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I've seen nice versions of drop ceilings that use alternate materials to that ubiquitous, ugly board you see in offices. You can find wood panel and pressed tin (or plastic to look like pressed tin) systems that can look really nice while still giving you all the access of a dropped ceiling. I'm sure there are many places, including the local stores, but here's a link that shows a lot of options.

http://www.ceilume.com/

I'm confused. Why wouldn't you just install 1/2" drywall and an access panel? And recessed lights, etc? I can't see where "green" materials apply here, except for picking a low VOC paint.

I'd suggest bringing in a few contractors for quotes and ask open-ended questions about what they'd do. Then if you're up for it, do it yourself. Oh, and if you're going to install lighting, you may want to hire an electrician if you don't have experience.

There's a company in Florida that specializes in ceilings. For inspiration, I'm including a link to their website:
http://www.degeorgeceilings.com/
I think they started out in upstate NY, but are HQ'd in Florida now with stores in NY and OH. According to their press, they are Armstrong tile company's biggest retailer. And not that you qualify, but they do have an Ugly Ceiling Contest.

I'm not sure that just because you may need to get to the AC unit in the ceiling you have to use ceiling tiles. You can create an access panel (a square piece of drywall) and put up a nice piece of trim (painted in the ceiling color) around it. Then you just pop it up if you need to get up into the ceiling. All you need to worry about is size and placement.

Jonathan here: Thanks for the suggestions already! I think I would be pretty worried about walling in a piece of machinery that needs maintenance and eventual replacement. Plus, an access hatch would need to be a full 6 feet long to allow people to get to the electronics panel, the drain, and the overflow emergency shutoff switch they installed. The photo makes the unit look much shorter than it is: it takes up half the length of the hallway!

I had considered trying prefinished bamboo flooring on aluminum angle brackets. Thoughts? Too heavy looking? Can you get 4" lengths that wouldn't require wasting 1/3 of each board?

You could always try the bamboo - just buy one box and see how it looks/works. Personally I love tongue and groove ceilings (and we have them planned for our back patio), but they definitely could be a bit much on a lowered ceiling. You probably won't know until you try it.

Most wood floors come in boxes with random lengths about 12-48" (or is it 60?), which could mean a lot of waste, I'd think, with an upside down application. We just installed 100 boxes of engineered wood, and several of the boxes seemed to be made up of mostly short pieces.

You might want to check into actual tongue and groove planks meant for ceilings - I am pretty sure they would more likely come in standard lengths. They also are available in panels that look like T&G, I think.

maybe no dropped ceiling at all, but the entire space painted flat black--it would allow for more head room, and unify the disparate elements.

Granted, the ceiling may be too low for this to work, but with all the wiring and piping and stuff, it might.

I had the same problem in my former condo. One solution I considered was to install a corrugated steel panel, which could unscrew for easy access. Let untreated, it would also reflect light coming from the entry. I would imagine it would be pretty easy to rig it with recessed lights if you wanted, too.

You should just stick with the drop ceiling, anything else would be too heavy and it would be a lot of work to put an access panel of a 6 foot size. They have so many cool colors these day's...I particularly like the silver http://www.americantinceilings.com/colors/colors-silvers.html

Remember to keep the old boards as a template for more accurate cuts and no measuring.

You could do as they do aboard ships and use metal ceiling panels - To do this, you could use metal panels that are intended for use as standing-seam metal roofing, have it cut to the sizes you need and slide them in on the existing rails, using the tabs and grooves to interlock the panels without permanently connnecting them.

These would also support your can lights, vents, etc - and could be spray-painted w/ Krylon paints on the underside to give the finish you desire.

These are great ideas!! So far I'm really intrigued by the suggestions of painting everything black and leaving it open, using plain metal panels like a standing seam roof, or putting in corrugated tin. I think all of those would look so much better than a boring drop ceiling, not cost a lot, and not add more foam or plastic to the environment. Excellent!

I wonder if you could use those pierced metal panels made for radiator covers instead of standard panels? You could paint them any way you liked and they would add textural interest as well as provide ventilation.

