Drywall or drop ceiling?

The downturn ed housing market has many folks staying right where they are for at least another two years. Many are turning to the basement as a source of new living space, adding game rooms, home offices, even bedrooms. The big dilemma is always whether or not to drywall the ceiling. Murphy’s Law says once you drywall, the dishwasher will spring a leak above or you will need to repair something now hidden above the drywall.

Proper planning can give you the best of both worlds. For example, locating a “dummy” register or access panel below any plumbing will give water a place to escape and save your ceilings- just be careful what you put right underneath it! A good Set of mechanical drawings and many photographs with reference points will also come in extremely handy when trying to pull a new wire or fix a pipe.

As far as HVAC goes, we like to locate, adjust and secure the handles for all balancing dampers so they cannot blow shut later. We also install ports for cleaning the trunk ducts later on and provide access holes. Inspecting and sealing all of the ducts is the most important thing we can do, stopping 30% of your energy from leaking out above the ceiling.

And all the fooey about whether the supplies should be high or low… skip it! The giant holes in the duct itself have to go away to keep the system pressurized. Put the supplies at the perimeter in the ceiling where you will get the most airflow, but add a low return to get the cold air off of the floor. The heat near the ceiling will then come down to replace the cold air and you will be able to watch a movie without your feet being cold.

I can’t give up all of my secrets here, but you know where to find us!