Textured drywall ceiling

Yoyizit

How to make smooth again?

CrpntrFrk

Type of texture?
Any pictures?
Very....very.... vague.

Yoyizit

The kind you get by pulling the trowel away from the ceiling.
I'm thinking of very thin drywall on top of what's there, with cutouts for the six ceiling downlights.

CrpntrFrk

I still don't follow so I will cover all the bases.
If the texture you have on the ceiling now is very heavy then you may need to scrape some of it down and maybe even sand it(popcorn texture for example). If it is fairly thin texture then you could go over it with thin coats of drywall mud to smooth it out. You would probably still want to sand it just a bit to make sure the skim coat grabs. This will also help if the ceiling has a high sheen for paint. You will want to be careful because if you skim coat too heavy you might get lots of bubbles especially if the ceiling is painted. This will also cut down on sanding depending on how handy you are with a taping knife. I suggest two thin skim coats, sand a bit, prime, check for flashing, then paint with satin paint of choice.

Yoyizit

Thanks.
Can I avoid all sanding by nailing thin drywall to the ceiling, then do the taping, corners, etc.?

7echo

Try moistening an area and then scrape it off with a 8" or similar drywall knife. Some texture will loosen up with a little water from a spray bottle.


How large is the area, and is there insulation above?

CrpntrFrk

Sure can. IMO that would take more time and more money....and maybe more help. But that is a very good alternative.

diy'er on LI

so it's not the infamous popcorn ceiling? I know that can be moistened and scraped off fairly easily.

one consideration... the ceiling is probably not perfectly flat/straight. usually people texture ceilings to cover-up inconsitencies. So be prepared to correct whatever amateurish drywall patch jobs might be present

Willie T

Plan to spend some time on it. This week, I spent about 20 hours bringing an "orange peel" textured kitchen (walls) back to a slick #5 finish for eggshell. Pain in the rear. Took full sanding then three skim coats to finally get it right.

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Willie T

Yoyizit

The more I hear here the more I think I will take down the old drywall in this 16' x 18' room and put up new and hire someone to do the taping.
At least now I know what a level 5 finish is.
Thanks, folks.

bjbatlanta

Sounds like you may be better off covering with another layer (if no crown mold). The old scrape/ sand/ skim is certainly a viable option, if the ceiling has never been painted (and most textured ceilings aren't when the texture is applied). If that's the case, you could rent a power sander (local rental or some Home Depots) and sand it down. The sander has a vac to catch the (majority) of the dust. Skim to the desired level of finish you want, sand, and paint. If it's a ceiling with no insulation above (at least not the "blown in" type), you could tear it out and replace, but you may be better off just hiring out both the hanging and finishing if you're not an experienced hanger. I know I often charge as much or more for "just finishing" due to a poor hanging job....

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Yoyizit

There's no insulation above but there is crown molding; this is getting to be where I should just lift the roof and put another house under it.


What thickness is the thinnest drywall I could reasonably use for this? Then I need to figure out how to minimize the number of butt joints.

bjbatlanta

You can use 1/4" drywall if the texture isn't to heavy and you scrape the roughest part down. Use 1/2" if the ceiling isn't pretty fla. Be sure to locate your ceiling joists for fastening purposes and use long enough nails/screws and adhesive.. If you use 1/4" you could butt to the crown, but getting the drywall to "fasten where there are no nailers is another problem. You can remove the crown carefully and reuse it after hanging another layer. You may want to get an estimate or two rather than attempt it yourself. You can get 12' length 1/4" at a drywall supply (to answer the "butt minimizer" question) but not at HD or Lowes......

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Yoyizit

Thanks.
I'll get bids.

parttimer

I'm trying to match a ceiling texture that I haven't seen before. It sort of looks like a wavy ocean when viewing it from high above. I've attached a photo of it. Anyone have any ideas on how to match this? Thanks.

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