Texturing your ceiling, as one of the finishing steps on home construction that can be exciting. Whether you chose popcorn, orange peel, knockdown, or stipple, your ceiling probably looks pretty good with its new coat of texture. You may be wondering if it really needs painting? Is painting your ceiling a necessary step, or can it be skipped? Fortunately for you, we have a well-researched answer ready!
Yes, ceilings that have been newly textured should always be painted. Ceiling texture is very porous and similar to drywall mud. Paint helps to bind and seal the texture. Additionally, ceiling texture is typically water-soluble and can be damaged by moisture. It is best to both prime and paint your newly textured ceilings.
As we have seen, painting your ceiling after texturing is an important step. To learn more about painting your ceiling, as well as different textures, be sure to keep reading!
Why Should You Paint Newly Textured Ceilings?
There are several reasons why it is important to paint ceilings that have recently been textured. We have mentioned a few, but let's look at a few more and go into a little bit more detail.
Ceiling Texture Is Porous
A texture that is not painted can absorb moisture, smoke, grease, and other contaminants. By using primer and paint to seal your ceilings, you will prevent this kind of absorption. As a result, you will greatly extend the lifetime of your ceilings.
Ceiling Texture Is Water-Soluble
Because of the soft, water-soluble nature of ceiling texture, it would be difficult to clean. An attempt to clean an unpainted, textured ceiling could actually remove some of the texture. Painting your textured ceiling makes it much easier to clean.
Unpainted Texture Is Not Pure White
One of the most popular colors for a ceiling is bright white. A ceiling texture that has not been painted is gray-white. Painting your ceiling can give the room a much brighter look.
Should you texture your ceiling?
To texture or not to texture, that is the question. All jesting aside, the decision of whether or not you will add texture to your ceilings is up to you. Different home styles, room sizes, skill levels, and personal preferences will all play into your choice. To help you decide, we will go over a few of the pros and cons of textured ceilings.
Advantages
First, let's look at all the reasons why you may want to texture your ceilings:
Easier
Texture tends to be easier to apply and more forgiving of mistakes than a smooth ceiling finish would be. This is particularly helpful if you plan to take your ceilings on as a DIY project.
Noise Reduction
Believe it or not, textured ceilings help to reduce the noise in a room. Rooms with smooth ceilings tend to echo more than rooms that have texture on their ceilings.
Cozy
A textured ceiling contributes to a cozier feel. If you're going for a warm, comfortable cottage feel, textured ceilings will fit right in. Of course, they are well suited to other styles as well.
Cheaper
Textured ceilings are cheaper than smooth ceilings. If you plan to hire the job out, contractors will typically charge more for a smooth ceiling than a textured one. Smooth ceilings require more time, skill, patience, and drywall mud than textured ceilings do.
Camouflage
Texturing your ceiling will often hide damage better than a smooth ceiling would. A small scratch can seemingly disappear into the texture, while it would stand out on a smooth surface.
Disadvantages
With all these benefits to a textured ceiling, why wouldn't you go ahead and use texture? Well, there a few cons that should be weighed in there too. These include the following:
Difficult To Match
Unfortunately, evenly textured ceilings do occasionally need to be repaired. You may have water damage, renovations, or have accidentally scrape some of the texture off. In this case, it can be difficult to match the existing texture exactly. Usually, a much larger area will have to be retextured to blend the new texture with the old.
Harder To Clean
Textured ceilings can be much more difficult to clean than smooth ceilings. Dust and grease will accumulate and need to be cleaned. The dips and ridges of textured ceilings can make cleaning rather difficult.
If you already have textured ceilings that need a good cleaning, check out this post! The tips are handy for any ceiling texture, not just popcorn ceilings: "How To Clean A Popcorn Ceiling – Everything You Need To Know."
It makes The Room Seem Smaller
Remember that cozy feel that we mentioned earlier? Well, the flip side of that is that your room may feel smaller. Obviously, the actual size of your room will not change, but texture seemingly brings the walls closer and the ceilings lower.
Tends To Look Dated
Sleek, modern trends utilize clean, crisp, smooth lines. That goes for the ceilings too. Textured ceilings have a tendency to feel busy and dated.
What is the best way to paint textured ceilings?
When it comes to textured ceilings, spraying them is the best way to quickly and efficiently get a coat of paint on them. However, not everyone has access to a paint sprayer. Additionally, spraying your ceiling can be very messy, and care should be taken to control the overspray. An alternative to spraying your ceilings is to use a roller with a 1/2 to 3/4 inch nap.
To learn more about painting your ceiling, be sure to check this article out: "How To Paint A Ceiling Without Roller Marks [9 Pro Tips!]."
What are the most popular ceiling textures?
When you're deciding on what texture to use on your ceiling, it is important to know each type's characteristics. Ceiling texture may seem like a small detail, but choosing the right one can have a big effect on your home. We will go over four of the most popular options for ceiling texture.
Orange Peel
Orange peel texture is a very popular texture created by spraying a thin coat of mud onto the ceiling. This mud can be either a special ceiling mixture or a joint compound thinned down. The mud splatters on the ceiling, creating a textured look much like the peel on an orange. Depending on several factors, it can produce a light to heavy texturing effect.
Knockdown
This ceiling texture is somewhere between a smooth texture and an orange peel texture. While the terms orange peel and knockdown are sometimes used interchangeably, they are not the same texture. Knockdown is sprayed on the ceiling like an orange peel texture. However, shortly after the mud is sprayed onto the ceiling, the texture's peaks are knocked down using a drywall knife.
Popcorn
Everyone knows about popcorn ceilings, also known as a cottage cheese ceiling. Tiny balls that resemble popcorn kernels are mixed in with a texturing mud and then sprayed onto the ceiling. Although this texture is not as popular as it once was, it is still very widely used.
Skip-Troweling
Skip troweling produces a rougher, more random ceiling texture that is excellent for coverage. It is actually widely used to cover popcorn ceilings, as well as camouflage poorly finished drywall. This texture involves applying a thin layer of mud or a joint compound and using a technique to skip the trowel across the mud. The result is random, uneven texture across the ceiling.
Conclusion
In the end, whether you use knockdown, skip-troweling, or any other type of texture, painting that texture is important. Once those ceilings are finished and painted, your room is sure to look bright and fashionable.