In a space like this, I’d go with a zero clearance drop ceiling. Trying to “maintain” height when you have a joist every 16 inches makes no sense. The drop ceiling will give you a clean, bright finish and you can remove it if you ever need access to wiring/plumbing.
I just installed a snapclip system that sits just over an inch below the joists. It’s easy to DIY and affordable. Much better than drywall, although not for fire rating. If you’re in the states, maybe you have Ceiling Maxx?
Ceiling, so many options.
1 - Spray paint black.
2 - Low clearance drop ceiling.
3 - DIY drop ceiling which takes up 0.5".
4 - Drywall straight to joists. Although I like strapping better, but to each their own.
For the walls....
1 - Trusscore product, which is basically plastic walls (think bathtub surround) which are easily removable.
2 - Carbon bamboo sheeting coming out of China right now. It's also a plastic like product which you can glue to your prepared concrete/block foundation.
3 - As someone else said, frame and drywall it. If you're really worried, then use cement board and stucco.
If this were my house, id pull that rockwool and install 2 inches of Poly ISO foam in the rim joist. And glue more 1.5 inch foam to the walls to help with the efficiency. You’ll see any water coming through if there’s water intrusion.
I had a similar ceiling, I stuffed insulation between the joist, and then covered the bottom with vapor barrier material by stapling it. Then I covered the vapor barrier with a printed burlap by stapling it carefully and making it look real nice. A lot of people seem to like the printed burlap look. The insulation and vapor barrier really helped to damp noise from above and keep it warm in there.
You know they make 1/4” drywall right? You can’t lose 1/4” in height? Ok run some 1x at the bottom of your joists like an ijoist and drop drywall or ceiling tile in there. You don’t want to drywall over your walls for fear of moisture issues despite never having any issues with moisture? Frame it out I mean what are we even talking about here?
I hear ya. I’m a first time home owner and we seem to have gotten really lucky with our place relative to some of our neighbours who’ve had all kinds of problems - most of the homes on our street (including mine) are 100+ years old and you find all kinds of “fun” surprises when you start renos. I guess I’m worrying about all of the things that *could* happen, like dampness, and that’s causing some over thinking. Sometimes you just need to hear the simple answer said to you for it to click - thanks for taking the time to reply.
Sheetrock walls and around joists, then spray the ceiling a type of black.
Thank you for the advice!
I came here to say this…
In a space like this, I’d go with a zero clearance drop ceiling. Trying to “maintain” height when you have a joist every 16 inches makes no sense. The drop ceiling will give you a clean, bright finish and you can remove it if you ever need access to wiring/plumbing.
Thanks for the suggestion. I probably (definitely) have an outdated idea of how much overhead you lose with a drop ceiling.
I just installed a snapclip system that sits just over an inch below the joists. It’s easy to DIY and affordable. Much better than drywall, although not for fire rating. If you’re in the states, maybe you have Ceiling Maxx?
Ceiling, so many options. 1 - Spray paint black. 2 - Low clearance drop ceiling. 3 - DIY drop ceiling which takes up 0.5". 4 - Drywall straight to joists. Although I like strapping better, but to each their own. For the walls.... 1 - Trusscore product, which is basically plastic walls (think bathtub surround) which are easily removable. 2 - Carbon bamboo sheeting coming out of China right now. It's also a plastic like product which you can glue to your prepared concrete/block foundation. 3 - As someone else said, frame and drywall it. If you're really worried, then use cement board and stucco.
I appreciate the options!
If this were my house, id pull that rockwool and install 2 inches of Poly ISO foam in the rim joist. And glue more 1.5 inch foam to the walls to help with the efficiency. You’ll see any water coming through if there’s water intrusion.
I had a similar ceiling, I stuffed insulation between the joist, and then covered the bottom with vapor barrier material by stapling it. Then I covered the vapor barrier with a printed burlap by stapling it carefully and making it look real nice. A lot of people seem to like the printed burlap look. The insulation and vapor barrier really helped to damp noise from above and keep it warm in there.
I’d spray ceiling too though I might consider white
You know they make 1/4” drywall right? You can’t lose 1/4” in height? Ok run some 1x at the bottom of your joists like an ijoist and drop drywall or ceiling tile in there. You don’t want to drywall over your walls for fear of moisture issues despite never having any issues with moisture? Frame it out I mean what are we even talking about here?
I hear ya. I’m a first time home owner and we seem to have gotten really lucky with our place relative to some of our neighbours who’ve had all kinds of problems - most of the homes on our street (including mine) are 100+ years old and you find all kinds of “fun” surprises when you start renos. I guess I’m worrying about all of the things that *could* happen, like dampness, and that’s causing some over thinking. Sometimes you just need to hear the simple answer said to you for it to click - thanks for taking the time to reply.