I don’t wander into new constructions very often, so was just wondering what the current popular ceiling treatments are?
I’ve never been a fan of popcorn ceilings. Recently saw a 100 yo house that had been remodled and they’d used a textured tile that actually looked fairly nice. It almost looked like a tin ceiling. Another place had used a kind of crackled-looking finish.
jt8
“Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.” — Mark Twain
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Hmm , you are talking two different worlds there.
In new construction for the past few years here weve been using what I call a stipple to a splatter. Not much wipe down anymore unless its requested. Plenty of reasons for it . Popcorn is about out but they stil sell it and I patch quite a bit of it . Im having trouble buying the different popcorns though for repairing. I pretty much know what all the brands look like and the density of texture between fine to course. Stores are beginning to drop every thing but medium. I suspect that it wont be too long before I wont be able to match and repair with it . Ive been the call guy for a number of years to come out and spot patch an existing texture. Thats about lost or will be soon. Ive got one know that I havent been able to get locally and Im going to have to drive to do it if I can find it.
Tim
Locally, 98% of new work is hand-textured, even at the moderate (about $450K here) price point. Two guys will usually work together, first with a 12-14" knife and a mud box, laying on mud in a random pattern. Second guy with trowel knocks it down. Very subtle, old-world kind of look. Could be done heavy for Spanish kind of look, but usually laid down quite thin.
Bruce that sounds like "skip textureing ".
Do you know why they choose by hand?
Tim
Edited 10/9/2005 4:11 pm ET by Mooney
I can't imagine it being done other than by hand. It's a random technique that looks like pretty authentic old plaster when done by some crews. You can imagine that there's a pretty wide range of looks possible, and yes it's easy to repair, but repairs done by "any hack" tend to stand out pretty clearly.
Some skip troweling looks like it's sprayed on due to the uniformity of the application and troweling. I always work with one drywall guy, who is pretty much a one house at a time show, and I think his finishers are artists.
It also lends itself to some nice paint effects after the fact, as the texture, when highlighted with a glaze, gives a nice old world kind of look. At the same time, painted uniformly, a low-relief finish job can look quite contemporary.
Here's our powder room ...
That is one gorgeous room, sir. You've redefined "old world look".
When I said any hack can repair the stuff I was referring to myself patching a skip troweled wall painted in a single solid color. Piece of cake for even a DYI' er like me every time I have done it, which is several.
Chris
Thanx.
When I did a lot of trim work as a sub, I worked for an architect/builder who always did a powder room pretty out of character for the rest of the house, usually around some theme.
I tried the same here; house is fairly contemporary, and I mixed some contemporary elements with a slate floor, travertine border and wainscoting, and the faux old world plaster thing. I like the result, and it's gotten a lot of ooh's and aah's from spectators.
Respectfully speaking ;
yall either got more money than you need or houses are high in priority.
I was taught how to do it . Not sure I could start up doin it now . Old man taught me years ago. But one theing is sure it takes a lot of damn time to do it and I aint slow. Differnt from here when all we ever get asked is how cheap can you do it ?
Tim
Do what?
Ill be back
Bruce
That is one fine looking powder room. If it were mine I'd serve a lot of caffeine drinks so that everybody had to use it.
I did some cabinets in a house where they were doing something similar. It was kinda cool to watch for someone like me who had no clue how it was done.
Doug
Yeah, well, the truth is I'd never done it before. And you wouldn't want to pay me by the hour to do it again, believe me. But I did learn a lot in the process.
The powder room was kinda my baby. I put all sorts of blocking in the wall and then framed out the vanity in 2x4's and 3/4 ply, all glued together and lagged to the blocking. You can't see from the pic, but the vanity is only 20" from the top down, then open underneath. Had to build it strong to carry the slab plus any pounding it might receive if someone wants to dance on it or get lucky, or whatever.
Walls are primed, then a brushed-on coat of pumpkin colored latex, then dark green glaze brushed on solid, then most of the glaze rubbed back off, then a thinned brown glaze sponged on then ragged off, then a brushed coat of Deft to seal it all. Heavy brush marks add a lot to the look.
Around here in west central Colorado that technique is called skip troweling. My wife and I love it. It just screams "mountain living." The trophy houses in Aspen and Beaver Creek use this technique just about 100% of the time. Not only does it look great, but any hack can make a repair of any size and it is invisible to even a discriminating eye. Patch it, swipe it once with mud and paint it. Done
When we first moved here a dozen years ago you could only find it in houses $500K and up. Now we see everywhere , even condos and apartments. Several builders have told me the initial higher cost is more than made up by cheaper punch list repair.
I have never seen it done OTHER than by hand. Is there now some mechanized method?
Chris
If you want some imformation about the match ups of difference Ill post it.
Tim
I do not know about popular but in our last rehab house we installed a wall paper that looked like a tin ceiling and painted it looked great...
Sounds like you should put some of the different textures "in stock". Then, going forward, your price would be substantially higher than is currently customary.
Must be a regional thing. 5 years ago many low end new construction houses had textured ceilings. Now, none do. Just smooth.
Edited 10/8/2005 8:46 am ET by Matt
Just smooth.
Is really not just smooth it it looks good.
Actually if the drywall finished joints, fiinished nails, arent bridged with the rough paper in drywall , smooth wont look good.
