Any suggestions on how to put a decent patch in a fairly heavily textured ceiling? I’m expanding our laundry room and need to remove a 7′ long wall section and patch in the resulting 4 1/2″ gap. The texture will prevent using tape on the joints- at least without chipping/scraping it back, which doesn’t look like it could be done without potentially making matters worse. What about running a thick bead of caulk in the joints before putting in the patch? Maybe some sort of elastic putty/plaster to retexture the patch? Mix up some plaster and caulk? I’m trying to avoid having a pair of long cracks, even small ones, right across the middle of the ceiling. Stripping, rehanging & finishing the entire ceiling ain’t an option (I want it to look nice, but it’s still a laundry room.) Thanks!
mitch
Replies
Rip down the whole ceiling and put up a nice flat one <G>
You can tell I'm not a fan of textured ceilings. I hate patching them.
But if you're intent of keeping it, I'd wet down the areas along where you need to scrape off the texture. Get it down as close as possible to the drywall. You might want to sand a bit to smooth things before you tape. Then tape, and spackle, and re-texture the area.
But if the areas not too big, it would probably be quicker to pull down the whole ceiling and put up a nice, new one.
It really depends on the type of texture... what kind ya got?
If it's a "pulled" mud (little stalagtites), then the patch is pretty invisible if you knock off the surface, load it with mud, apply paper tape, dry, then apply a coat of mud and pull the surface with a flat, non-porous material.
Prime the patch and paint the entire ceiling with SW Superpaint and a 1/2" nap roller. The repair ALMOST disappears.
Troy Sprout
"A free people ought not only to be armed and disciplined, but they should also have sufficient arms and ammunition to maintain a status of independence from any who might attempt to abuse them, which would include their own government."
-- George Washington
Edited 7/7/2007 12:44 pm by Hackinatit
Forgot pics.
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Troy Sprout
"A free people ought not only to be armed and disciplined, but they should also have sufficient arms and ammunition to maintain a status of independence from any who might attempt to abuse them, which would include their own government." -- George Washington
Edited 7/7/2007 12:46 pm by Hackinatit
Edited 7/7/2007 12:48 pm by Hackinatit
Edited 7/7/2007 12:48 pm by Hackinatit
That won't be too bad and should cover perfectly with a little work. There's no way for me to stay practiced enough on the huge variations in texture to simply reapply them as was done originally and match perfectly, so my method doesn't depend on even knowing how it was originally done, although that knowledge can speed up larger sections.
Others may know for sure, but isn't your texture a plastic bag over round foam pad dipped in thinned mud and dabbed on?
To start, I like to make the patch no higher than the paper surface of the old ceiling or a little shy. A small curved surform file works well to remove the ajoining texture down to the paper so taping will sit flatter. View Image
For thin repairs paper sits flatter than mesh. Make sure the surface of the paper ends up below the surrounding texture. There just isn't room to feather out a hump.
Next a carbide scraper can smoothly remove an inch or so of the texture leaving a smooth finish, but not down to the paper, just enough to remove the high points. This provides a small amount of room to feather over the paper and ensure the base surface is even from side to side of the patch.
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At this point the surface, other than the texture, should be consistant across the patch to the point where it looks like they skipped over the texture on a new ceiling. A coat of quick drying primer will show how well you've done and seal in your good work to this point so even if we screw up the texture it can simply be wiped off with a wet rag and reapplied.
We a careful study of the texture you'll see there are the main ridges and smaller secondary bits. The two don't have to be applied all at once. Concentrate on getting the main texture and fill in what's missing as a second step.
A time consuming, but effective way to match texture is to add it one small section at a time. To oversimplify it, imagine what the pattern needs to be and experiment to get parts of it right. Let those parts dry and keep adding until the finished product blends in perfectly with the surrounding texture. Don't over apply anything since it's much easier to add than sand or scrape.
In between adding texture it's not bad to add another coat of primer to make it easier to see what else needs to be done. It also adds a little paint thickness, which the patch desparetly needs to blend in well.
Use good light so it overexagerates the details and when normal light is used it will look even better.
