Textured Ceilings how do I smooth them over

[SteveC]

I am refurbishing a house with orrible textured ceilings - what is the best way to smooth them over - thank you guys n girls

 

[glennjanie]

Hey Steve:
There are at least 2 kinds of texture being used on ceilings; one is compound applied with a stipple brush and looks like a patern of elephant tracks, the other is a spray that foams as it makes contact, we call that popcorn ceilings.
If yours is a popcorn ceiling you can scrape it off and finish up with a sanding pole. The elephant tracks are much harder; use a spray of water over 6-8 square feet at a time. The water will soften the stipple and it can be scrapped of with a little more effort, being careful not to dig into the sheetrock. Then you can sand it down a little to bring it to a more even surface, and last, skim coat it with more compound.
Either method is used to eliminate some of the joint finishing, so you may have to add another coat, touch sand and even use another coat to make it smooth and level, touch sanding again. It is a terrific mess either way with loads of dust. You will want to tape plastic over your door ways, cover your heat vents and return air vents, move the fruniture out, plastic tapped down to the floor, and wear a respirator and goggles.
I wish you the best success with this monstrous undertaking, be patient, use a bright light to shine over the surface to detect the imperfections so you can get them all.
Glennn

 

[asbestos]

Here I am as killjoy again. Many textured ceilings contain asbestos, most notably those hideous "popcorn" (cottage cheese in my book) if you are going to scrape it off or disturb it, test it.

spray a bit of water on a small area hold a ziplock® bag up to it. With a utility knife or single edge razor blade and cut about 1 inch square of the stuff. gently put it into the bag and label it as to where it was taken. I would suggest several samples to insure accurate results and because sometimes some areas had asbestos and others did not.

 

[SteveC]

Hey Steve:
There are at least 2 kinds of texture being used on ceilings; one is compound applied with a stipple brush and looks like a patern of elephant tracks, the other is a spray that foams as it makes contact, we call that popcorn ceilings.
If yours is a popcorn ceiling you can scrape it off and finish up with a sanding pole. The elephant tracks are much harder; use a spray of water over 6-8 square feet at a time. The water will soften the stipple and it can be scrapped of with a little more effort, being careful not to dig into the sheetrock. Then you can sand it down a little to bring it to a more even surface, and last, skim coat it with more compound.
Either method is used to eliminate some of the joint finishing, so you may have to add another coat, touch sand and even use another coat to make it smooth and level, touch sanding again. It is a terrific mess either way with loads of dust. You will want to tape plastic over your door ways, cover your heat vents and return air vents, move the fruniture out, plastic tapped down to the floor, and wear a respirator and goggles.
I wish you the best success with this monstrous undertaking, be patient, use a bright light to shine over the surface to detect the imperfections so you can get them all.
Glennn

Thank you Glen great advice I will let you know how I get on

 

[DebbieG]

I am also remodeling a house and had the same issue. It was a plaster popcorn ceiling, so scraping was not an option. We ended up installing a new layer of drywall to cover the exisiting ceiling and, although I was concerned about it being obviously lower than the rest of the house, it turned out fine and you can't even tell. Good Luck!

 

[morganlucier]

Hi, just wondering whether you nailed (or stapled) the drywall to the ceiling, or did you use some kind of adhesive? Also, how thick was the drywall?

Thanks

Morgan in California