Saturday, January 29, 2011

Finishing Basement: Black Ceiling

Instead of putting up dry-wall or a drop-ceiling, we took an easier approach, and it come with many benefits! It gave us higher ceilings, the appearance of a larger room and a unique industrial look! 

It started out as old (1945) bare wood and asbestos return-air ducts... 

Some of the air-ducts were wrapped in old fiberglass insulation...

They were also covered in 66 years worth of dust and spider webs...

...Now back to the asbestos, since it can be hazardous to your health when airborne we first sprayed it with spray paint to keep it contained, took a sample and sent it to get tested, got a confirmation, called in the professionals and paid a very pretty penny to have it removed. I personally would have grabbed some heavy-duty trash bags, put on a heavy-duty mask and gone to town... but it worried Trav and to me his peace-of-mind was well worth it!

They also detected asbestos around the air-ducts between the floors so we sealed them with spray foam and foil tape...

And ran flexible tubing through them.

After replacing the return air-ducts, removing the old fiberglass insulation, cleaning all the boards, steal beams and air-ducts, reconfiguring the plumbing higher, and installing can-lights we used a paint sprayer and sprayed it all with flat black paint... 





With everything on the ceiling painted black it doesn't draw your eyes upward... Yet when your eyes do glance up I personally think it looks quite intriguing!

Other Finishing Basement Projects:

{This post was shared on The DIY Showoff.}
The DIY Show Off
XO,


   Jaclyn

Thank you so much for visiting CHC! I love your sweet comments, and read all of them! Please become a Follower and a fan on facebook…

95 comments:

  1. Your ceiling looks awesome. I plan on painting mine black this weekend. Any tips? What type of primer did you use? Also, what did you use for the molding around the top. Anyway, you could show a closer picture so I can show my wife. Thanks

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  2. Raleigh~ Thank you! You'll love it! If you don't have a paint sprayer you can rent one at Home Depot. We went ahead and purchased one at Lowes because we knew we would get a lot of use out of it. And make sure all your plumbing and electrical work is done first so you can spray it all at once. I like the Bulls Eye 123 Plus Advanced Technology Primer For All Surfaces, and Kilz Clean Start (it's Zero VOC, though I've only seen it at Wal-Mart). After spraying the ceiling we added a piece basic crown molding around the top. We didn't have much room between the ceiling and windows but wide crown molding looks great with this type of ceiling finish! ...Hope that helps you! Good luck this weekend!

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  3. Wow. In our basement we have a tone of pipes and wiring that hang down low so we would have to move a lot of things around if we want to put a ceiling in. This seems like a much better idea. I'm your newest follower. I would love it if you linked your project up to my link party.
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  4. Great work! I'm in the process of finishing our basement and am struggling over low duct work. This looks like a very appealing option. At some points, my ceiling is just under 7 ft. Just curious, how tall are your ceilings? Do you think this is an appealing option with such low ceilings? Thanks and again great work!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I'm in the same situation - wondering if I should go with white paint over black to make the basement look more "open". Any thoughts?

      Delete
  5. Love your post. We also painted our basement ceilings with a flat black paint about 1 year ago. I could not be happier with the outcome!! Suspended ceilings just don't appeal to me. We get sooooo many compliments on our basement ceilings. :)

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  6. I'm prepping my basement right now for the same paint job. Couple of questions....

    How did you prep the surface? My ceiling is covered in dust and we are shop vac'ing it, wondering what you did to get a "clean" surface.

    What brand paint did you use? Did you try a couple different brands? did you prime it as well?

    Thanks!

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  7. Wow. Looks great. Did any paint come through on the other side of the floor, that is, any seepage? Also how did you insuate the outside ceiling cornter prone to drafts? Thanks

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  8. Thanks! Nope, no seepage! We insulation along the outside wall between the floor joist by measuring and cutting out pieces of foam board and spraying around the edges with spray foam, then painting it all black.

