The ceiling is 7'-8" to the underside of the subfloor above and just over 7'-0 to the underside of the joists. By keeping the joists open you can achieve a more airy feel to the space even when you are limited by the existing conditions. Thanks for your inquiry.

Do you know if building code considers the height between joists in an application with exposed joists like this, or do they look at the height to the underside of the joists? We have a basement that is slightly less than the 7' minimum and I was thinking leaving the joists exposed could potentially help us meet the code.

Curious about above as well. Did you get an answer somewhere else mt1652? Our ceiling is 6'-10" at the underside of the joists, but 7'-6" to the underside of the subfloor.