Ceiling Retexture

Ceiling retexture

After popcorn removal or a drywall repair, a ceiling can be finished smooth or given a new texture such as knockdown, orange peel or skip trowel. Retexturing hides minor drywall flaws more easily than a smooth finish, and it can match the texture on your walls. The ceiling is then primed and painted with flat ceiling paint.

Safe Choice Painting retextures ceilings across North Texas and southern Oklahoma as part of our popcorn ceiling removal work.

When does retexturing make more sense than smooth?

A smooth ceiling shows every seam, dip and patch under raking light, so it needs a full skim coat to look right. That is covered on our smooth ceiling and skim coat page. A light texture asks less of the drywall underneath. The Gypsum Association's GA-214 guide sets lower levels of drywall finish as acceptable under textured surfaces than under smooth, flat ones. For a side-by-side look at every option, see our answer on ceiling texture options after popcorn removal.

Retexturing tends to suit:

• Ceilings with patched or uneven drywall after popcorn comes off
• Rooms where the walls already have knockdown or orange peel and you want the ceiling to match
• Homes where a smooth ceiling would need more skim coating than the room justifies

Knockdown, orange peel or skip trowel: how they're applied

• Orange peel is sprayed as fine droplets that dry into a light, dimpled finish.
• Knockdown is sprayed in larger splatters, then flattened with a wide knife once it starts to set, leaving raised flat patches.
• Skip trowel is applied by hand with a trowel that skips across the surface, leaving a looser, hand-made pattern.

Before texture goes on, the ceiling is sanded, seams are taped where needed, and the surface is primed so the texture absorbs evenly. After it dries, it is primed again and painted.

Matching an existing ceiling after a repair

Many homes built in the 1980s and 1990s have knockdown or orange peel on walls and ceilings, and those years make up a large share of the local housing. The Census Bureau's American Community Survey puts housing built from 1980 to 1999 at about 54% of homes in Corinth and 49% in Highland Village. When a leak, a light move or a plumbing repair leaves a patch, the patch is textured to match, often on a sample board first, and the whole ceiling plane is painted so the sheen blends. Patches are rarely invisible, but a good match is close.

Getting the room ready

Retexturing is messy work. The room is emptied as far as possible, and anything left is moved to the center and covered. Floors are covered, walls are masked with plastic, and doorways are sealed so spray and sanding dust stay in the room. Vents are covered and the HVAC is turned off during spraying. Light fixtures and ceiling fans are taken down or wrapped.

Choosing a texture

Orange peel is the lightest and reads almost smooth from across the room. Knockdown hides more and suits rooms with large ceilings or patched drywall. Skip trowel has a hand-made look that fits older styles of homes. Texture depth is set on a sample board so you can see and approve it before it goes on the ceiling. Heavier textures hide more but are harder to touch up later, so we talk through how the room is lit and used.

Do older ceilings need checking first?

We assess the ceiling first. Popcorn has to come off before retexturing, and how it comes off depends on what it is and whether it has been painted.

How long does retexturing take?

Most of the time is drying. A typical room moves through removal or repair, sanding and priming, texturing, then a final primer and paint coat, with drying between each step. Humid weather adds time, and heavier textures dry slower than orange peel. You get the plan room by room before work starts, including which rooms are off limits on which days.

Matching the rest of the house

If only some rooms are retextured, we show you a sample board first so the new texture can be matched to the rooms that stay as they are.

Nearby

• Popcorn ceiling removal
• Smooth ceiling and skim coat
• Textured ceiling removal
• Painted popcorn ceiling removal
• Ceiling drywall repair after popcorn removal