If you are looking for a conversation piece, another idea would be to put in a translucent acrylic/resin panel. The companies that come to mind are http://www.livinglass.com/portfolio/portfolio_residential_residential4.html and http://www.3-form.com/materials-varia.php, but even their "reclaim" areas can be a bit pricey.

Might be possible to DIY something similar with some plexiglass panels and some creativity (i.e. spray paint, organic thin paper, fabric)---you could even add some subtle dimmer controlled backlighting.

I was thinking the same this as geojenn suggested. It will be a more interesting space if you do something unique and creative.

I think you'd want to cover it up in order to cut down on the noise it makes.

I was also thinking about translucent acrylic. Either frosted or covered with a frosted film, in panels that could be removed, just like a drop screen. You could even go for different colored panels, although that might get a little too disco . . .

Along the same line(s) as other comments.....

painting out the whole shebang in black is valid-
but ONLy is the ceiling were 5ft taller...
in which case-
Paint it out ALL White (or a slight Antique White)

PlanB-
Perforated Metal.
Look at McNichols (http://www.mcnichols.com/products/perforated/) for a start- they can even cut them to size for you-
you could even use a standard dropped Ceiling Grid..

Plan C.
Install some LED strip lights along the angle of the ceiling and wall- in conjunction w/ Plan A and Plan B

Thank you everyone for such great ideas! I have a lot to look into and I'm almost starting to wish I had more drop ceilings around to try these out on.

The sound issue of leaving the space open is something I hadn't considered so I think I'm going to narrow things down to either the corrugated tin or the perforated metal options. The acrylic is an amazing idea and I'd love to try it, but I think it is probably too glossy for the style of rest of the condo -- the opposite wall is rough exposed brick and most of my art consists of urban/street pieces. Plus metal has the advantage of introducing less plastic into the mix which is better environmentally.

I'm definitely going to look into the LED strip lights suggestion -- that would look perfect and be easy to install.

Have you considered a wooden grille style? You could paint the mechanical space black, place a sound insulating material over the ducts if it is a concern for you, and use a wooden grille as the ceiling surface. Often, a square or circular shape can be cut out, and a recessed fixture can "float" in that opening - for example, a round fixture that would not touch the edge of the square opening, but would remain flush with the ceiling plane.

If you are adept with tools, you might be able to construct it yourself, with materials from a lumber yard or home store.

You might want to consider the color of the wood, or even painting it to work for you and your space. I personally feel that slender wood pieces look most modern, but that is just a personal preference.

Good luck!

Check these links for inspiration:

http://www.woodceilings.com/grille.html
http://www.woodceilings.com/projects.html
http://www.ceilingsplus.com/products/grillz/index.htm
http://www.ceilingsplus.com/projects/index.htm?Grillz

Also, if you go with a grille, the intake vent can be hidden above or integrated with the grille.

One thing that I saw this past weekend and actually commented on to my friends is something I saw at a Chili's (of all places). They had wide wood flooring with the planks offset so it didn't form a perfect rectangle and I thought if you need a drop ceiling, that'd be a neat way to go.

Hey guys,

What a great forum and some very helpful responses. I figure I'd add my 2 cents. I had a basement reconstruction that I did where I used an old drop ceiling grid and added new tiles. I looked at all the major ones but was sold on www.ceilume.com because they have the best prices and in my opinion the best looking tiles. I chose to get their free samples which I thought I would have had to pay shipping on but when I went to check out they were 100% free. Here is a link to their sample page:

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

Most of the other people charged for samples but these guys literally give them away for free. I asked why and they said because they really want their customers to know what the product they are buying will look like. Sounds like good business people to me.

Anyway I had a few fans and a lot of Can lights to put in which proved to be no problem for these tiles. My concerndwas that they would look crappy, but after a few tries I perfected the cutting and installation. I am extremely happy with my new basement.

I chose to go with the Stratford design and installation could not have been easier. Check these guys out, they know what they're doing and have GREAT customer service.

www.ceilume.com

Good luck to all