When I covered how I repaired my flaky, peeling bathroom ceiling on Instagram stories recently, I had so many messages about it that I decided to document the process over here on the blog. While this will not be my most glamorous blog post, it will sure beat all the badly filmed ‘boring bloke in a
How to Repair Drywall Ceiling Water Damage step by step instructions. Square up the ceiling hole rough cut and mount a wood brace for the repair panel.
Plaster. This single, solitary word in the old house vernacular elicits a visceral reaction of sorts in many people. It's a characteristic trait of buildings from 60 years to much much older that embodies the true nature of love/hate relationships among DIYers, renovators, preservationists, rehabilitators, flippers, home inspectors, and pretty much anyone who has every worked with the stuff. But interestingly enough, where any one of those people falls in proximity to the seemingly moral thin red line of "rip it out" versus "repair, don't replace," well, that's all based on the relationship you've developed with the walls and ceilings of the past. When we moved into our house we had been indoctrinated by countless television shows and contractor horror stories in dealing with the fragile, crumbling, dusty, and gritty mess that tends to represent old fashioned plaster. And I'm not going to lie. When we started to think about our home renovation plans, the initial thoughts that our cracked, bumpy, and crumbling plaster was "too far gone" and the belief that we'd need to "gut every room" entered into our conversations quite frequently. But that was before we understood. Before we knew better. Before we shook off the propaganda...
It's easy to update the ceiling of your pop-up camper or RV with glue-up ceiling panels. They are lightweight and easy to install!
It's not like the house is going to fall or anything; rather, you might see imperfections like one of the types of ceiling cracks below...
Did you know that fixing a crack in some drywall on a wall or ceiling can be quick and easy? We have had a long crack in the ceiling of our living room for quite some time and I thought I might as well go ahead and try to patch it up. With a couple of sta
in my bedroom the ceiling tape is coming out , so how can I repair this issue?
Are you considering a ceiling texture for your home? We've got the best types of textures with instructions on how to DIY, tools, materials, pros and cons.
Want coffered ceilings that allow access to plumbing in the basement? Here's a tutorial to make your own DIY coffered-look ceilings with moveable panels!
Cracks in the ceiling can be cosmetic or indicative of a serious structural problem. Here's how to determine the cause of your ceiling cracks—and fix them.
Transform an unfinished basement with these beautiful (and affordable!) basement ceiling ideas.
Sorry, there's really no pun to explain a ceiling texture tutorial. After the drywall was finished, it was time to mud. Mike's the drywall extraordinaire, so I let him do his thing. Plus mudding falls into that category of "messy things that don't easily wash out of clothing", so it's better that I don't watch. After everything was mudded I was called down again to help with ceiling texture. Since we tore out all the ceilings on the second floor, and just recently did the ceiling in the new bathroom, we knew what we were doing, and most importantly who's good at what. Mike's the roller and I'm the stamper. Since I didn't explain how we did it for either of those projects, I figured now's as good a time as any to make a tutorial. First, you have to decide what type of texture you want. This isn't the most important design decision you have to make, but have you ever looked up in a room and saw a popcorn ceiling and cringed? Yeah, don't be those people. We prefer a knockdown look, because it's simple and more modern, which is basically adding a stamped textured, then coming back and, you guessed it, knocking it down with a squeegee, don't worry pictures are coming. First, you want to gather your supplies, 1. Joint Compound | 2. Roller, (the thicker the nap, the more texture) | 3. Rubber Squeegee Knockdown Knife | 4. Oval Single Texture Brush After gathering your supplies, you need to prep the ceilings. Since Mike already mudded all the joints, he roughly sanded everything to a smooth finish. Since you're covering it up with a texture it doesn't have to be perfect, but you don't want any noticeable edges that may show through. You should probably not be a dumbass and wear safety glasses during this. Nobody likes extra fine joint compound dust in their eyes. Heck, you should probably wear a full mask, even if you are just taking pictures, that stuff gets everywhere. Next, quickly wipe down the ceilings to throw even more compound dust in the air to fall and get everything dirty. We've cleaned this room probably 5 times already, but, I'm not bitter. Now comes the real stuff. We use premixed joint compound, so Mike just slaps some into an empty bucket and adds a little bit of water to thin it out. The point of thinning it is so it easily rolls onto the ceiling. TIP: Buy one of the those rounded trowels you see Mike holding. It's made specifically for scraping buckets. After you add the right amount of water, (Mike's done this a few times to he knows how much to add, but for someone doing it for the first time I'd add a little bit at a time, maybe a cup or two each time for a half of a 5-gallon bucket), you use a drill attachment to mix it up. The consistency is thinner than peanut butter, more like brownie batter. You know, easy enough to pour, but you still need a spatula to spread it all out. Definitely thicker than