To obtain a smooth finish I spray a buttermilk think mud and paint primer mixed @100lbs psi . I spray a double criss cross over coat , really applying two wet coats. That sets up a 10 mill primer finish that is sufficient to hide the difference , plus appear smooth. After a light brush sanding , its ready for even emamels.
Still yet , Ive always said that the process is a texture. If you mention texture to a customer when they want smooth , you will confuse the process and probably lose the job talking about it. Some will get irritated and demand then they want smooth.
Tim
I'd guess that your eye is significantly keener than 95% of homeowner's/homebuyers. I also guess though if you are doing mostly reno work, you have a lot of cr@p to cover...
I'd guess that your eye is significantly keener than 95% of homeowner's/homebuyers. I also guess though if you are doing mostly reno work, you have a lot of cr@p to cover...
Im doing stories this week . <g>
Actually I had done a job for a friend that as usual wanted to save money. He was a part time painter and full time teacher. He knew he could spray the ceiling texture but he didnt finish drywall. I finished the drywall and left my hopper for him to use as he had his own compressor. The ceiling got three coats over tape. with automatic finishing methods which consists of an 8 inch , a 10 and a 12 box skim. That finish is sufficent after sanding to recieve a smooth finish. Or simply spray it with popcorn as is. He decided to heII with the popcorn and sanded it himself with 80 grit shop paper. Since he had an airless he sprayed ENAMEL eggshell directly and made two passes at it . It was a brand new house and his wife was thrilled over it as she had never had a new house. You know how wimmin are about those things. She called me and was very whizzed off and she is as good a friend to me as he is . He aint happy with me either. Ive recieved every bit of the blame because they said my job was shid. Im sitting there knowing fully well what I did out there and what he was supposed to do. He said if he chose to paint it the job I did should accept it.
I went out and looked at the job. He still had pig tails with 200 watt bulbs hanging because they were out of money and didnt plan on light fixtures for a while. The bulds had no reflectors of course and were shinning a plane across the ceiling. Every row of nails were showing as well as every joint because of the difference of the roughed up paper in sanding . The paper only had enamel on it and it was fuzzed. The mud was slick as a babies butt.
Three things killed the job;
The enamel which was used alone.
The sand paper
The 200 watt light bulb that didnt have a diffuser from using a globe.
There was no money left on the job and they had carpet in as well as their furniture. They were living there. Every thing but the light fixtures were installed. Other than that it was a done job. He didnt want popcorn any more.
I came in with a half loaded pick up truck full of drop cloths and three rolls of 1 mill vesqueen. Since I didnt want to sand anything I used block filler and sprayed two coats criss cross @ 100 lbs psi. I came back and sprayed egg shell enamel white two light coats criss cross. I pulled every thing I had out and loaded it . The lights stayed till they could afford fixtures . No one could depict a joint any where or a row of nails. They were tickled to death and are still my friends. I never have again sold a job with out the finish. If I had it to do over again he would have paid me for a complete job or I would not have been the one doing it.
Tim
Hate to say it but your friend is a DA... or at least the way he handled this ceiling... I'm assuming he is a better teacher and friend than painter... ;-)
Edited 10/8/2005 12:40 pm ET by Matt
I don't know Matt. If he was a friend, he would have accepted some responsibility and paid for the work that Tim had to do toi fix up his mess.
Don
The reason I told the story was more to explain that a "cover coat " is necesary before painting "slick' It also referred that its not just my eye but theirs as well when it was done . Even if the job had been sanded properly and flat paint was chosen it would have still have failed . For one thing the airless magnifies the problems too because its too thin and slick of a finish for one and the furr caused by even light sanding on the paper needs to be rolled. Flat paint has never been enough and still will telegragh. Vinyl primer was made for that purpose but lacks ability of build up. USG made a thicker product that does it all but its quite expensive. It also requires a big airless of a gallon per minute size to spray it . A hopper gun with that product or simialar is easiar if the equipment is not owned. Viynl primer and block filler or joint compound mixed together will make a cheaper recipie. The JC must be sanded lightly and block filler does not , but VP needs to be mixed with either of those. Any application method needs to be "back rolled " after its put on to lay the finish out and provide a slight textuere that can be seen as smooth after it dries but in all fact will be a "mat" finish".
Tim
Smooooooooth is a beautiful thing. But Smoth somtimes sucks.
soooo...we meet again.
TRIGGER said:
63944.4 in reply to 63944.3
what exactully does thAt meaNMR SPHERE i CHALLENNGE YOU INTECIIUPLECFTUZAL DRAMAQ RUIGHJ5 NOW BBITYCH
Yer the one..
I will remember YOU. Spheramid Enterprises Architectural Woodworks
Please accept my apology sir. I really don't know what it is that I was tryinn to say that evening.
Respect, TRIGGER
Funnyyou should ask. Dale and I are thinking of making dies for a press type operation...we want to expand into inside copper cielings for the winter..I mean, why not? Copper on the roof, copper on the cieling?
We figgure a log splitter ram and a reverse backing plate, will allow a custom stamp to be made on 2'x2' sq's of Cu. It will be a 4 repeat of the same press..we are gonna use cast iron dirt tampers about 12x12 witha bold relief pattern welded to its face.
Stamp, rotate, stamp, rotate,stamp rotatestamp..like that.
Don't tell anyone...it's a secret so far.
Spheramid Enterprises Architectural Woodworks
Any lighting may affect the texture. Except cans.