Can I cover our “dated” Texture ceilings?
Question:Our home was built in 1978 and most of the ceilings throughout the house have a textured ceiling. Not necessarily “popcorn ceiling”, but it looks like they plastered it and then make sponge imprints to give it a texture….oh, and then they added sparkles…some a nice touch…NOT! Anyway, I know that it would be a huge pain and mess to actually scrape every ceiling and repaint. I was thinking about getting some drywall and installing it right over top of the texture ceiling. Are there any problems with me doing this? Thanks!
Answers:
it would be much easier to just skim coat the ceiling and cover the rough texture with a smooth surface you would have to do this after putting up new sheetrock to hide the joints and nails anyway
Well you won't have the advantage the original builder had: knowing where the ceiling joists are. Also drywall is very heavy so you'll need to rent a maching that lifts and holds it til you nail it. Actually this is a pretty good idea.
The process we use is to first scrape the longest points of the texture with a 10 inch drywall knife (this will still leave most of the texture), then to coat the entire ceiling with drywall joint compound (it will look real bad on the first coat), then skim it again (which should be reasonably smooth). If after the second coating it isn't smooth enough, skim it again. Joint compound shrinks as it dries so, depending on the texture, you will need to re-coat until it is as smooth as you want it to be. Sometimes this is quite an undertaking and usually left to professionals, but anyone can do it. Don't be discouraged at first, just keep coating, it never fails.
I like the idea of installing new drywall, but I believe you will have to use the thicker drywall, for your ceilings. 5/8 or even 3/4. The reason being to make it flat,1/2 will be wavy. But where theres a will.... Floating the sponge imprints will probably be easier. Make sure the ceiling is primered first or you could have it peeling off later. Just thin the mud a bit. And plan on three coats. Take your time no matter what choice you decide. Its definitley a big undertaking if your a novice.
More Related Questions & Answers...