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  9. hello. your ceiling looks great! i am in the latter stages of finishing my basement and we have to get the ceiling sprayed because it is too low and has too much going on to do anything else. many told me to spray it black and i am hesitant because i dont want it to look too low- i was thinkin white or gray... what made you decide on black, does it feel "closed in" and how hih were your ceilins to begin with? i just dont want to make a decision i will regret! thanks for your help if you can!

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  10. Your ceiling is amazing - before I saw your pictures, I thought we would have to have stick w/a an unfinshed ceiling - yours is dramatic - love it! we have quite a low basement especially where the air ducts run - did you put a solution on any of the duct work that had an oil film - we were told that vinegar would get rid of it - could I ask you what black paint # & brand you used - I went out and purchased a dark brown (which I thought you had used) so I'll try to change it. Any advice w/wires, etc. - do you cover them before painting? thanks, Tina

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  11. I'm also curious about all the wiring. I've just taken down a drop ceiling only to reveal a hot mess of wires that were just strung everywhere. Can you just spray over them? Some of them will be re-strung as I'm changing out the huge work shop lights that are there now. But will the paint damage them in any way? Thanks, L

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  12. this is just what I was looking for. I just took down a drop ceiling and thought it would be cool to just leave the wood exposed; painted black..thanks for the pics

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  13. No problems with paint sticking to the foil tape?

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  14. I have a basement return air duct thats asbastos and is nailed to the floor joyces, can I Dry wall over the asbastos.... help!!!!!

    ReplyDelete
  15. Your ceiling looks great. I'm going to do this also but I'm going to paint mine white. Gret job...

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  16. I think I would paint the crown molding black and maybe paint the doors black too!

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  17. How did it go painting the can lights? I'm getting ready to paint my ceiling and was wondering about the heat from the lights messing up the paint on the cans.

    Thanks

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  18. Thank you for the fantastic article. The place else could anyone get that kind of info in such a perfect means of writing? I have a presentation next week, and I am at the search for such information.

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  20. While other focus on improving their living room or kitchen, there are those who take the time to think of ways to renovate their basements for various purposes. The given sample in this post is admirable. This gives other home owners an idea as to improve their basements. Thanks!

    ReplyDelete
  21. Health is one issue we shouldn’t take for granted. Especially when buying older houses with the possibility of asbestos! Glad to see you got rid of that nasty stuff. You ceiling looks great, the flat black color went so good with the vents. It is a great improvement of what you had before. Thanks for this article!

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  22. Your black painted ceiling is awesome, gives it a loft effect. My basement project already has tile, carpet, theater system, bar, but I really want this black ceiling. Who can I contact for a bid? Thanks for sharing.

    ReplyDelete
  23. Hello,

    I'm the assistant multimedia producer for HouseLogic.com, a site published by the National Association of Realtors® covering home ownership-related topics.

    Would you be interested in granting us permission to use your painted ceiling image in an upcoming article? Email me at libby@houselogic.com for the details. Thanks!

    Libby

    ReplyDelete
  24. Love the look of your ceiling and thinking about doing the same in my basement, quick question, how is the noise level, did u think about insulating the basement ceiling with either foam board or spray foam before painting?

    ReplyDelete
  25. I really like this idea. We are in design phase of a basement finish and are not sure what to do with the ceiling given the low starting height (7ft). Would you be able to post a few more pictures of your basement, but this time further out from the ceiling? I would like to get a better look at entire flow from floor to ceiling. I'm trying to wrap my head around the look. Thank you!

    ReplyDelete
  26. Getting professionals to get rid of the asbestos was a smart move. While it may have cost a lot, I'm sure they managed to do a quick and thorough job with the proper equipment. That aside, the flat black paint makes the ceiling look very interesting. The fact that you didn't hide the ducts and beams gave it that industrial feel you were talking about.

    ReplyDelete
  27. Does the black make the basement seem smaller? I am thinking of doing the same but using white or lighter color paint.

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  28. Perfect finishing..
    I have ever seen such kind of finishing.
    Professional service by you...
    Great job...

    ReplyDelete
  29. Do you have any interior walls in this basement? If so, were you able to close off the opening above the wall and between the joists? Particularly those with plumbing pipes or HVAC ducts running through them.

