If you are planning and renovating your basement, there are a lot of things that you need to think about. The first thing being, which materials are best for your needs and your geographic location? If you reside close to water, you may think twice about putting carpet down on your basement floor , especially if your basement tends to flood or gets damp with excessive rain. One of the other things that you need to think about is what type of ceiling you are going to have put in. If your basement is underneath any type of bathroom plumbing you may find that it is better to put in a drop ceiling rather than sheetrock.
Ceilings are tricky things, especially in a basement. There are so many things to think about. What is above the area of the basement that you are finishing might just be the most important question that you ask. If there a lot of pipes and a bathroom above the basement you might find that putting in a drop ceiling is the best choice that you can make. When you put in a drop ceiling, you have the ability to just replace tiles if you find that there is a leak. It is so much easier to just lift out a tile rather than to cut a sheetrock ceiling, repair the problem and then have to re cut the sheetrock, spackle and tape and then re-paint.
Ceiling Tiles
photo credit: Amy Loves Yah
There are so many different types of ceiling tiles that you can put in a basement. If you are just looking for an inexpensive drop ceiling than you can go to a Home Depot or Lowes and shop around. So many manufacturers have made basement ceiling options fun and decorative. They offer them in different colors and with different designs as well. Drop and suspended ceilings are much easier to install than drywall walls and ceilings. There is less of a mess and the time to install is nearly cut in half.
There are however some cons to installing a drop or suspended ceiling. If your basement does not offer a great deal of headroom you will find that a drop or suspended ceiling take away a bit more of your vertical space than a drywall ceiling does. If you have less than average headroom to begin with, this may not be the best choice for your home.
Your basement ceiling options all depend on your decorative touch, needs and of course time and budget. Be creative and have fun renovating.