I am in the early stages of finishing my basement and the wife and I are thinking of exactly what we want in a ceiling. We both like the possibility of future access that suspended ceilings allow, but even the good ones won't really look "right" in our home. We are both thinking that a custom coffered ceiling may fit the bill nicely. What I would like to do is build the box beams right up to the floor trusses, probably in 4' squares. Then insert the coffers up into the ceiling and "fasten" them in place. I would like them to be removable, but I'm not sure the best way to accomplish this. The only plan I've come up with so far is to cut a dado or groove into the side of the box and snug-fit a piece of quarter-round or similar trim piece into the groove to hold the panel up. Obviously this gets tricky with miters, so maybe just a rectangular trim piece with butt joints at the corners would be a better approach. See the sketch for the basic idea. The patterns represent the box beam, the coffer panel with attached crown molding, and the trim piece used to hold the panel in place. Before I get too far into this, I'm wondering if anyone has a beeter idea for holding the panels in place. There has to be a simple, effective way to hold these things up without fasteners (and be able to remove them without too much trouble). My plan is to build the beams wide enough to accept recessed lights and linear diffusers for the heat & A/C. That way the panels wouldn't have any electrical or ducting attached. Any thoughts?
Thanks.
Thanks.