low ceiling options

Are there plumbing and/or gas lines overhead that you may need access to in the future?

Are there plumbing and/or gas lines overhead that you may need access to in the future?

- MAKZ06

No, nothing but some wiring.

-- Chuck, Michigan,

So do you want, a finished ceiling for a picture perfect shop? Or light housing/reflection? Personaly I would have put the wall paneling vertical, the vertical lines would make the walls look taller, you dragged the ceiling down with the horizontal lines.

-- Knowledge and experience equals Wisdom, Michael Frankowski

So do you want, a finished ceiling for a picture perfect shop? Or light housing/reflection? Personaly I would have put the wall paneling vertical, the vertical lines would make the walls look taller, you dragged the ceiling down with the horizontal lines.

- conifur

I preferred the horizontal look, obviously. I also had way less cutting and covered the walls a lot quicker. I like it, but I do understand what you’re saying. I’m thinking maybe a white ceiling?

-- Chuck, Michigan,

I’d go white, brighten the place up, have you got room for pot lights? Fluorescent tubes would be better, but you’ll lose a few more inches with them mounted to the ceiling. Drywall is probably your cheapest bet.

-- @craftcollectif , http://www.craftcollective.ca, https://www.etsy.com/shop/craftcollective?

I d go white, brighten the place up, have you got room for pot lights? Fluorescent tubes would be better, but you ll lose a few more inches with them mounted to the ceiling. Drywall is probably your cheapest bet.

- Dabcan

The light in the picture is an LED. Very bright. I’ll be using a couple of them. 4500 lumens each.

-- Chuck, Michigan,

My shop looks about the same size/height….

Two walls are concrete, one is framed in, and I used white-coated hardboard for the wall. Brightens it up quite a bit. I’m also using the same LED fixtures that you are(Costco?). They do an excellent job.

Curious as to why you’re worried about the ceiling? I left mine alone….you never know what you might have to get into…i.e. new wiring, dust collection, etc….

My shop looks about the same size/height….

Two walls are concrete, one is framed in, and I used white-coated hardboard for the wall. Brightens it up quite a bit. I m also using the same LED fixtures that you are(Costco?). They do an excellent job.

Curious as to why you re worried about the ceiling? I left mine alone….you never know what you might have to get into…i.e. new wiring, dust collection, etc….

- 01ntrain

Yeah, you’re probably right. It’s just kind of ugly looking and the walls are so nice.

-- Chuck, Michigan,

you could get an airless sprayer and paint the floor joists and plywood white. it would be less ugly, more light reflection, and storage space between the joists.

My shop is located in the garage under my sunroom. Same fairly low ceilings. I left the insulation exposed, and used the joists to hang my Grizzly filter units, my lights, and it also made it easier to put most of my outlets on the ceiling.

I like tools where the cords go up to plug in and out of the way, not down or over the side of a bench.
I don’t think I have lighting problem. Seven fixtures, at this point all T12 florescents until I use up my stock of bulbs, then I start changing them out for some kind of LED.

About once a month I blow down the whole shop, including the ceiling. So far, no problems after 9 years.

I do keep a 300 watt light on a swivel that is over the lathes, makes turning much easier for my old eyes. Just cannot look directly into it!

-- Tsunami Guitars and Custom Woodworking, Cleveland, TN

I wouldn’t do anything more permanent than a drop ceiling as tight up as you can get it. You WILL want access to wires and pipes and ducts in the future.

I use ceiling joists as tool storage in my basement. I attach clamps directly, and have several magnetic strips on the ceiling for files and small tools.

-- stay thirsty my friends...

Personally I would rent a HVLP sprayer and spray the ceiling black. With the lights in place is will not be visible and it will allow easy access to the wiring. (And it will be faster and cheaper than any other options.

By the way the ceiling height in the basement is not a product of the age of the house. It is a product of building codes.

Eight foot tall ceilings in the basement means that the square footage it included for property tax purposes. Seven foot ceilings are not counted.

On a ranch house like mine a 8’ ceiling would probably add about $7,000.00 per year to my school and property taxes.

I put in a suspended ceiling in my darkroom. I lost about 3” of height and getting the tiles in was a chore.

Sheet rock is probably the cheapest way to go other than my suggestion about black paint.

The local Starbucks has an open ceiling painted matte black. They do have to dust frequently and spider webs have to be vacuumed out, but visually it is almost never noticed.

Here is an example: https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/564x/32/08/93/32089300c945ef18d627bf892b55e958.jpg

-- This post is a hand-crafted natural product. Slight variations in spelling and grammar should not be viewed as flaws or defects, but rather as an integral characteristic of the creative process.

Personally I would rent a HVLP sprayer and spray the ceiling black. With the lights in place is will not be visible and it will allow easy access to the wiring. (And it will be faster and cheaper than any other options.

By the way the ceiling height in the basement is not a product of the age of the house. It is a product of building codes.

Eight foot tall ceilings in the basement means that the square footage it included for property tax purposes. Seven foot ceilings are not counted.

On a ranch house like mine a 8’ ceiling would probably add about $7,000.00 per year to my school and property taxes.

I put in a suspended ceiling in my darkroom. I lost about 3” of height and getting the tiles in was a chore.

Sheet rock is probably the cheapest way to go other than my suggestion about black paint.

The local Starbucks has an open ceiling painted matte black. They do have to dust frequently and spider webs have to be vacuumed out, but visually it is almost never noticed.

Here is an example: https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/564x/32/08/93/32089300c945ef18d627bf892b55e958.jpg

-- This post is a hand-crafted natural product. Slight variations in spelling and grammar should not be viewed as flaws or defects, but rather as an integral characteristic of the creative process.

Take a belt sander to the joists and then varnish them.

-- I admit to being an adrenaline junky; fortunately, I'm very easily frightened