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How to Flatten a Textured Ceiling | Ask This Old House

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Paint and finishPlumbing and insulation
By Daniel Miller
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Ask This Old House painter Mauro Henrique smooths over a textured ceiling using joint compound.
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Time: 6-8 hours

Cost: $200

Skill Level: Moderate

Tools List for Flattening a Textured Ceiling:
Safety glasses [https://amzn.to/2USGrKj]
Ladder or staging [https://amzn.to/2Va9MoE]
Buckets [https://amzn.to/2UTm8fM]
Drill driver [https://amzn.to/2IRufYP]
Mixing drill bit [https://amzn.to/2J40hjL]
Taping knife [https://amzn.to/2ITdPiE]
Hawk [https://amzn.to/2ITepgk]

Shopping List:
Joint compound [https://amzn.to/2VGRWZO]
Plastic drop cloths [https://amzn.to/2ZPU6FG]
Canvas drop cloths [https://amzn.to/2Le0Fic]
Painter’s tape [https://amzn.to/2GMJ4IS]
Rags [https://amzn.to/2IVcs35]
220 grit sandpaper [https://amzn.to/2PCMKAX]

Steps:
1. Start by protecting the entire room with drop cloths. On the floor, use a canvas drop cloth. On the walls, use the plastic drop cloth. It isn’t necessary to cover the entire wall, just the top third.
2. Wipe down the ceiling with a damp rag to ensure it’s clean.
3. Mix the joint compound in a bucket using water and the drill with a mixing bit on it until it’s roughly thicker than a cake batter consistency.
4. Add some joint compound to the hawk. Scoop a small amount of the joint compound off the hawk using the taping knife, and then apply it in thin, smooth coats over the textured ceiling. This technique requires multiple coats, so don’t feel the need to fill in all the low spots on the first pass.
5. Wait roughly 45 minutes for the first coat to dry. Then, add a second coat.
6. Repeat this process until all the low spots are filled in and the ceiling is flat. It shouldn’t take more than 2-3 coats.
7. After 24 hours, lightly sand the ceiling using 220 grit sandpaper.
8. After the sanding, the ceiling will be ready for paint. Mauro recommends a flat, white paint for the ceiling.

Resources:
While scraping a textured ceiling is a common tactic to achieve a flat ceiling, Mauro suggests that in some cases, it’s a lot easier to smooth over the texture with joint compound than to scrape it off.

While a step ladder works fine for this project, Mauro finds it’s much easier and also safer to use staging to reach the ceiling. This can be rented from home centers.

Mauro used Sheetrock Easy Sand 45 joint compound, which is manufactured by USG (https://amzn.to/2VGRWZO). Mauro thinks this product works well in this application because it dries in a reasonable amount of time, while still giving you a little flexibility to really work with it and apply it smoothly to the ceiling.

The other tools Mauro used for the job, including the drill with the mixing bit, taping knife, hawk, and drop cloths can all be found at home centers.

Expert assistance with this segment was provided by Mauro’s Painting (http://maurospainting.com/).

About Ask This Old House TV:
Homeowners have a virtual truckload of questions for us on smaller projects, and we’re ready to answer. Ask This Old House solves the steady stream of home improvement problems faced by our viewers—and we make house calls! Ask This Old House features some familiar faces from This Old House, including Kevin O’Connor, general contractor Tom Silva, plumbing and heating expert Richard Trethewey, and landscape contractor Roger Cook.

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How to Flatten a Textured Ceiling | Ask This Old House
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(Visited 18,572 times, 1 visits today)
7-10 minutesAsk This Old HouseceilingdiyDIY Ideashome improvementhome renovation ideas on a budgetHow To BuildHow To FixHow To InstallJoint compoundKevin O'Connorkevin o'connor ask this old housekevin o'connor housekevin o'connor interviewkevin o'connor this old housemauro henriquepaintingplasterrenovationRenovation IdeasThis Old House

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Comment (0)

  3. For anyone looking for comments on if this is the right or wrong way to fix the ceiling, the answer is yes it is the right idea but a HORRIBLE demo. Do NOT listen to the idiotic other comments saying they should have added 1/4" or 3/8" drywall. Any competent plasterer could have floated that ceiling. My house had sprayed on texture in every room. Yes, it would be nice to start with fresh drywall but that is incredibly labor intensive and expensive. I ripped all the walls sheet rock off my own home to see if there was any problems behind the walls. I could see from above in the attic the condition of the ceilings. The main reason not to replace the drywall on the ceiling was that tons of blown in insulation would be pouring down and I would have to pay to replace that insulation and deal with having to blow it back in and it was maybe 10 years old anyway. The ceiling was floated smooth. The ONLY problem with floating previously textured sheetrock is that the layer of mud is now thick and the mud is soft so it is easy to dent. Since it is on the ceiling and never really touched, it's not a problem. This is another reason why I choose to remove and redo the sheet rock on the walls. Doing this on the ceiling is perfectly fine. People saying that they shot have added additional drywall and remud have no idea what they are talking about. 1/4 dry wall sucks a d your ceilit would end up showing every seam in a couple years. Adding 3/8 drywall is starting to get dicey since you have no idea how the ceiling is framed and if it can hold the added weight.

  8. This is asinine IMHO, I wanted to see if there is something easier than what I would typically do, Which is overlay the ceiling with quarter inch or 3/8 drywall and then just tape and mud the seams. Why screw around with all this other stuff that may pop and crack later, I don't see it as being easier. Multiple coats, nope? Also I've never been lucky enough to find a popcorn ceiling that would easily scrape down after spraying it with water. So I just use the thin drywall method. I do like the float trowel for butt joints though.

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