On Sat, 29 Sep 2007 07:17:55 -0400, Unrevealed Source wrote:

Looking for ideas please. I'm going to put up a ceiling in my basement, and
I don't want a dropped ceiling because I don't want to lose the height. My
best idea so far is to nail up furring strips perpendicular to the joists
and then use tongue-and-groove ceiling tiles, stapling them to the furring
strips. That way I only lose about an inch. I have seen the Ceilingmax
system and that's still an option, but my idea would be cheaper. I'd
rather not use drywall.

The problem is that I had hoped to find 2x2 tiles, but all the staple-up
tongue-and-groove tiles I've found are 1x1. That would mean twice as many
furring strips and longer to install. So two questions:

1) Are there in fact any 2x2 tiles of the interlocking staple-up type?
2) What other ideas am I missing, understanding that I want to lose as
little ceiling height as possible?

Thanks,
Jeff

Think ahead no matter what material you choose: What if a pipe breaks or
you need to wire or rewire something? A basement ceiling that is
accessible makes repairs and such easier.