One mistake beginners make is assuming that texture will hide a bad taping job. This is NOT true. When taping and mudding, take the time so that when your done the seams are not visible. For the beginner, this will mean a lot of sanding.

Homes that don’t have sheetrock ceilings probably have tile or ceiling board. The ceiling tiles are generally 16” or 4’ wide and run the width of the home. Some types of ceiling tiles are held up with screws and rosettes. Other types are screwed up at the seams and then the seams are covered with a plastic spline.


Spraying on texture is a much easier task than mudding. If you have access to an air compressor, then all you need is to purchase a $60 texture sprayer (which looks like a big bucket). To mix texture, first decide whether you want fine, medium or course texture. Dump about a half a bag of dry texture into a 5 gallon bucket. Add 1 gallon of ceiling white paint and mix using a half inch drill with a mixing paddle. Add water until you get the desired textured. The texture should resemble soft ice cream. Let the texture mixture sit in the bucket for an hour, occasionally stirring. This ensures that the paint soaks into the texture giving it a uniform color. You may need to occasionally add water a few ounces at a time. While waiting for the texture to soak, cover the walls and floor with plastic.

Charge your air compressor and set the pressure to 80 pounds. The bigger the compressor the better. You should have at least an 11 gallon tank on your compressor. Pour some texture mixture into the hopper. Practice by spraying on a scrap piece of drywall. Get a feeling for the movement. If the texture doesn’t come out of the gun very well, dump the hopper and add some more water to the 5 gallon bucket. When you begin spraying, start out by constantly moving the sprayer. As you get the feel of it, go back and spray more texture. The beauty of spraying texture is that if you don’t like what you’ve done, simply scrape it off and spray again. As the air pressure drops in the air tank, pause and let it catch up. A compressor running constantly may overheat, so spray with common sense, or rent an actual texture sprayer.

Don’t want to hassle with spraying texture or don’t have an air compressor, then check out the many roll-on options available at your home improvement center. You can roll-on texture, or apply paint with texture in it.

Sheetrock ceilings | Paneled ceilings