# Ceiling texture ideas?



## DangerMouse (Jul 17, 2008)

I have some ceilings I need to do.... "something" with now. Taped and mudded, but I don't want to just paint them as smooth, and I'm not wanting to do the same texture I've already done. I need something cheap and fast, as usual, such as maybe crinkled tin foil glued up then painted? Or some new and ingenious ideas you guys may have running around in your heads? I'll consider anything! I just don't want the 'same old stuff' everywhere. I'm considering using varnished newspaper as wallpaper in some areas, (my daughter's walk-in closet comes to mind, with Sunday color comics.) if that gives you an idea as to how cheap I am..... :laughing:

Thanks!

DM


----------



## Blondesense (Sep 23, 2008)

How about a faux finish?

When we lived in Oklahoma our kitchen counter was trashed Formica. So I wanted to try something I had read about. I tore off the top of the formica leaving the particle board underneath. I primed it. Then I took kraft envelopes (those yellow orange ones) and tore them up (You want all torn edges). Crumpled the heck out them them (the more crumpled, the better!) Smoothed them out, dipped them in a 1/2 white glue, 1/2 water solution and spread them on the counter, smoothing them flat and bubble free. Since it was a counter I finished it with four coats of spar polyurethane.

It really looked like leather. Unfortunately I never took a pic. 

I knew it wasn't going to last, but for a grand total of $30.00 it was something I wanted to try. It still looked good when we sold three years later.

There are a lot of variations of this. Some say to use wallpaper paste, and you can try it with just about any kind of paper you want, from tissue paper to newsprint to.....

Before I decided on the kraft envelopes (it was the color I wanted) I took a bunch of cardboard, a big bottle of glue and just experimented with different papers. 
You don't want to paint over it, but if you want color, try adding paint to the glue.

-----------



DangerMouse said:


> I need something cheap and fast, as usual, such as maybe crinkled tin foil glued up then painted?


How about tissue paper? Not endorsing this site, just found it while trying to find an example of what I did.

http://www.thatpainterlady.com/reader-question-torn-tissue-paper-finish/


----------



## DangerMouse (Jul 17, 2008)

Thanks, I've seen that method before, it's pretty nice for walls, but can you imagine an old man like me trying to do that to the ceiling? :laughing:
Remember, I said cheap and EASY!

DM


----------



## Blondesense (Sep 23, 2008)

Yeah, working on the ceiling is the pits, I'm getting a stiff neck just thinking about it.


----------



## DangerMouse (Jul 17, 2008)

What about watered down joint compound and a 'loop' type roller? I think I've seen that done before, but I can't find a pic of what it looks like anywhere. Dang sure don't want to spray popcorn! :laughing:

DM


----------



## user1007 (Sep 23, 2009)

DangerMouse said:


> Thanks, I've seen that method before, it's pretty nice for walls, but can you imagine an old man like me trying to do that to the ceiling? :laughing:
> Remember, I said cheap and EASY!
> 
> DM


Coarse washed river sand or the repair pellets you can buy for popcorn ceiling repair. Both availed at your paint store. Mixed into high quality and high bond/high build primer. 3/4" or even thicker nap roller. A load on the roller of sand and primer will weigh a ton though so be prepared and have a good pro quality roller handle and extension working from the floor. Sitr everything every time you touch it. 

I assume you are texturing for cracks and not some deisigner look? You know if they are big, and I understand the old man thing sort of. Somebody has to climb up and tape repair the big wide ones. Are you saying you forgot to mud and tape drywall joints in your ceiling?

Cool. Do not prime them. Pick the crappiest white paint you can and find somebody who still sprays popcorn ceilings on. It is the way it was done in a time. 

Seriously. No pain no gain. Your "old" lady still live with you? Similar age or is she like 20 nipping at your heels to get stuff done? As only heir. 

"Honey, the roof looks kind of covered with snow and I wouldn't mind if you got up there and shoveled like the top third and maybe the rest tomorrow. I know our roof is slate but I know you can do it."

Bedroom scaffolding for old folks that just need to get away and have their own place to nap may be the best thing I have come up with since "Haircolor Just for Cats!. My new love interest is on me for doing all sorts of things. Some I can and some I cannot but if I had scaffolding in the bedroom I could climb up on and spend the next 40 years working on texturing a ceiling. I would have a project. I am thinking gold leaf, sheet by sheet. Or two fish spitting at each other across the room. I would need every scale right though.

Last related question. You any hurry on finishing this particular ceiling?


----------



## DangerMouse (Jul 17, 2008)

No cracks, all new 5/8" Fire-X I did myself. (in 4x4 sections or smaller for most of it) It's all taped and mudded and ready for..... something....
I like the tin tile look, but at 5 bucks for a 2x2 sheet, that's out of our price range unless I do it a few at a time. 
I love my dining room ceiling, http://www.diychatroom.com/f49/my-40-00-300-sq-ft-homemade-birch-walnut-ceiling-31309/ but I don't have enough panels to do much, and it was a good deal of time to make the trim from raw walnut, etc. I know it'd be messy, but what about the rolled on large loop idea? I'm sure that's been done before? Rolled on then knocked down?

DM


----------



## oldrivers (May 2, 2009)

one texture we used to do a few times was to skim coat the ceiling about 1/8th of an inch to 3/16s , then take a wallpaper brush , start in one corner and do a half circle then do another one right next to that and repeat til you get to the other end , then do you second row inbetween stacked like bricks do a 1/4 circle on the ends then repeat the next row like the first one . its a pretty cool texture that has a diagano look to it aswell . basically it looks like you took a bunch of records and cut them in half and then stack them like bricks. might want to practice on a scrap piece firsh though , id use the highest setting easy sand you can find like 220 minute so your not rushed as your doing it. im thinking of doing this on my basement ceilings to.


----------



## stoner529 (Nov 12, 2010)

why dont you buy some combs and run it on the ceiling in any pattern you want? it will look differetn. there is a demo on youtube about it. i assume you dont want knockdown or splatter drag?


----------



## DangerMouse (Jul 17, 2008)

Videos would be great!..... if I wasn't on dialup.... it takes hours to load a few minutes video.
I'm more in the market for pictures and explanations. :laughing:
What exactly is splatter/drag? What I've been doing? (The wife calls it 'slap and tickle')

DM


----------



## Red Squirrel (Jun 29, 2009)

CDs, DVD's and other optical media all glued together in random matters. I think it would actually look pretty cool actually.  pain to clean finger prints though...


----------



## DangerMouse (Jul 17, 2008)

hmmm.... we have a huge pile of old black vinyl records. That might actually be a good idea for a ceiling! Cut them in half.... or glue them up whole!
I wanted to make rabbeted 'slider rails' to mount to the walls and slide in album covers we liked to display the cool art they USED to use. We don't use turntables any more, what else can you do with them? Wallpaper and ceilings! 
If I do this, I'll be sure to post pics! :laughing:

DM


----------



## FrankieAdams (8 mo ago)

What do you think about a room full of comic characters?
It gives me an inspiration and a new perspective on comics. Definitely collect more comics and come up with new ideas for my room.I collected it at Asura Scans *Download now* . Where did you guys collect it?


----------



## mark sr (Jun 13, 2017)

Cheap and easy would be a spray on texture using a hopper gun. Rolling on thinned down joint compound would also be cheap although not as easy.


----------

