How often do you, or the people advising you, think you will really need to access some pipes or ducts passing over a room? If you have a 2-story house, do you think that you have to tear out your 1st floor ceiling all the time to access pipes and ducts in that ceiling?

Just paint everything in the ceiling area black. Then when you have to access a pipe in 178 years, you won't even have to remove a ceiling tile.

Replace steel and corroded copper water lines, check all electrical connections and take a photo or two before you drywall.

Thank you all! These are really great suggestions and this is definitely making me rethink. My main concern is pipes leaking as hinted to by worthy, but most were just replaced as we had to raise them. The bedroom is below the kitchen so there are gas and water pipes, including a waterline to an outdoor irrigation system. But no, we have never had to access pipes through floors or ceilings on the two floors above ground. Maybe I will stand up for drywall...

It’s been more than 15 years since we finished our basement. I struggled with the ceiling choice(s) because of plumbing cleanouts, HVAC adjustments, etc. Finally I concluded that I had never made HVAC adjustments more than a year after building and access panels could be installed for plumbing and electrical so, I installed drywall.

Drywall can be easily and invisibly patched. But in all the intervening years no access has been necessary. Plus, in my opinion, drywall looks cleaner and is less expensive.

Kaitie, thanks for the suggestion. I agree that this coffered look is a nice option but when I asked my contractor he said we don’t have the height. I think we are at 86” without ceiling and have to stay above 80 but the higher the better.

I am now leaning towards drywall in bedroom. Fnmroberts, good to know that it isn’t too hard to patch if needed. That makes me feel better!

We also have an open storage and laundry space where I would prefer, but feel less strongly about drywall. I will take a second look at Armstrong’s website to look for the most seamless neutral options.

In the unfinished storage and ultility areas I’ll consider black paint.

Thank you all! This has been very helpful!!

@Sarah Jensen - you will need to make measurements on your basement but ours finished at 89” except below the heating ducts where about 10” was lost. To build, I installed 2x4’s flat perpendicular to the joists to clear pipes, then drywall - so 2” was lost.

Believe additional clearance would be necessary for a drop ceiling.

If finished basement, i'd use drywall. IF an unfinished one that is there to be simply a basement - don't even go with drop ceilings but leave the situation alone.

Do keep photographic records of the plumbing if you do drywall.

When I was making that choice a drop ceiling was going to be about twice the price of blueboard and plaster (we don't do drywall in residential construction around here), The drop ceiling was also going to give us much less flexibility for dropping chases to a lower height for HVAC, would have cost most of a foot of dearly won ceiling height across much of the basement. I couldn't justify the expense for the once-in-a-blue-moon need to access something above the ceiling. We put access panels everywhere there was anything that required, or might reasonably expect to need access. Ten years later there has been no need to cut a hole for anything-- nor have I needed to use any of those access panels except for the one with the refrigerator water shutoff valve. .