# ceiling suggestions



## gwithrow (Feb 5, 2005)

we are renovating an old house on our property, on a budget, and we need to get some ideas on a new ceiling...the house now has 1x4,s as a ceiling..sorta looks like flooring up there...old, dark, sooty and dirt and dust sifts down from the attic space...we need to seal up and redo the ceilings...so does anyone know if sheetrock is cheaper, better than say a ceiling tile? we are open for any suggestions...something that can be painted I suppose...or like I said some kind of decent looking ceiling tile....

we are not doing this part ourselves....so cost is for sure a factor...


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## Bearfootfarm (Jul 13, 2006)

Ceiling tile is probably "cheaper" depending on what you get, but sheetrock will seal things better.

If what is there now is level and in good condition, you may be able to apply tiles directly to it


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## kvr28 (Feb 15, 2009)

one cheap ceiling I did in one of our old houses was a luan ceiling, usually one side of the luan has a clear side, I had that facing down and then used 1x2's to go over the seams and ran one down the middle of the sheet and every 2 feet crossways, creating a 2 foot by 2 foot gridwork. It looked like a recessed panel ceiling


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## TNHermit (Jul 14, 2005)

Hope this makes sense. Lay out ceiling for wood beams. cut your drywall so the faux beam will cover the cuts in both directions. that way you don't have to tape joints. Paint it that way. Then nail up 3-1x6 for the beams the long way. Nail up 2-1x4 and a 1x6 fro the bottom for the short in between beams. Stain ,or not, finish with a mix of turpentine,linseed oil and beeswax. Nail some blocks that fit the open end (top) of he beam to the ceiling ,centered on the drywall cracks. Push your beams up to the ceiling, run trim screws or finish nail in to the sides into the block you put up. When your done you have a nice custom beamed ceiling. And it takes less work than writing this out and the only real power tool you need is a saw. If you want a picture of something similar let me know.


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## gwithrow (Feb 5, 2005)

thanks for some good ideas, has anyone had any experience with the Styrofoam glue up ceiling tiles? they look good on the computer screen....and they are cheap, but all I can think of is the containers we get when we take home leftovers at a restaurant.....

the existing ceiling is very solid, level.....well as level as anything else in this old house...and though it is very dirty and woul dhave to be cleaned off, it would be fairly easy to glue tiles up there...I just don't want it to look too much like plastic ....

and does anyone know where the best place to get some of these tiles?

I am also going to look into the idea of some kind of wood ceiling...I like the 'fake' tin tiles...but they would for sure be more expensive...we used some in another house as a backsplash in the kitchen and they are wonderful...I suppose today I will visit some of the salvage places to see what they may have....


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## vicki in NW OH (May 10, 2002)

We redid our ceilings in an old farmhouse with wood planking. Looks wonderful. Cheaper than ceiling tiles, too.


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## Bearfootfarm (Jul 13, 2006)

> Styrofoam *glue up* ceiling tiles?


I'd be leery of those on anything other than smooth, CLEAN sheetrock
Smaller individual tiles will make any areas not level really stand out


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## dirtman (Sep 15, 2011)

I think that using materials like fake ceiling tiles in an old house just makes it look tacky. I second the suggestion the TNHermit made. You will come out with a nice look that doesn't take much skill to accomplish.


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## mrs whodunit (Feb 3, 2012)

Our old house on the ground floor has wainscoting for ceilings. The problem is somebody dropped the ceiling and added sheet-rock. My plan is to someday tear out the sheet-rock as I want the old ceiling back 

How about cleaning all the boards, sealing up the cracks and the pickling the boards?

Its what we are going to do upstairs. There is old wallpaper that has been painted many times and now looks terrible. Its coming down and then will pickle the ship-lapped boards.

I am hoping is that its not the wallpaper keeping out the wind!


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## kudzuvine (Aug 11, 2011)

Never again blown ceilings - tin roofing. I like the rustic look, so old barn tin is great


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## ufo_chris (Apr 30, 2010)

We put T1-11 on the ceiling in the kitchen, wood strips (like small beams) over the seams, looks great and rustic .


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## kycrawler (Sep 18, 2011)

my neighbors built thier own pole barn house and in 1 room they used 1/4 inch osb sheeting and stained it with a cherry color stain looks very nice they stripped the cracks with cherry 1x2's that i sawed and planed for them they used the 1/4 inch because it was the only thickness our homedepot had that didnt have the nail spacing lines on it it was unmarked on the sanded side 

in our new pole house i am building i will be using 7/16 osb for the walls and celng in the kids rooms cheap durable and looks ok when painted


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## lamoncha lover (Mar 1, 2009)

kycrawler..u have pictures of your home?
tnhermit..i would love to see the ceiling pictures


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## willow_girl (Dec 7, 2002)

> How about cleaning all the boards, sealing up the cracks and the pickling the boards?


That's what I would do. Charming and rustic ...

I loathe ceiling tiles.


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## TNHermit (Jul 14, 2005)

lamoncha lover said:


> kycrawler..u have pictures of your home?
> tnhermit..i would love to see the ceiling pictures


If you go to my blog you can see them in the picture section. They are not good pictures. they have what looks like bubbles or spots on them.
The centers are just int panels


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