    ReplyDelete
  30. Thanks for sharing bro....!!!
    Nice basement finishing ideas.
    Keep it up bro...!!
    Hope that we will get more from you in the next post..!!!

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  31. Basement Finishing Videos teaches you how to finish basement.If you are looking for basement finishing cost then basement finishing videos would help you. How to frame a basement to how to finish a basement , such questions would be solved. Basement basement finishing cost

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  32. Just did the black ceiling this morning with a sprayer...2 hours to totally awesome and hip!

    ReplyDelete
  33. I'm a huge fan of what you did with your basement! It looks so nice, and I think you're right about the whole intriguing look. If you don't mind I think I'll do something similar in my basement.
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  34. Did you paint the light fixtures or where did you find black can lights?

    ReplyDelete
  35. This looks great! We are planning to do a few (hopefully inexpensive and easy) things to make our unfinished basement look more appealing when we go to sell in a year. I am going to show this to my hubby!

    ReplyDelete
  36. This really looks great, but what about insulation? The on-line advice seems to be that you should insulate your basement ceiling. Has this been an issue for you at all?

    ReplyDelete
  37. I m putting up a new ceiling fan. There are four cables in the ceiling and two wall switches. Black and white for one cable goes to each wall switch. The other two cables use only the black wire and one goes to each wall switch. So each switch has two black wires and one white, and there are four black wires and two white in the ceiling.

    The old fan had three of the black wires twisted together with the black wire from the fan. The two white wires were twisted together with the white wire from the fan. The remaining black wire was attached to the blue wire on the fan.

    My new ceiling fan has a remote. The remote sensor only has one black and one white wire for input from the house.

    How do I attach these four cables to the remote sensor?
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  38. using flex tubing in your vents seriously diminishes the air flow to the basement which impacts heating. It also captures extra dust making vent cleaning more difficult.

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  39. You got a really useful blog I have been here reading for about half an hour. I am a newbie and your post is valuable for me.
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  40. I have a question, above in your post it says you put in the can lighting and then painted. How exactly did you do that without painting the lights?
    Thank you!

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  41. I have a question, above in your post it says you put in the can lighting and then painted. How exactly did you do that without painting the lights?
    Thank you!

    ReplyDelete
  42. As I can see you perfectly renovated ceiling. It looks too good.

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  43. nice article, using great equipment to renovate a house will fasten your work, besides it will produce you with smooth result!

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  44. I am in the planning phase of finishing our basement, and wondered where the best place was to buy materials and supplies. I'm asking more about drywall, lumber, screws, etc. since this will be the most expensive part of the first phase. Are the Big Box stores (Lowes, Home Depot, etc.) the most cost effective choice, or is there a more cost effective alternative?
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    ReplyDelete
  45. I did the same thing 4 years ago and never looked back

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  46. We are planning to do this in the basement of our new house. I wanted to let people know that there is a paint called "Dry-fall" by Sherwin Williams, that is made for painting ceilings. Any over-spray dries instantly and falls to the floor, where it is easily swept up. Probably no one will see this little tidbit, since there are so many comments on this article, but I still thought I'd share it. We painted the ceiling in our church gym using Dry-fall...worked like a charm! Just be sure to wear a hat and goggles!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hello-

      Did you paint the light fixtures using dry fall paint or did you find black can lights?

      Delete
  47. Thank you for sharing this interesting and informative article, painting with airless spray gun will be faster and more interesting!


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  49. Hey! It's really great. Thanks for this and please keep posting.
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  50. Thanksfor another wonderful post. Where else could anybody get that type of info in such an ideal way of writing? basement kitchen

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  51. Best to get yourself a good Spray Foam Insulation Company to come do a professional job of sealing it up. We see this alot when were doing spray foam insulation in toronto because so many of the Toronto homes are very old.

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  52. Hey! Hope you are fine.
    Your basement finishing really great and very helpful for me in my Basement Renovation GTA. Thanks for this and please keep posting.

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