wrote in message
ups.com...
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????

Yes, drywall alone should be fine. Only thing is the taking down and
putting back up part. Drywall gets its strength in kind of an odd way.
Gypsum is very strong in one sense, and very weak in another. Paper is very
weak in one sense, and very strong in another. It's an odd combination but
they complement each other. Point being, if you screw in drywall, you have
to be careful not to let the screw rip through the paper. If you put the
drywall back up, the old screw hole you used probably won't be as strong,
since some of the gypsum will probably be crumbling around it at that point.