drywalling ceiling and texture

[radstorm]

Hi all, I am going to be replacing old ceiling with drywall sheets. I plan to just rough texture it with topping compound.

My question is: Do I still need to tape /mud the joints first, or can I just mud over it and fill the gaps to texture it?

[pushkins]

Yes you will have to tape and mud all joints and nail/screws to a finished condition before applying your textured finish. If you don't the textured joints will crack open probably within days of applying the texture. The purpose of the paper tape is to bind the sheets together as if they were continuous sheets. The other reason is that the textured finish will follow the contours of the ceiling, you cannot "fill" an area with extra textured material, as it changes the textures appearance compared to shallow areas.

[radstorm]

Thanks push, I was pretty much thinking I would still have to. I guess though taping wont have to be picture perfect as the rough texture will hide it anyways. Just give it continuity for the texture to bond to.

Drywall and I never did play well together, so the texture approach is pretty much my route to getting things done. Especially over my head..haha

By the way is topping compound better, or the joint compound to texture with. Come to think of it, is there actually any difference in them other than name?

I had used this concept years ago in an old house with bad plaster ceilings just to hide the flaws and it seemed to work out quite well. Basically I just took a round brush and dobbed it all over the ceiling surface, allowed it to dry, then painted it with a thick roller.

This was mostly due to cost, and still is by the way. Those so called "kits" are pricey. I lived there in that house a few years and it never came crashing back down on my head. So I guess I did something right.

[HayZee518]

"texture" paint is different than sheetrock compound. the texture is sand, some kind of fluffy additive, horsehair, fiberglass pieces etc. I know what yer trying to do, I've done that in the past -but- with one addition. remove about one third joint cmpd from the bucket and add one whole gallon of flat white latex paint to it and mix it thoroughly. This will make the compound white throughout and save you a step in painting the ceiling.

[pushkins]

Yeah I agree with Hayzee, if your using the round course hair brush to stipple your ceiling add the paint like he suggested, also I find it a tad easier as well to after you have mixed the paint and drywall mud together always keep about a glass of water on the surface of the bucket, it helps the brush pick up the mud without picking up big chunks of it.

[radstorm]

that is an excellent idea. I never thought of that before, and it would be a real time saver. Not to mention at my age, a back saver too

Thanks a bunch for the feedback and suggestions.