I’m not a fan of dropped ceilings. My house is full of them.
Underneath the sixties era acoustic tiles are original plaster ceilings now punctured by nailers. There’s no saving them.
If they could be saved, I’ve seen some pretty great results from people skim coating a layer of joint compound over old plaster. That isn’t possible here.
In one room, we took the drastic route — we ripped it all out.
If you’ve never removed plaster, let’s just say it’s a really dirty job.
We exposed the beams and the bottom of the floors above, and it honestly looks great. It’s dark, but it’s got character. Plus we actually got a little ceiling height.
I don’t have the fortitude to do it throughout the house.
There are probably many options, but it strikes me that simply pulling out the tiles and putting quarter inch sheetrock up is the fastest, simplest answer. Not easy - nothing about ceilings are easy. But simple.
If we ever get that done, maybe we can sheetrock over some of the seventies panelling that’s on every wall, too.