Ceiling patches

[vancouver_island]

I have been completely rebuilding a 1970s mobile home and I have been cutting holes in the ratty old ceiling to fish new wiring through.
Now I am at that stage where I have to fix the holes in the ceiling.
Any tips?

I am thinking about cutting up acoustical tiles in the right size peices, forcing them in and then either wallpapering the ceiling or plastering over and painting it.

[flcruising]

Now that's some extensive remodeling...

It's hard to tell what type of ceiling that is and whether there is a texture to it, but I think you might as well texture the whole thing to acheive continuity. Is it gypsum board?

My house has a stipple ceiling which has/had been used in site-built homes for years. All that's required is a stippling brush like this, and some drywall mud. You may be able to find a twin headed brush to make the job go quicker. Get the drywall mud a little runny, wet the brush in it, and press it to the ceiling in no particular pattern. The thicker the mud, the heavier the texture.

When we first moved in our home, my wife hated the ceiling because it looked so busy, but now it's the other way around, she loves ours and not the homes that have popcorn or knockdown.

[Dean3]

flcruising; Back in the very late 80s I worked with a contractor that called stipple "stomp texture",I was the guy running a double brush like You mentioned and it was a very messy(for me and the floor)process. He used a texture sprayer to coat with the thin mud,let it sit a short while,then I stomped it all. When done it did look ok I guess,it's not my favorite but that could be influenced by the huge need for a raincoat while stomping the ceiling!

As another option there are cans(spray paint sized)of different textures on the market for doing smaller patches,I forget the sq footage they will cover. It takes some practice and there may be a can or more of sacrifice texture(scraped off for re-do)before the knack is learned.Like any kind of pressure spraying Ya gotta move and with this stuff,Ya gotta move fast and even and from the right distance,kinda like paint,but,faster. I have used it with success,on accoustical(popcorn) patches,orange peel,and knockdown but then I have plenty of practice matching texture. These cans are relatively pricey but are an alternative to a larger texturing setup. One could practice on the less important areas 1st of course.

Dean

[Dean3]

Here's a link to some Homax versions,both oil and water based.

http://www.homaxproducts.com/products/t ... index.html

[vancouver_island]

thanks for the suggestions!
I started spackling the holes we had cut out last night with some success. Turns out the ceiling is tasty to moths and they are flying for their lives, and possibly even dive-bombing me. Its some sort of paper-board in long panels. We probably would have replaced it if the building inspector hadn't come in and said if we mess with it we would have to bring it up to code (which is R40) impossible in a mobile home as far as I know! also the ceiling runs under the roof trusses all the way around the mobile.

The spray on texture looks really cool. it makes me nervous only because we already put up our wood paneling which is unfinished and im sure would absorb any paint that comes near it.

[flcruising]

That's the common name for it, stomped ceiling! Don't know why I couldn't remember what most people know it as.

[Johanna Bruns]

Hi, Chelsey!

I love clear plastic for protecting walls. Use 1/2" staples in the gun, that should let them stand out enough to remove easily.I got about 300 sq ft of 12" glue-on ceiling tiles at the Habitat Re-store. Part of it will patch the holes, part will be a glue-on cover in bath and bedrooms, then painted white. The LR and kitchen will be done with the brick-stamped metal skirting tiles, painted white. Maybe there's something similar in your area? I don't want to have to repair drywall cracks later.

Aaron-
The brush you pictured looks like it was the type used to make a ceiling texture I always thought was cool. It was circular swirls all over the ceiling, evenly spaced and just touching. Wonder if I have the patience to try it...

Chelsey,looks like you're doing great!
Johanna

[vancouver_island]

Hi Johanna! good to hear from you. There are a lot of changes since that picture was taken.

Thats a great suggestion. I WISH i could find glue on ceiling tiles. I have been to every hardware in a 200k radius here dreaming of finding something like that.
The stamped metal skirting tiles sound interesting... are they actually for skirting?

