The Right Tools Can Make All the Difference

Last Friday I finished priming the kitchen for painting and was ready to texture the ceiling first thing Saturday morning.  

A couple days ago I purchased a can of spray on texture.  On Friday I reviewed the directions from the back of the can.  The directions on the can listed a website I could go to to watch videos on how to properly use the product.  I watched every video and confirmed that I had done all of the preparation steps first which were to: 

  • prime the surface

  • mask the area off

  • bring the can up to room temperature

I picked the ceiling above the refrigerator for my small sample/starting area because it's the last part if the room you look at when entering the kitchen from the garage.  Per instructions I attached a little white straw to the tip of the nozel on the top and began to spray on the texture in a small area.  The product foamed up on the ceiling as expected; however, virtually all the product dripped off the ceiling before I could knock down the stuff.

At this point I had to decide if I was going to spend an hour or two figuring out how to get the product to work or if I was going to rent a tool the pros use.  The decision to rent a texture gun from HD took all of one second to make. 

I made it to the rental department at Homedepot, picked up the texture gun and a bag of some dry ceiling/wall texture compound.  At home I mixed the texture compound according to directions.  There were also a couple DIY videos on youtube.  By 10am I was texturing with the texture gun.

I started splattering texture over the same place I had previously attempted, found I had the mud too thick, watered it down, and had success.  After a few minutes of dry time I gently knocked down the splattered mud on the ceiling.  It was perfect and I continued texturing the rest of the ceiling being careful to get the mud evenly spread.  I was glad that I taped painters plastic onto the walls because I had to center the gun right on the inside corner where the ceiling meets the wall.

One interesting note when the texture on the painters plastic dried it fell off making a real mess on the ground with dried chips of plaster.  I was very glad to have the ground cloth to catch the chips.  It was a messy job.

I was finished texturing by 1pm, had the unit cleaned by 2pm and returned to HomeDepot by 3pm.  There wasn't a single point that I felt rushed.  I took my time and was able to get the results I wanted.

My son-in-law Zach helped me setup some fans to help dry the texture.

At 4pm I picked my daughter Holly up from where the charter busses dropped off the students who participated in the state academic decathalon championships.  This year Bingham High School won the state championships and will be competing in Hawaii for National Championships in April.  My daughter Holly took 3rd place over-all in the state in her catagory.  CONGRATULATIONS HOLLY!!!!

We were back home by 5pm.  By 7pm I re-primed the ceiling and by 10pm I finished repainting the ceiling.

Here are the finished results.

Tonight I'll tape the ceiling and begin painting the walls.  I can't wait to get those kitchen cabinets hung back on the walls.