Walls are brick/stone... definitely a big source of dust.

I guess I'm thinking that all the dust and old pipes and wires in/on the
ceiling are also a source of dust/dirt, so that if I clean up and treat
the walls I still might have dust - which would be disappointing.

Right now I just want the basement to be usable as a work space...
everything gets dusty down there so I only have boxes of things and
things covered in plastic. I'd like to be able to leave tools and such
down there without having them get dirty, and walk around without
getting dust everywhere.

Maybe you're right, just a real good cleaning and some sort of concrete
sealant... hold off on the ceiling until I'm ready to renovate.



I seriously doubt that the old plaster on the ceiling is the source
of any significant amount of dust. If the basement is not currently
an occupied space, I'd just leave it as is, and take the ceiling
down and replace it as part of the renovations. What are the
walls?