The plastic and the aluminium are both readily available (at least in my area). The normal cellulose tile won't last long without sagging, but there are many other options for the tile. The yellow fiberglass tiles with the white vinyl faces are super good, as well as the sheetrock tiles with the white vinyl faces. Both stand up very well in high humidity areas. Aluminium gridwork and vinyl faced tiles are becoming standard fare in commercial kitchens and dishrooms.

Use the normal material, and you will have a trainwreck. Use products for this type of ambient, and you'll be fine.

 

[MinConst]

Due to upstairs plumbing issues the ceiling would be bi-level. Any ideas on how to handle this?

I have done this bi-level with good results. I angle the wall angles and drop the mains in the lower section to match. You must lay out the wall angles pretty precise or the tiles won't lay properly on the grid but if done well it looks good. As for the moisture issue other have great ideas above.

 

[jproffer]

Like I said, drywall works really well for ceilings....

Not so much in basements though IMO. With all the plumbing, elec., HVAC, etc. that's up there, I wouldn't use rock on a basement ceiling.

 

[Mike Finley]

[

I'll see if I can get some pics up.[/QUOTE]

Rob I would love to see a picture of what you are describing if you are able.

 

[Mike Finley]

Not so much in basements though IMO. With all the plumbing, elec., HVAC, etc. that's up there, I wouldn't use rock on a basement ceiling.

This is the first time I have ever heard any reservations about drywall ceilings in a basement. Basement finishing here is all drywall with soffits where needed. The only access panels ever installed are for a code issue or access to sprinker shut off valves or some odd thing, other than that, everything gets covered up. It ain't supposed to leak whether its covered or not. If it does, then the homeowner hires somebody to open it up and fix it. Gotta keep that money flowing in the economy you know!

 

[K custom home]

I really don't understand why people are so afraid of drywall on a basement cieling. You are not covering anything more than you would on second story or walls if you use access panels under valves, and a lot of the time you can move the valves to a discreet place.
Grid cieling makes it feel like a basement--Drywall makes it feel like living space.

 

[K2]

Mike, I'll try to get some pics up today. Had a little trouble yesterday. Block paneling must be a Texas thing and the group i worked for and with back then were Texans. If you put " Block paneling Texas" into Google you'll get some hits but the one pic I found on the net was not clear. >I just had a plumber repipe every inch of pipe on one of my properties including the underground. (3 kitchens & baths). Everything was redone with the maintainece guy, (me), in mind including access, backup water heaters, and extra parts. I might live another 20 years and i don't like those Christmas morning nightmares. Of course only an owner could spent that much time on something like that but i could see the payoff in the long run. > I tore apart 2 moldy properties in the last 2 years. In my years of building we always kept the drywall at least 1 1/2 inches off a concrete slab. Now on my own stuff it has to be 3 feet off the concrete, ( block panel wainscot). No rock below an upper bath either. > I can't see grid in a house.

 

[Greg Di]

Grid cieling makes it feel like a basement--Drywall makes it feel like living space.

Amen, my brotha...

Basement remodeling seems to be the bastard child or "real" remodeling for some reason. I see so much half-assed stuff in basements, it makes me sick. I just demoed a basement bathroom today where the "studs" (I use the term loosely) came off with the drywall because some knucklehead used finish nails at the top plate. There was also one "wall" (again, term used loosely) behind the toilet that had six different types of wood cobbled together to form a surface for the drywall. I will be issuing a CO to replace both walls.

Drop ceilings are what some people expect for a basement because they don't know any better. They think it's the thing to do because their lazy, cheap neighbor has one.

Drop ceilings are a last resort for me. Drywall looks a million times better every time. On a current job, I have to use a drop ceiling due to circumstances beyond my control. The only way to go is use the 2x2 commercial grade tiles. Whatever you do, please don't ever use 2x4 tiles. The should come from the factory pre-sagged because they ALWAYS end up sagging.

Another alternative I would like to see is the Armstrong Woodhaven laminate ceiling systems. Kind of like Pergo for the ceiling. Very slick looking. I might actually install some in my own basement to see if it's something worth offering as an upgrade to drywall.

 

[K2]

Mike, I'm going to try get these pics up but i'm going to put them on a new thread.

 

[Rich Turley]

Thanks for all the views, helps in making an informed decision. Main reason for the suspended ceiling in this one room is the upper plumbing, all other rooms are rocked. This bath is rough plummed but was never finished. Right above where the shower will be is a large clean-out. I think I will look into access panels.

Rich