There are many ceiling options.
While suspended ceiling panels may be convenient in terms of installation and repair, they do drop the height of the ceiling a significant amount and they are not the most attractive ceiling option. Fortunately, plenty of alternatives to this type of ceiling material exist. If you have a suspended ceiling, you never know what may be underneath, just waiting for a little renovation.
Drywalled Ceilings
Drywalled ceilings are very common and offer a nice, smooth surface. These panels must be screwed into ceiling joists for stability and safety. This type of ceiling surface can be used to cover over a textured ceiling, so long as the drywall screws are long enough to penetrate through the drywall and into the joists -- typically 3-inch are sufficient for this job. Drywall is relatively inexpensive and easy to install, requiring only tape and mud to finish the job.
Tongue and Groove Ceilings
This type of ceiling requires special tongue and groove panels that are made out of wood or sometimes even a plastic material. They are laborious to install as each piece has to be finished or painted separately and then nailed into place over the ceiling joists. It is preferable to drywall for many, however, as the panels weigh much less. This type of ceiling requires regular cleaning, especially if it is the plastic variety, which can easily catch dust.
Exposed Beam Ceilings
Exposed beam ceilings hearken back to a more rustic time and a simplified style of building. In this case, the ceilings joists are visible. Exposed beam ceilings can be beautiful if the wood of the beams is stained and covered with a high-gloss polyurethane coat, or they can simply be left bare for a very rustic look. This style of ceiling is very common in log cabins and lodge-style homes, but is not normally seen in ranch or traditional-style homes where ceilings are lower, typically in the range of 7 to 9 feet in height.
Plaster Ceilings
Plaster ceilings are rare today, but prior to 1950, they were the norm. In older homes, lath strips were laid down first. Three successive coats of plaster were then applied over this surface. Plaster is a very hard building material and dries to an attractive textured finish that can be painted. The downside is that plaster does not move or give as a house shifts or settles. Seasonal temperature changes and regular building shifts can cause unsightly cracks to appear which must be patched on a regular basis.
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