# Ceiling Options besides Drywall?



## Clive Driscoll (Mar 19, 2009)

My entire house (built late 80's) had drywall popcorn ceilings. I dislike the popcorn drywall. It is a split level home and over the past year or so, one room at a time, I replaced all lower level ceilings with pine planks and crown molding instead of the popcorn drywall. Looks great and I am quite happy with it...

For some reason, I don't feel I want to do the same (wood planks) to the upper level, but I would like to get rid of the popcorn ceilings. What are my options? Right now I feel it is:

A) painstakingly scrape off the popcorn, mud and sand as needed, repaint

B) knock out popcorn drywall, put in new drywall, mud, prime and paint

C) ?? Something else....

This would be a flat ceiling (not vaulted)... Would include a living room and 2 bedrooms potentially. Any ideas out there?


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## Rob (Oct 31, 2006)

I put this up last year in my den. Easy, inexpensive and everybody who sees it likes it. It's not a drop ceiling but fits snug to the existing ceiling. Check it out. I thought it was a great product.
https://www.empirewest.com/


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## scribbles (Mar 2, 2009)

The popcorn comes down easy. Just get it wet, and it will fall right off with a flat trowel. Just tarp it and spray well with water, and scrape it off.


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## Gene Howe (Feb 28, 2009)

scribbles said:


> The popcorn comes down easy. Just get it wet, and it will fall right off with a flat trowel. Just tarp it and spray well with water, and scrape it off.


+1 And, you're prolly gonna hafta do that before applying any other treatments. Rob's suggestion is pretty neat, don't you think?


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## Clive Driscoll (Mar 19, 2009)

Rob, interesting link. So you install a grid system just below the existing ceiling and put the tiles in?


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## Rob (Oct 31, 2006)

_



Rob, interesting link. So you install a grid system just below the existing ceiling and put the tiles in? 

Click to expand...

__Yup...it was that easy. Plenty of designs and colors too. My aunt had it done throughout her older home and she went with different style panels for each room. Very clean looking ceiling when you are done._


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## Rob (Oct 31, 2006)

I should add...the grid system was purchased at Lowes or HD...forget which. They had everything needed for the grids. If you look through the website, or call the company, they will point you in the right direction. A 12 x 20 room took me about 4 hours.


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## Clive Driscoll (Mar 19, 2009)

Rob, how do you handle lighting in the room with this system? For example, I have a 10x10 room with a ceiling fan in the middle of it. Do you just leave it in place and cut a hole in the ceiling tiles to accommodate ?


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## Rob (Oct 31, 2006)

Exactly. The decorative flange housing of the fan covers the hole. I have a fan in my room and it worked out great.


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## cabinetman (Jul 5, 2007)

This thread might give you some ideas.


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## rrbrown (Feb 15, 2009)

Sorry. I posted something when I was tired now I deleted it because it didn't apply here. You should be able to delete when you screw up.


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## TheRecklessOne (Jul 22, 2008)

What would your ceiling look like if you opened it up? I've seen some cool rooms with exposed joist ceilings and electrical conduit and such. Kind of modern I guess.


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## NoahDavis (May 5, 2009)

Rob said:


> I put this up last year in my den. Easy, inexpensive and everybody who sees it likes it. It's not a drop ceiling but fits snug to the existing ceiling. Check it out. I thought it was a great product.
> https://www.empirewest.com/


Hey guys,

I work for Ceilume Ceiling Tiles (www.ceilume.com) and I noticed you guys were talking about our tiles, which is great! I just wanted to let everyone know that I'd be happy to answer any questions you might have about our product. Since you can't walk into any Home Depot and see a tile in person, we ship full size samples directly to your door, for FREE. I also wanted to point you towards our customer photo gallery. People have created some REALLY beautiful ceilings w/ low materials costs using our tiles - 

Gallery - http://www.ceilume.com/gallery/

Free Samples - http://www.ceilume.com/ceilingtile_browsefreesamples.cfm


A few other things to note about our tiles - 

***Free Shipping on samples or full orders to your door in US and Canada

***Quantity discounts apply - average order cost is $1.25 per square foot

***7 colors to choose from

***24" x 24" and 24" x 48" sizes

***Direct mount or 1" T-bar grid mount

Have a FREE sample shipped to your door today!

http://www.ceilume.com/ceilingtile_browsefreesamples.cfm

Thanks!

Noah Davis
www.ceilume.com


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## creative novice (Jul 25, 2008)

*noah.....how about irregular ceilings?*

what if the ceiling has some irregularities...like bad taping job previously......how thick are these tile and do they telescope very much if u direct mount them?//


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## NoahDavis (May 5, 2009)

*to creative novice*

Well, it really depends on HOW much change there is in the flat surface and how drastic that change is. If there's a ripple in your tape job between 2 pieces of drywall, the tiles should cover it up no problem. If there's a 1/2" "step" between 2 pieces, you may see it reflected in your finished ceiling, after the tiles have been installed. The Direct Mount tiles are made of .030" vinyl and depending on the style chosen, they can project up to an 1" below the surface they're attached to. You can attach them using a combination of Liquid Nails Paneling Adhesive and finishing nails or staples. The best way to see if they'll work, is of course to order free samples and tack them up into place - specifically in the most "irregular" spot on the ceiling.

http://www.ceilume.com/ceilingtile_browsefreesamples.cfm

Another option, is to attach furring strips on 2' centers and attach the tiles to those. If the ceiling is REALLY uneven, you can always install a drop ceiling grid, and mount the tiles in it


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## GeorgeC (Jul 30, 2008)

Many, many years ago my father put up a new ceiling with 2x2ft plywood squares. This was 1/4 inch plywood. Each piece of plywood had raised rows (like rown in a cornfield). It is really hard for me to come up with the correct description. These raised rows were only about 1/8" tall and 1/4 between. If you viewed the plywood from the side it would look like a sine wave resting on top of the wood. 

Placing these squares in an alternating pattern made for a very interesting ceiling. And it never had to be painted again!!!

George


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