Dale Cottages

After removing a cottage cheese (or popcorn) ceiling, what is the best way to texture?

My hubby and I are buying a house with cottage cheese, or popcorn, ceilings. We already had a lot of great advice for removing the cottage cheese. We are looking for some DIY options for texturing the ceilings so that we don't have to spend the money to have it done professionally.

Public Comments

1. You can always go to home depot and get some training on how to do texturing. As for having it done professionally, catch some drywall guys leaving a worksite and offer them the job for cash, UTT. Less cost for you, professionally done. Texturing isn't hard, but it's an art to be sure.
2. We just put ceiling-sand in our paint. Our ceilings weren't perfect so by using this method it turned out great, it was uniform in texture and it covered all boo-boo's, and the look of it isn't overpowering like popcorn. They have it at home depot. I will always perfer smooth ceilings though. They are worth hiring a professional to come in and finish, plus you get your investment back when you sell.
3. First off I assume you've checked the popcorn to make sure it isn't the asbestos variety. If it is, I wouldn't advise you disturb it unless you have a death wish and want to die from a horrible lung disease. Now assuming your popcorn is clean... you have two basic forms that dry wallers use. 1. You rent a gun and air compressor and shoot the ceiling with mud splatters. Thats the easy part, the hard part is you then use a large drywall trowel and lightly swipe it over the mud splatter. Its a bit of an art form. 2. Older style is done by using watery mud and a brushes. You use the brush to press the mud onto the ceiling and depending on the pattern of pressing you do the pattern has different names. This is an even more artist type of application and though easy to do if you over do it or under do it it looks like cr@p. Frankly your best bet is to rent the mud gun and air compressor. Just try to experiment on some scrap sheetrock. It isn't as easy as it looks
4. Two ways, Rent a sprayer & spray it Or water down drywall cement and roll it with a paint roller.