Suggestions for bathroom ceiling material?

Question

I'm doing a complete upgrade of a funky semi-finished full bath in my basement.  The height from the bare concrete floor to the current ceiling is barely 83",  I will be installing porcelain tile on the floor so I will lose at least another inch there.  The present ceiling is poured formed concrete (this portion of the cellar is under a porch) with 1" thick styrofoam insulation board glued on it.  The ceiling area is roughly 7' x 7' square.   I want the finished ceiling to look fairly attractive. 

 If I attach furring strips (by cutting gaps in the foam and using a hammer drill to drill into the concrete to fasten the wood) and hang drywall, I will be loosing another couple of inches of height.  Would it be possible to use construction adhesive to attach sheets of a good quality laminate directly to the styrofoam or would that look funky?  I would have to seam it somehow since maximum laminate is 5' wide.  How about that wood paneling that looks a little like narrow wainscotting?  Any other suggestions from experienced bathroom contractors?  I'm doing a large full tile walk in shower in there too (42" x 60"), and would need to install a low profile ceiling in that as well.  I have heard that tile over handiboard is hard to do on a ceiling for an amateur -- I gather I would have to build some kind of temporary support for the tile until the mortar set, right?  

The foam is tightly bonded to the concrete.  I removed some that was glued the same way to the walls and it was a bear to scrape off.  Could I glue waterproof drywall directly to that foam or would that be asking for trouble?

The original installation was all those hideous laminate panels in gloss white with the gold swirls, glued directly onto wall studs or to the foam wall insulation with plastic strips over the seams.  Don't want anything like that again.  Moisture resistance is not a huge issue.  I had French drains and a complete vinyl weep wall system installed in that room and the walls and floor are dry.  It will also have an exhaust fan and it has a large ventilated glass block window above grade.

Any recommendations for a low profile, nice looking ceiling would be appreciated.  Thanks is advance.

cabinfixer · Accepted Answer

If the ceiling is smooth and even under the foam I would remove the foam (even if it took a grinder), and use construction adhesive (instant grab) to attach 1/4 inch drywall. you would need to make a couple of 2x4 t-braces to hold it in place till the adhesive sets. If that works be sure to use fiberglass mesh tape on the joints. Paper would be iffy there. Moisture will be an issue unless the room is vented somehow. I'd definitely use a semi-gloss or gloss paint that would repel moisture. Might want to consider a good looking vinyl floor covering to save a 1/2 inch or so of that precious space. Good luck

Anonymous · Answer

Bathroom Ceiling Material

? · Answer

You can go get some stainless Mesh, they use it for tile, stucco, and other 1st time applications when it comes to concrete. It comes in sheets and you can cut it to the size you need with snips. It is sharp though so wear gloves. Then you drill holes and screw it to the concrete, by applying screws every 2 ft. If its on the ceiling I'd do every foot. Then if you want to do tile, you can do what they call a base coat, take a trowel and smear mortar all over it, then when it's a little dryer come back with a brush and ruff it up so the surface is not smooth. Then you can come back the next day and mortar your tiles to them, then when they are dry, you can infill them. Or you can just use power grab to stick the tiles to it. Once dry infil it with grout. You can also just scew the mesh to it and power grab your other panels to it.

Gloria · Answer

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You are going to have to go to a Lowe's. There are at least 3 different thickness types of texture paint. I used the least to paint a bathroom because I was too lazy to sand off really old wall paper paste. It may be falling off because of the condition of the plaster underneath. Parents had a whole ceiling of texture fall down while drying because of little pieces of old wallpaper on ceiling. (They had a really, really old house.) Get the thicker texture and good solid rollers. I know for the bathroom I had to use big, really heavily bristled brushes for the stroke pattern I wanted. It's lasted though!

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Suggestions for bathroom ceiling material?

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