How to Texture a Ceiling

Have you ever wondered how the textured ceilings are done? I have done a lot of them, and it is really easy to do, messy, but easy. You don’t have to be an expert to get this job done. First you need to know what kind of pattern you want to do. There are a lot of different patterns, and I’ll explain a couple of them.

What you will need:

A thick nap roller cover, roller handle and extension. A large paint mixer and drill to mix the texture (this can be purchased at a paint store or home improvement center). Drop cloths or plastic to cover the floor. A bucket of water to thin the texture and clean up. A stipple brush or a texture roller.

Remove everything from the room, and cover the floor with drop cloths or plastic. I recommend drop cloths because the plastic will become slippery, but use your own judgment. Remove the light fixture and anything else attached to the ceiling.

If you have a painted ceiling, you first have to prime the entire ceiling. This is the most important step. If this step is skipped, your texture won’t stick to the paint, and might crack, or even fall off in chunks after it dries. I like to wait twenty-four hours after priming before applying the texture.

The texture I use, is called topping compound. This is used for drywall finishing, and is really inexpensive. This can be mixed to a thinner consistency by adding a little water, about one quart per five gallons of topping compound. Mix until smooth, and using a paint roller with a thick nap cover, roll only about one fourth of the room, going in one direction. If the texture won’t stick to the roller, use a little more water. After the texture is applied, roll across the applied texture the other direction. This will ensure a more uniform coverage. At this point you will be applying the pattern.

Using the stipple brush, begin in the corner and work along the wall until you have gone out of the texture that you have applied. Go back to the wall and start dabbing the brush next to the first row. Keep this pattern until you have covered the entire area. Don’t hit the brush hard against the ceiling, this could cause nails to get loose. If you don’t like the pattern, too close or too far apart, just roll back over it and start your pattern over. This will dry slowly, so you have time to get it the way you want it to look. Now do another section of the ceiling the same way, over lap a few inches onto the textured section when you roll on the texture. Finish the other two sections of the ceiling,. Clean any texture off of the walls with water as you finish each section. Allow it to dry completely.

The ceiling needs to be painted to seal the texture. Some people ignore this step, and the ceiling looks beautiful, however if you don’t paint it now, in a year you will be painting it. This is the reason I like to do it at this time. If it’s done now, I don’t have to move everything out of the room again for a few years. Most people use ceiling flat white, but you can use what ever color you like.

Another way to apply a pattern to the texture is with a texture roller. This is slightly easier than the stipple brush, but personally I don’t like the look of this pattern. Still it’s up to your personal taste.

Clean up and reinstall your lights, move your furniture back into the room, and enjoy your new ceiling.