# low ceiling options



## Woodchuck2010 (Jan 19, 2016)

I live in an old house with a low ceiling in the basement. I'm just starting to build my woodshop. I've been putting up pine car siding and wanted to have some options for the ceiling. I don't want the pine on the ceiling though. Please post up your opinions and pics on your shop ceiling also.


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## MAKZ06 (Jun 17, 2013)

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


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## Woodchuck2010 (Jan 19, 2016)

> Are there plumbing and/or gas lines overhead that you may need access to in the future?
> 
> - MAKZ06


No, nothing but some wiring.


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## conifur (Apr 1, 2015)

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.


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## Woodchuck2010 (Jan 19, 2016)

> 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?


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## Dabcan (Feb 1, 2011)

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.


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## Woodchuck2010 (Jan 19, 2016)

> 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.


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## 01ntrain (Jun 21, 2015)

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….


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## Woodchuck2010 (Jan 19, 2016)

> 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.
> 
> ...


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


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## tomsteve (Jan 23, 2015)

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.


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## Tennessee (Jul 8, 2011)

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!


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## dhazelton (Feb 11, 2012)

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.


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## hairy (Sep 23, 2008)

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.


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## Cooler (Feb 3, 2016)

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


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## Cooler (Feb 3, 2016)

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


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## runswithscissors (Nov 8, 2012)

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


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## DRSWoody (Aug 16, 2014)

In a low headroom shop I would definitely leave most of the joists open if not all. Leaves room for storage and someday you may want to install a central sawdust system. The trunk line could be run between the joists and then branch off to equipment. In a low headroom basement with limited ventilation sawdust becomes a problem for table saws, jointers and planers. Dedicated shopvacs or one big one to move where needed. I speak from experience since I've had basement and garage shops all my life until I built a 24×40 shop 3 years ago. Basement shops are also very noisy for the rest of the family. If you decide to cover the ceiling you may want to add some soundproofing.
By the way I really like the looks of the carsiding. It also gives you a good base for hanging accessories. Good job.


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## Cooler (Feb 3, 2016)

Years ago the pistol range where I shot got complaints about noise. They had a contractor come in and spray the ceiling with recycled newspaper mulch (a lot like paper mache). It was remarkably effective. It was almost as if you were wearing the muffs on the range.

If I were worried about noise transmission I would Google "recycled newspaper sound insulation" and see if there is a local contractor. That stuff is amazing.

They also make a version with fire retardant but the standard stuff is no more flammable than wood.


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## JoeinGa (Nov 26, 2012)

I agree on renting a paint sprayer, but I'd just shoot the whole ceiling in white. I think that would make the room brighter, rather than the black paint.


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## Cooler (Feb 3, 2016)

> I agree on renting a paint sprayer, but I d just shoot the whole ceiling in white. I think that would make the room brighter, rather than the black paint.
> 
> - JoeinGa


People like to paint ceilings like that so you don't see all the details. The local Starbucks did that with their open ceiling. White will show cobwebs and nails and all sorts of details that may be better hidden. On the other hand the white ceiling, as you noted, would brighten the room considerably.

As a side note I worked as a bouncer in a night club when I was just out of college. The walls and ceiling were all painted black and the paint job was old and looked a bit shabby-but not so much when the lights were down.

One week I left work at closing on Saturday and when I came back on the following Friday the whole place (which would seat 480 legally and 600 illegally) was painted dark brown.

The following week it was back to black.

I asked why they re-painted it black and I was told, "cockroaches". Apparently the cockroaches were highly visible against the dark brown and not so much against the black. And repainting was cheaper than bug spray. (We all knew not to wear cuffs on our pants so as not to bring them home with us.)

So if you have cockroaches, paint the ceilings black (or use bug spray).


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