On Aug 13, 2:46 pm, wrote:
looking to put up a basement ceiling on the cheap! drywall is about
10 times cheaper than a drop ceiling as far as i can tell. thought
about just putting up drywall on the ceiling, BUT, i still want access
to the wires/ducts if i ever need to (ie the benefit of a drop
ceiling).

can i just put up the drywall per normal, using screws, but not finish/
tape/mud the joints? that way if needed i figured i could just
unscrew one panel, access whatever i need, then screw it back in.
talked to a Lowe's guy who didn't think it should be done, thinking
that the drywall ceiling might crumble apart if it's not finished????

I used something called celotex(sort of an accoustical material) came
in 4 X 8 sheets, weighed very little, tacked it up, then made a grid
of 1 by 3 boards in 4 foot squares. In 25 plus years have not had to
access the wires or ducts, and for some reason the gridwork makes the
LOW ceiling seem higher, at least tht is what the wife says, there
are hardly any wires in the ceiling area, 3 ducts, and when I opened
the ceiling to install, I found that one of the ducts was a return air
duct, connected to nothing, so it was vacuuming the ceiling area all
winter!! Filters lasted a lot longer after I disconnected it!
M