Semi-finished basement advice please. Exposed insulation? Pipes on walls?

[prodarwin]

I'm semi-finishing the main room in my basement.  By semi-finishing, I mean:  Just painting the walls, finishing the floor (polish or epoxy), and generally making it nicer, lighter, less dirty place to spend time.  It will be used for storage for many things, as well as a computer area/tinker-space for myself, and my dog will likely stay there when left home alone.

I've painted half  of the walls already, and I like the way it turned out.  I need to paint the remaining half, but I haven't figured out how to go about doing it.  You can see in the photos that on the unpainted block walls, 2 pipes run along them.  #1 is the sewage pipe, #2 is the radon vent.  I don't want to disconnect these at all.  I'm leaning toward just painting over/around them the best I can.

The other problem I have is the ceiling.  I DO NOT want to do a drop ceiling.  My ceiling is of a pretty reasonable height, and I want to keep it that way.  I want to spray the ceiling black and down-light the area, sort of like many gyms, chipotle, etc.  Example:    The problem is, the insulation is exposed in my ceiling.  What is the best and/or easiest method of covering this?

Pictures of basement:

[paddedhat]

One trick I have done on the ceiling issue is to put a removable ceiling in, between the floor joists. It's actually cheap and easy. You can either take 1"x3" furring strips, and nail them flat to the bottoms of the joists, in a "Tee" profile, or take 1" x 2" strips and nail them to the sides of the joists, flush with the bottom. Now cut strip of sheetrock, 48" x 14'1/4" or so, and lay them up into the bays, so that the rest on the top of the strips. This will give you a paintable surface, and still give access to any mechanical systems above. I would imagine that the interesting pic. of the black ceiling was done by spraying everything flat black. If you do the removable panels, paint everything but the panels, then paint the panels on the ground. If you spray them in place, every time they shift, you will have odd white stripes showing. Good luck

[babysteps]

Depending on fire codes and personal preference, a couple more ideas:

black fabric (may need to be fire treated to meet code) - likely easier to stretch over frames first, then attach the frames to your joists

metal mesh that you paint black - easier to do in sections or panels than trying to make it 100% uniform

black paint can work wonders, but remember that some of your pipes may require priming or may be better left unpainted (ask someone who knows - I'm vaguely remembering some folks think painting pvc is a bad idea...or maybe that was some other material...)

random thought - live theater stage managers will know all about painting things black to make them disappear, if you know any it's worth asking them for ideas.

Good luck!

[GuitarStv]

First question . . . why is there exposed insulation in your basement ceiling?  Isn't there a house above that?  There's no need to insulate between the floors.  You could always pull the insulation down and then carry on with your spray painting plan.

[prodarwin]

First question . . . why is there exposed insulation in your basement ceiling?  Isn't there a house above that?  There's no need to insulate between the floors.  You could always pull the insulation down and then carry on with your spray painting plan.

Yes, but the basement is unheated space.  The other side is a large 2-car garage, which is not well insulated from the outdoors.

[Spork]

If you're planning on painting that pvc... get a paint or primer specifically made to do that.  Talk to the dude at the paint counter.  It has a habit of not sticking otherwise.

[Boz86]

Another thought, not saying better, just different, is that you could replace the batt insulation with spray on foam. Just be sure the foam you use is paintable.

Pros, new insulation paintable and better than batts
Cons, more work and money than other options

Even more time, work, and money would be to make the basement part of the conditioned space. But you'd need to insulate the basement walls, drywall over, paint, etc.

[Greg]

If you've got the wiring and ducting as you want it, drywall is the best option and may be required as fire protection in some areas if you're going to use the space.  I've seen white coated foil-surfaced kraft paper and similar product that you can staple up, not sure if it meets code for areas under living space.

If it were me, I'd relocate as many utilities into the joist spaces as possible, then drywall.  It creates a nice clean look (when finished, underway it's dusty etc.).

Another thought for the wall-mounted drains, maybe create a shelf on top with some nice finished wood.  You could leave the pipes exposed or cover according to your taste.

[GuitarStv]

If the basme

First question . . . why is there exposed insulation in your basement ceiling?  Isn't there a house above that?  There's no need to insulate between the floors.  You could always pull the insulation down and then carry on with your spray painting plan.

Yes, but the basement is unheated space.  The other side is a large 2-car garage, which is not well insulated from the outdoors.

Ah.  Personally, I wouldn't put much time and effort into finishing an unheated basement.  If you're making a nice, livable space you might as well do it right and make it comfortable temperature wise.

[dorkus619]

Awesome ideas here - I especially like the idea of the ceiling strips inbetween joists. Seems like a lot of work, but a great way to keep the height and cover the insulation.

I have a similar project going on with my basement. I don't have insulation anywhere in the basement though :/ Probably wreaks havoc on my heating bills now that I think of it. It's an old house. My BF and I want to make the basement acceptable to hang out in but not necessarily "livable space." I don't want to put a whole lot of time, energy, or money into it because frankly I want to sell the house as soon as I'm right-side-up again.

Good luck, keep us updated on progress!

[PantsOnFire]

I know you said don't want to do a drop ceiling, but are you aware that it only needs to drop like 1-2" from the existing height?  And the panels and framework can still be painted black (or possibly even purchased that way?) 

You get a lot of advantages with drop ceilings, and they are pretty simple to DIY.  It hides the rough-in utilities, gives you convenient places to run speaker wires, lighting, etc. and buffers sound while making the room less echo-ey (which really comes in handy if you use the space as a home theater or party room.)