Cheap, but classy, way to cover ceiling

Question

My husband and I are adding onto our home. He has been in the construction business for years, so we are doing all of the work ourselves. Give me some ideas for cheap, but tasteful looking, ceiling coverings. With only the two of us doing the work, we do not want to tackle sheet rock! I'd really like something easier and quicker to install.

Janet Pizaro · Answer

Research armstrong.com for the tiles. They are showing a lot of styles.

Marty Anderson · Answer

Wide tongue and groove planking.

Melanie · Answer

You can buy tiles that are made of strofoam online that look like faux tin tiles and after painted with metal paint. .nobody would know. There are several tutorials.  One recently was put up about a mother who made a headboard for her daughter from one and honestly it looked very expensive

Sharon · Answer

A builder friend of mine, was a master at cheap creative ways to use low cost materials. He put up a grid for a hanging ceiling and then cut sheet rock into 2'X4' pieces painted them and put them up instead of more expensive tiles. It looked very nice, and was far more manageable than doing the mud and plaster and sanding and dealing with 4x8 sheets overhead.

Marion Nesbitt · Answer

Depending on your style .....You could brush on bonding agent. Let dry. Then use drywall compound with some bonding agent added and create a faux plaster ceiling. There is pretty inexpensive foam type cove moldings to complete that look.. Friend had a damaged plaster ceiling and I was able to replicate the pattern using above with a putty knife. Load on the compound, spread it around about a foot square or so, they lay the knife fairly flat against the surface and lift it off..

Lagree Wyndham · Answer

We recently had some flooding and the sheet rock (about 4ft up from floor) had to be taken out along with insulation in my parents garage. Instead of using sheet rock again my dad used concrete backerboard. He covered screws and joints with sheet-rock mud and painted with a textured paint( semi Gloss). It was a lot easier and cleaner than sheet-rock. Turned out so well that if I ever build again this will be put on my walls and ceilings. PS the ceiling in my house are textured skip trawled is how they were finished, mine are painted a semi gloss white...shiny ceilings look great

Lynne · Answer

4'x8' sheets of beadboard.

Sharon · Answer

I think you will be able to handle a 2 foot by 4 foot piece of sheet rock and you don't need to use anything thicker than 3/8th thickness, which is a lot lighter. He did it alone. So the two of you should be able to manage if you like the look.

Pam · Answer

If your room will be rustic you could use 4x8 sheets of luan, seal and/or stain before putting up and use lattice or 1x2s to cover seams in a grid either same color or contrast. They are very light and could give a warm rustic feel to the space. Just a crazy idea.

Lyn2398900 · Answer

Old fashioned tin tiles is what I wanted in my bathroom, of all places. But the know how and even the price made me decide to not do it....I still love the idea, especially if you have the right home for it and you like it.

JOHNNY · Answer

Sheet rock / drywall is most likely be required by your building dept. for fire rating & safety & r value requirements & is the cheapest ceiling covering @ 1/2' material, other materials will have to be thicker to achieve the rating required if you rent a drywall lift about $50.wk it is not to hard. Ceiling covering after, wood veneer, metal or now plastic squares, plaster can be textured into shapes, in fact you can do a 3 d mural and paint it

Bananahed · Answer

Thank you so much for all the wonderful ideas. I will research each of them ......

Thank you so much for all your helpful ideas !

Deb K · Answer

Hi Diane, her are a few ideas to hopefully help you out, first one is you could use panels

https://www.homedepot.com/s/woodlook%2520wall%2520panels?NCNI-5

or faux wood

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7rn9kaFKInI

https://www.familyhandyman.com/list/14-ways-to-cover-a-hideous-ceiling/

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