I just finishing haniing the drywall on a living room cieling and I need to put on a texture. I want it to look like big areas of mud that have been knocked flat. I don’t want a round pattern more organic shapes is what I’m after.
Could someone provide some tips and techniques that would help me? Should I use regular weight mud or should I use lightweight topping compound? What’s the best way to apply the mud to the cieling, with a trowel?
Thanks in advance.
Replies
for organic shapes try rolling it on with a large sweet potato..or a musk melon (like a cantaloupe) works for a finer effect. Some like the look of a south western cactus type look but the spines are killer...wear gloves.
Harper- For the homeowner easy....
I like to work about a yard square area at a time with a thin coat of the premix lightweight out of the 5gal plastic buckets.
Take a flat square trowel or make your own tool, place it on the fresh spread wet mud and pull it straight back which will pucker it up like a 3d map of a mountain range.
Then take a straightedge like a plastic painters cut-in tool or something and feather it lightly over the tops of the mountain peaks, random directions, flattening them in the process.
After dry, a light light touch with a sanding sponge to knock any burrs down and paint.
Then kick back, cut a slice of organic melon and pretend it's summer.
I think what you're describing is what's commonly called skip-trowel texture, mostly used in the southwest, in my experience.
There is a tool made specifically for doing this. It looks like a broad mud knife (maybe 12 to 14"), but it has the blade attached at the side of the handle, rather than in the middle of the handle. Thin down the mud to a fairly soupy consistency, lay the side of the "skip trowel" flat into the mud (don't scrape it on the side of the pan). Then place the edge of the trowel on the surface of the rock, tip it flat so the trowel blade is more-or-less parellel to the rock surface, and gently - minimal pressure - drag the edge across the surface.
It would probably be good to try your hand on some large rock scraps before going to the ceiling itself. We use topping mud.
If the edges of the patches of mud seem to want to smooth out and not leave the desired "skip" effect, the mud is probably too dry. My buddy in AZ who taught me this technique likes to go both directions - horizontal and vertical - going over the entire surface twice. Done right it looks good and requires very little work after the initial application and it leaves a totally random texture pattern.
Any jackass can kick down a barn, but it takes a carpenter to build one.
What you need is to get Tim Mooney in here. He's an ol' sheetrock pro from way back. Could probably tell you some interesting stories along with good advice.
Thanks for the heads up fellas. I'm going to give it a go tonight. I'll try and find the trowel on my way home.