Opening Up the Ceiling

Rooms with higher ceilings may not be very large, but the feeling of space is greater. For those with a small room or a small home, opening up the ceiling could be one way to create more space. Many older homes had tall ceilings, but they could have been lowered for a variety of reasons. When it comes time to remodel or renovate an older home, taking a good look at height in each room could provide a new outlook for the owners.

Heating and cooling larger spaces is more expensive, and saving money could have been one reason for previous owners to have lowered the ceilings in all the rooms. Drop down ceilings became popular about half a century ago, and many of them are still in place. It can be a frightening proposition to see what is above those ugly ceiling tiles, but it could be worthwhile when removing the tiles and their supports is all that needs to be done.

Some ceilings may have been lowered to accommodate a previous remodel on the second floor. Adding a new bathroom upstairs would require running plumbing and electrical beneath the floor joists or through them. Hiding that type of structure work would have been important, and it can impede new renovation plans if the plumbing and electric were run under the joists. Opening up the ceiling in this case could be more like opening a can of worms.

Renovations and remodels always have a few surprises, and many of them are unpleasant and costly. For those looking to add extra light and a feeling of a larger space to their main floor rooms, taking down old ceilings can be worrisome. Many times the previous remodel may have been cosmetic, and the surprises for the new owners is the ease of transitioning the rooms into what they envisioned.