Ceiling Love

[Katie]

Here I am. I have not been here for a few months, have been going crazy ever since we started removing the evil DIAGONAL KITCHEN WALL. Our real house sold, we moved into the MH and I was out of town for 6 weeks, then we had Christmas, my birthday, our anniversary, and ok, enough. I am back now. You can all breathe easy once more.....I actually missed you guys!!!!
What I want to tell you NOW is how I fell in love with my living room ceiling !!! it was a nightmare of epic porportions: termite damage, water damage, sagging, nasty, ugly, stained, patched, partly painted, botched, and all I wanted to do was cry. I never looked up. I told everyone not to look up.
I was saved by my awesome HandyGuy Steve who said.... "I can fix it for you" and I didnt believe him. ho ho. well, we went to Home Depot and bought a gazillion long screws and sheetrock drywall which he and me and his wife screwed up RIGHT OVER THE MESS !!!! I read about this technique on your site but thought it an impossible task, one doomed to failure..... WELL, let me tell you it is the best way to do the ceiling..... we have tried the patch method which looks like its been patched, the tear-down total replacement method which is the filthiest job on the planet and a pain all the way around. We took all the moulding off around the top edge, dismantled the jerry-rigged ceiling fan, wired the ceiling fan correctly, (it was easy because the drywall still wasn't installed on the new STRAIGHT wall). Then we went to town "hanging" the drywall. I yelled and jumped for joy.... by the end of the afternoon Steve had it all taped and the first coat of mud on it. He carefully went through the process of sanding, remudding, and sanding again and then I went out and bought Behr's Interior Texture Paint, (smooth finish) and had Steve roll it on per the instructions with a texture roller. After it dried a couple hours I knocked it down with a trowel and it was a total miracle. I loved it so much I almost had Steve talked into going into business with me.... re-doing people's nasty ceilings.....
it is all primed, painted and has nice crown moulding installed, we even textured the marriage beam and painted it the same color as the rest of the ceiling. Then it looked so nice I made Steve texture the dining room, right over the intact mobile home ceiling, which improved the look of it.
I then went nuts and textured 3 walls. Two are paneled, and one newly drywalled----- its so fun, and rewarding.
Ok, I am done talking. I just wanted to share this in case there are other people out there who cry when they look up. Now when I look up I want to get my step ladder out and climb up and kiss my ceiling.... I have never been so in love. I want to marry it.

bye for now. Katie

[Yanita]

Hi Katie,

I truly hope that you removed all the damage that you mentioned, and hope that you did not get the info from this site that it would be a good idea to cover existing damage.

Hopefully the water damage and termite damage was addressed and repaired. termite damage generally requires pro's to eradicate those miserable critters.

If the water leak was not found and repaired correctly then your newly finished ceiling will eventually show signs of damage. I am sorry if I sound negative.

Glad you are back.

Yanita

[Katie]

No No No... !!! I didn't mean that you shouldn't address the causes of problems, and just do a nice cosmetic trick to save the day!!! No Way.
I guess I didn't explain it right....
We had the whole house treated for termites at the get go. In fact, we had it inspected before we bought it. The existing damage had been there for many years and never addressed properly by previous owner, but we knew it was only right to have it treated before we even levelled it.....and treated again after we replaced wood. It has a termite contract on it.
My handy-guy Steve tested all of the ceiling joists before attempting to screw up the new drywall..... he knew as well as I that you can't attach anything to something that isn't sound. And we were elated when he discovered they were indeed sound.... and he dug around looking for mold, and found none, just water spots. The roof had been previously inspected and has in place, a good, sound "roofover" job done on it.... otherwise he would have had to remove any moldy portions and/or replace joists before proceeding.
It was a nasty looking, sagging, badly painted and patched (not by me) mess of a ceiling.....not befitting a house with a STRAIGHT kitchen wall!
I should have described this more thoroughly, so please don't get the wrong impression from me.... I know you are here to educate people and you sure dont need bad advice flowing through!!!

You would have cried as I did when we discovered the termite damage to be more extensive than we first were told. We went ahead with the purchase, but with termites, you cannot know what the total damage is until you start doing the repairs.... in our case this was true, and my advice would be to RUN AWAY FAST, dont walk, if any termite damage is found. Don't buy it!!!!! We went considerably over our budget making repairs, and replacing wood and walls that we didnt expect to. It is a domino effect.... so get inspected. It is your right.

We have a nice home now. We are confident that all is sound. We replaced most of the windows and as we did so were able to happily see that in the structure that the majority of walls were just fine....

Anyway, thanks for all you folks do. I am really glad to be back here and you already know I think of you as friends, I have read nearly everything you have here.
Excuse me now, I need to go sing a lullaby to my ceiling..... LOL
ps, someday when the spirit moves me I will post a bunch of pictures in here to show you all what this looks like...before and after. Not today, tho, the spirit isnt moving me right now....!

[Yanita]

Hi Katie,

Whew, glad we got that cleared up. I would of hated to think that all that time and money was for naught! Glad you had it done the right way, all leaks and damaged repaired.

Enjoy that ceiling, hey, wanna come and paint mine???

Yanita

[angel.reign07]

Ceiling fans are a great addition to any room in any house; not only do they add style, but they also offer comfort and efficiency. Installing a ceiling fan can help circulate the air more efficiently, making it feel warmer in the winter and cooler in the summer. Almost anyone who is handy around the house will be able to install a ceiling fan in just a few easy steps.




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[JayhawkFan]

is there possibly a thread about "removing the diagonal kitchen wall'???? i have one that i would LOVE to get rid of, to widen out the kitchen&make more space!!!!