paint, even the really thick primer stuff. Then you use a roller attached to a long pole to dip into the mixture and coat really well. After the roller is thoroughly loaded up, start rolling onto the ceiling. Mike likes to work in square sections, making sure the area is evenly coated. We only had a smaller nap roller on hand so Mike went over the area a couple times to coat it. You're looking for a thin, even, layer, about 3/8" thick. The thinner or thicker you coat it, the lighter or heavier the texture is going to be. While Mike was rolling, I was mentally preparing myself for the very important task of texturing. Actually, it requires little thought at all and is pretty fun, (my kind of tasks). I waited for Mike to finish the whole length and about a 4 foot section before I got to work. It's important to have one person do the textureing, because once you find your groove, it's going to be unique and adding someone else, will yield a different style. That's why I like to say I have the most important part of the job, although I usually don't say it out loud. Don't want to bring down the morale of my partner. So, I'm up and I use the brush and firmly stamp it in the wet compound keeping the brush flat. The roller leaves the veiny looking texture behind, but you're looking for the stippled effect. The oval brush leaves an oval negative space in the middle, so as you stamp, you need to rotate the brush so everything has a uniform texture. By the time I'm done stamping my section, Mike's done with another 4' section, so we move down the room together. Make sure to get all the ceiling, including the edges, it may get on the walls, but it's worth it. Depending on the size of the room, (and how long it takes you to roll and stamp), the next step may require some waiting time. Since the room is pretty big and Mike took his time rolling on the compound, (due to the smaller nap), we only waited a couple minutes before starting at the beginning of the room to do the knockdown. The knockdown technique takes some practice. Mike's got it down, but I wouldn't attempt it without practice on a piece of cardboard or something. The compound needs to be stiff, but not completely dry. The squeegee is used to flatten the pointy edges of the stamp, but you don't want to wipe everything off by doing it too early. Mike usually uses his finger to test a spot to see if it's dry enough. If it sticks to your fingers it's too wet, it needs to come off somewhat clean, but have a little resistance when you touch it. Make sure the squeegee is clean, and holding it at a 45 degree angle, lightly wipe across the ceiling. As you can see in the picture below, there's a small sliver of light between the squeegee and ceiling. There's not a lot of pressure used, you're just skimming the very top to flatten those points. Mike does one pass at a time, about 4' in length, to maintain control. He cleans the squeegee off with a clean towel ofter every pass. This part takes some patience, but goes really quickly. You don't want to be too long, because the other side of the room is drying while you're working. If the compound dries completely, (which you would have to be really slow for that to happen - it's usually too wet and requires waiting), it won't work, and you'll have to sand it to get the same texture. After the room is rolled, stamped, and knocked down, Mike takes a flat edges trowel and scrapes along the edges of the ceiling to get all of the compound off of the wall. It's easiest with a trowel because you can start with the trowel up in the corner and scrape down, making sure that all that hard earned texture remains. I know this post is getting lengthy, but I also wanted to share how to retexture a ceiling since many may not be installing new ceilings all the time. We kept the ceilings in the stairwell, but had cut holes for wiring and lights so we wanted to add new texture. We also wanted it to match the new ceiling down the stairs more so than the stipple texture that was already there. For most, the knowdown look can be achieved with simply sanding all the pointy edges down. But like we had, there may be holes that needed to be filled, so we textured over everything. The only difference between new texture and retexturing, is the thickness. You want to first sand down all the point edges, (if you have popcorn ceilings, first let me me say I'm sorry, but that also means you can completely remove the popcorn and start over as if it was new), this is only necessary if you have a texture like the rosebud: via After sanding all the points down, you want to follow the same steps above, but apply a much thicker layer of compound. A thicker nap roller will definitely come in handy for this. Then you will have to stamp a little bit lighter since you have a thicker layer. And, then wait a little bit longer for it to set up before knocking it down. We did it in the steps first and the only difference was the space was a little tighter. We kept it a little lighter in the steps than what I suggested for retexturing because after sanding down the original ceilings, it was pretty much the look we were going for. The point of redoing it all was to blend the patched holes. After letting it dry overnight I was able primer and paint everything over the next couple of days. Since I've bored everyone to tears with such a detailed tutorial on ceiling texture I'll leave you with a look at the lights we were able to install after the paint was dried. These bad boys are amazing and have made such a difference in the room already. It's made the late nights working down here almost tolerable. Or at least tricked us into thinking it's not as late as it really is with all the light.