If you need a thin ridge a pastry bag and small round tip can be used to add texture just like frosting on a cake. Small stiff paint brushes are good at applying and shaping small amounts of compound. Then smooth it, sand it, wipe it, brush it, or smear it with a finger as needed to match what's there. I keep a collection of brushes and other tools for detailing texture based on what works for me. Our texture/paint guys can't get a handle on the idea or my technique, but they like the results.
Rather than concentrate on only the small strip you're patching, make the repair more random and irregular by adding or taking away from the surrounding texture. The key is getting the surface to be irregular and random, matching what's there.
For a critical patch in a very visable area I've spent as much as 8 hours to blend in a 4" by 7' patch where a builtin was installed in an oversized opening looking directly into the kitchen and greatroom. It's not cheap, but it's effective and works well for small areas for the pickiest of clients.
If you're finding it's just not working, you can use the carbide scraper to remove the majority of the existing texture by taking down the high points, then simply have the entire room retextured. It doesn't take much of an area for my method to get cost prohibitive.
Your existing texture is pretty uneven from side to side so it should be easy to get something that doesn't look out of place.
Best of luck
Beer was created so carpenters wouldn't rule the world.
thanks to you and the rest of the gang for the advice. the pictures you posted are similar to what i have, but my ceiling is more random splotches. i was hoping somebody knew of a flexible product i could get away with using on a limited basis but it looks like it'll have to be the standard method after all. i've patched a lot of smooth areas, but never textured.i actually thought to ask this question at the very start of this project, instead of standing on a ladder with a mud pan in one hand, a taping knife in the other and a dumb look on my face, thinking "huh, that ain't gonna work..." i'm pleased to report in doing the initial demo i've found the previous tape and texture did not adhere very well, for whatever reason (probably a combination of poor workmanship and cheapness- this isn't the first time i've worked on this house) and it shouldn't be that bad to scrape off a strip for taping.there are a few factors that prevent me from tearing down and rehanging the entire ceiling, as much as i'd prefer a smooth one. i don't have as much free time as i used to so this project is likely to stretch out over a couple months of saturdays- i don't need the extra work and there is the slightest chance we may need to do laundry during that period. it's also just a laundry/utility room being expanded into the garage- it's not the kitchen or greatroom, etc. it'll be a very nice laundry room when i'm finished, but still just a laundry room. the final deal killer is the 18" or so of blown insulation on top of it- the less i have to deal with that, the better.thanks again to all!mitch
I replaced some sky lights with sun tunnels in a large master bathroom last fall that had a ceiling that looked much like yours. After patching the ceiling where the lights came out, we sanded the texture back about 10" from the joints and taped. Then I found, quite by accident , a brush that had two heads on it, with the bristles splayed out like a flattened spider, that we dipped into thinned sheetrock mud, and dobbed onto the ceiling. It made a pattern almost identical to the origional. Primed, and painted , and the room looked almost like it had always been there.
i'll keep an eye out for one of those, otherwise i think i'll try the plastic bag over a foam pad trick mentioned earlier in this thread. thanks!m
Thanks, Don.
I showed the OP what I was discussing re: patch. The pictures are of patches that are shaded, out of the way, and no "line-of-sight" from prominent viewing locations... similar to the OP's utility room. The camera flash actually made the repairs more visible than normal.
If (when) I need a repair that holds up to the tightest scrutiny, I'll use your advice to the letter.
Thanks again!
Troy Sprout
"A free people ought not only to be armed and disciplined, but they should also have sufficient arms and ammunition to maintain a status of independence from any who might attempt to abuse them, which would include their own government." -- George Washington
"The texture will prevent using tape on the joints- at least without chipping/scraping it back, which doesn't look like it could be done without potentially making matters worse."
What will make matters worse is not doing that. You'll get it all done and then it will crack. Scrape the texture back and use paper tape. Then mud it and texture it. Experiment to get the right look.
After it dries, paint the whole ceiling because matching the ceiling color will make matching the texture look like a walk in the park.
Rich Beckman
Coming to the Fest? Don't forget pencils!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I recently remodeled a small bathroom with a textured ceiling and couldn't duplicate it in my patch. So I sanded off the high spots and skim coated the ceiling. I like smooth drywall because I can repair it. It didn't take long. Just a couple of coats.
thanks, but hopefully it won't come to that.m