I had a bucket of texture paint leftover from something else so I gave that a try in the bathroom. what a nightmare! It rained down everywhere and looks terrible. I found some of that spray on texture that Dean suggested so I'm going to giver that a try touching up the bathroom. No way I'm going for texture in the whole place however. Our ceiling is way too lumpy for that.

I think I'm going to have to either cover it with something like you are suggesting or do a decorative plaster over the whole thing.
Its still a thorn in my side!!

[Dean3]

I think I had sort of assumed it was a drywall ceiling before You revealed it was the long panels.I hope I didn't lead You astray. Depending on the pattern of the panels it might be difficult to match with any drywall product.

Depending on what is done already- Could you remove a closet ceiling to get large enough pieces of panel to fill the hole/s with matching material and then use some sort of casing(2 1/4" door/window trim maybe)to "picture frame" around it to cover the edge cuts? Then just cover the closet ceiling with something else,that is,if You can't find matching material for the patches elsewhere. Then the patches would look kinda like attic access holes in a house.Some 1"x4" backer may need to be installed for the finish nails or screws to bite into.

I'm looking up at My similar panels and I could see it working well enough for Me anyway.

Dean

[vancouver_island]

oh no, you didnt lead me astray! I had the paint already and wanted to try it.
the problem is that I have removed absolutely all the walls in the mobile making it one long room so you can see where all the walls used to be.

[Johanna Bruns]

Chelsey,

These are not pre-glued stick-on tiles. They just give instructions on how to either staple or glue them to the ceiling, using construction adhesive. They are kinda out of vogue, but I know you should be able to order them. They are made of a light fiberboard, but don't have the slick surface the mobile home panels have. I know Armstrong makes them, and IIRC, I think mine are Georgia Pacific-- not home to check.

There is also a similar kind of tile that's made of styrofoam. I've seen two installations, and they take paint great-- probably texture too. I just haven't looked for them.

I wish that the tin ceiling panels weren't so expensive. I'm using the brick-pattern skirting panels because they're cheap. I'm going to clear-coat some to use for backsplash in the kitchen and laundry, so maybe they'll tie in instead of looking weird.

I think it was in this thread that I read that interior walls in single wides are not load-bearing. This really opens up possibilities.

You go, girl!
Johanna

[Dean3]

After looking at the most recent pics at Your link I see the walls/trim are already finished. If I was in Your shoes at this point I would probably remove the top trim,remove the ceiling panels,replace with something of similar thickness then replace the trim.After all the walls do look very nice,why not do the ceiling nice too?

It would take alot of prep work to do a lasting job of skim coating the ceiling and have it look nice enough to be worthy of the walls.The plastic strips between the panels would have to go,staples added wherever needed,the joints taped and feathered out,then 2 total coverage skim coats and sanding and texture. I gotta say tho,a light knockdown(french lace)texture would compliment the walls nicely IMO. Even after all that work there's no guarantee the pressed paper panels would be a good surface to apply any joint compound skim coat to,if they move the finish coat will crack. I have the same material on My ceiling and haven't done the above process for that very reason.

I might be inclined to say that with the interior walls removed You might want to install a rigid ceiling anyway,,just in case removing the interior walls will allow the structure to flex more than it was designed to. Maybe I'm just a worrywart tho.

Very nice work so far and a flippin fantastic location too!!

Dean

[vancouver_island]

aha! yes I hear what you are saying. However, we didn't remove the ceiling for two reasons. One: our building inspector told us not to touch it or we would have to bring it up to the bc building code
two: The way the mobile home is built the ceiling panels continue all the way outside and sit between the top of the walls and the roof trusses. I guess they build the roof with the ceiling attached then lower the whole shebang down unto the walls.

lots of people have suggested putting 1/4'' drywall up there but I think that would crack for sure. I think a very thin plywood might be better. But it is a matter of budget at this point.

thanks! I have learned more about the way mobiles are built than I ever wanted to know.