Have some rooms with low ceilings that are making you feel closed in? Find out how to make ceilings look higher so it's not as noticeable.
by Robin Along the way, we have become experts in basement ceiling ideas. We're actually very proud of this. It's a great example of what we're all about: taking a problem and figuring out an
It is very important to understand that a crack in drywall, specifically in the ceiling, could indicate structural damage. Be sure to check the...
I was so tired of my ugly drop ceiling, but I didn't want to spend thousands on a new ceiling! First, take out your old tiles and measure them. Then head to…
Ceiling cracks are a common problem in older homes. They may be caused by various factors, including settling foundations and poor construction. However, cracks in the ceiling are not always a sign of foundation problems. This page will tell you about types of ceiling cracks and what they mean.
There are few feelings worse than being confronted with water damage. If you have a ceiling that's water stained, peeling and or cracked, here's what to do.
Easy to do! Saw this online as a wall treatment, and figured it was the perfect fix for my unevenly textured ceilings in my family/kitchen/nook rooms. I made a video of the journey, mistakes and …
Master your next paint project. Find out whether to paint the ceiling or walls first with our expert guide for a seamless, professional result.
You're probably reading this because your ceiling fan doesn't work, making it pretty worthless on a hot day. This article will show you how to repair a ceiling
Need to learn how to paint a ceiling? Let me teach you how to do it the easy way! Use these tips and tricks to save yourself time and keep you from making a huge mess.
Hiding unsightly pipes, ductwork, wires, and other imperfections on the original ceiling can be easily accomplished by installing a dropped ceiling. Usually placed on top of a traditional ceiling, dropped ceilings are often referred to as suspended or drop ceilings. They are secured from the main ceiling using metal wires and tracks. Dropped ceilings are […]
Get better taping results with less hassle by following these tips.
How to remove a textured ceiling. Stippled ceiling to smooth ceiling.
Need to learn how to paint a ceiling? Let me teach you how to do it the easy way! Use these tips and tricks to save yourself time and keep you from making a huge mess.
Our deck was in good shape structurally but was not aesthetically pleasing. You may remember from my earlier blog post that I painted the deck above with solid…
A well-placed piece of art may be the quickest way to disguise a hole in your wall. But for a professional fix, follow our tips on how to patch a hole in drywall.
You can remove popcorn ceilings yourself, but be sure you are prepared. There might be more steps than you realize. Learn from my experience!
Repairing plaster walls and attaching things to plaster walls are discussed in this audio episode of The Handyguys Podcast. The Handyguys received this question from a listener: Would you please talk in detail about homes with plaster walls? I have never lived in a home with plaster walls until now and have only heard horror
How to skim coat & smooth a textured wall, drywall or ceiling! Easy DIY home improvement & remodel project. Detailed tutorial, video & best beginner tips!
A well-insulated home is not only cheaper to live in but also provides far more comfort as the seasons change. Knowing this, you might wonder how to insulate a ceiling with exposed rafters. This post combines up-to-date research and industry professional knowledge to answer your question. Insulating a ceiling with exposed rafters is more complicated […]
To help you avoid mistakes on your next paint job, we put together this list gathered from painting experts. Pick up a new tip or two to help you prevent problems on your next painting project.
How to enclose space above kitchen cabinets. This easy & cheap project makes kitchen cabinets look custom! And no more dust collecting above the cabinets!
Here are 2 ways how to remove popcorn ceilings.The first gives you a smooth finish and the second a textured finish. They are both easy DIY projects!
Preparing walls for painting is the key to a good paint job! I'm sharing my best wall prep tips and tricks for patching your walls, sanding, and cleaning away drywall dust that will make your finished walls turn out beautifully!
No matter if this is another floor in your house or an apartment above, you’re likely wondering how to soundproof a ceiling.
The thing about big long home renovation projects is that they defy the space-time continuum. How could skim coating a ceiling take most of a week?
Give any tired textured surface a fresh new coat with these easy-to-follow steps for how to paint popcorn ceiling.
