Not wanting to apply drywall to the ceiling of my home theater and needing access to pipes and wires above, I came up with the following idea:

What if I were to buy 4'x8' sheets of 1/2" drywall and cut them into squares or rectangles (13 1/2" W) and then paint them black. Then take 1X4's and attach 1/2" X 3" boards on top using liquid nails. This would leave a 1/2" groove on each side. These boards would then be stained a dark cherry or oak and then attached along each joist. The drywall panels would then be inserted between the strips of 1x4's. I would then place additional strips of 1x4's between the drywall squares or rectangles going the opposite direction.

Advantages:
No taping and mudding the drywall
Ceiling would be very secure and level
Lighting could be very easily added
Access to pipes and wiring above

Possible Disadvantages:
Would the drywall panels vibrate with the sound of the theater?

Please give me your comments and let me know if this is a good idea or not. My ceiling would be fully insulated before the drywall panels would be inserted. Would the drywall panels be better for the sound quality of the room compared to ordinary ceiling tiles? Has anybody ever done anything like this? If so, how did it come out?

Im not a pro, but my first thought would be that even though they are cut, there is a lot of weight on the 1x4 strips. Then the strips would have nail, or screw holes showing too. Anything not secured will vibrate at a certain frequency. Might also be code violations if the pannels arent secure.

Like I said, im no pro, just my $0.02

The weight of the drywall panels was also a concern of mine. I would need to fully secure the smaller strips of 1x4's to the larger 1x4's that would be between the drywall panels. As far as the screws showing, I could sink the scews into the 1x4's about every 2 feet and insert a wooden plug to cover up the screw and stain as well.

I am going to have to do more thinking about this.

Check out MBGONZOMD in the search box he has the ceiling almost the way you want, try to link it could`nt error for some reason. he has picture also looks good.

Also they talk about if it a good Idea Acoustically or not, or drop ceiling and they have acoustic properties, [They left out the part until they are painted]. Don't worry about acoustics work around your needs, some people sheet rock over electrical boxs, Pipes, Valves for the look they want and repair as they need to.

They also mention a drop ceiling that mounts to the Joists or to strips of 1x2, track goes up, tiles in track, second part of track goes in and snaps in place. I have used this ceiling in my Laundry room, access to ceiling no problem. But when replacing tiles have clean hands. CelingMax company name.

Good Luck!

This is the picture that might be similar to your Home Theater.

Thank you Silver-Fox, this is exactly what I am thinking about doing. I will check out the threads you suggested for additional information.

That looks a lot sturdier than i had imagined before....looks nice.