Paneling/flooring on a ceiling: Good or bad idea?

Simple paneling (60's/70's style)....easy up & easy down. If it gets ruined, it's an easy and inexpensive fix. Relatively light to work with and secure.

Almost exactly like the 'soup-of-the-day' ..... 'ship-lap'.

As a Realtor I would not advise putting up paneling. To me in most cases it looks cheap. It also tends to be rather saggy over time. There is some expensive paneling that would be ok but it is fairly heavy. I think that most drop ceilings are the same (cheap looking). The beadboard is ok but I would think rather heavy to put up. I think I would go with some kind of planking. One thing to think about is they make a (not sure what it is called) drywall jack that will allow the entire sheet of whatever you decide to be taken and put up in place for securing with minimal handling. Using pallet board as one person suggested could be interesting or even some rough sawn cedar. Not sure how large your dining room is but maybe go to a home improvement place and look at the siding accessories in vinyl. They make polymer boards and other items that could be very cool as a ceiling.

Get the right type of breadboard. DO NOT use flooring or paneling. It will bow or sag after time. So if you have to do all that work, choose the right product.

They rent a machine that you can place drywall on and the raise to ceiling and screw in at big box store like home depth and Menard or lowes. Ask them because paneling will still need to be nailed in to something sturdy and while ceiling is open you may want to insulate it in a house that age it would really help.

Yes, my wife's uncle did it in a beautiful old home in San Antonio. It was one of my favorite features.

We built our home 7 years ago after we torn down some very old buildings. We used tongue & groove 100+ year old pine boards for our ceilings in over half of our home. We cleaned them, ran them though a planer and then I just sealed them before my husband put them up. They are the highlight of our home, that and the pre-Civil War beams we used as a mantle and support beam in my kitchen. I say go for it, if you get a leak you do not have to worry about replacing Sheetrock. Good luck!

Thank you, very very much, for reusing old materials! Entirely too often I've seen projects "brand-new" instead of green oriented, as well as useful materials being burned or otherwise tossed away. Makes my heart break.

Due to other issues, we've now decided to go sheet rock, more's the pity. However you have raised a topic for us to discuss, as we're also removing the red pine flooring in the attic. We thought about planing the lumber and reusing it for the walls up there, but...maybe the kitchen? Hmmm.

Thanks again!

What ever you choose to have done, have it done for you by professionals. It is not worth damaging your health for a ceiling!

Some buildings require materials to be incredibly fire resistant, making wood a potential no-go for your facade. This is especially true in multi-story or multi-family housing, where fire spread could be catastrophic.

Additionally, wood is the food of choice for a number of common pests. Since wood is an organic material, some insects and animals will use your wood ceilings as food or nest-making materials.

We have tongue and groove on our porch ceiling and I love it, as long as there are no leaks, you should be fine. As always, be sure it is up to code.