One project always leads to another!

We were watching a DIY show the other night, and had to laugh when they started talking about how one project always leads to another.  This one homeowner remodeled his kitchen.  When he looked around, he realized that the old windows and doors stuck out like a sore thumb compared to his brand new cabinets and countertops.  So he ended up replacing his door and windows. We can certainly relate.  When does it all end?  So we found ourselves looking at the family room ceiling as the next project.

It has been a good two months since we finished our kitchen, and we are quite pleased with the results, but the acoustic tile in the family room stuck out like a sore thumb.  The tile in the family room ceiling were dingy, and probably contained asbestos.

The other item that stuck out like a sore thumb were the nasty 1980's ceiling fans.  Not only were the fans out of place, they also made the ceiling feel lower.  Because the basement is already 10 degrees cooler than the upper level, the fans were not really needed.  So we removed them.

We thought about painting the ceiling tile, but it has textured grooves, which would not be easy to tackle with a roller, and we did not want to tape and cover everything for spraying.  We also considered covering it up with additional acoustic tile (with a smooth surface), or gluing faux tin tile to it (no, it's not what you think-there are actually flat, non-embossed faux tin tile available).  I suggested a third option: 1/4 inch drywall.  LD was not too thrilled about the dust or the out of pocket expense we would have to incur by hiring someone to install it.

In the mean time, we ordered a couple of sofas for the living room a few weeks ago, and we decided we should get the ceiling done before the furniture gets delivered.  We priced out the cost of installing acoustic tile, faux tin tile, and called our handyman for a drywall estimate.  Putting in drywall was certainly higher than what the acoustic or faux tin tile would have cost us, but it was within our budget.   We decided to go with drywall because it would give the room a cleaner look.

We had to lightly sand the ceiling, vacuum and mop up all the dust, and paint the first coat of primer.  Several areas will need some additional mud, then we get to put on two coats of ceiling paint on top of that.  I hate painting, but I especially hate painting ceilings!  We are exhausted.