Kitchen ceiling suggestions please

[Paul Greathouse]

We will be totally remodeling our kitchen this winter. I need to replace the 1989 popcorn blown ceiling. When I remodeled the master bath last year I scrapped the popcorn off and mudded the ceiling slick.
I may do the same thing in the kitchen but that was one heck of a job getting the bathroom ceiling just right without a texture (I'm not a professional drywaller but I get by).

I need some ideas of something I could cover the ceiling with after scrapping the popcorn or better yet something I could go directly over the popcorn with. The cabinets will be Pecan and the sheetrock walls will be painted a "yet to be determined" light color.

Texturing the sheetrock is an option but I was looking for something quick and easy that I can do myself but still look classy.

[sean m. titmas]

you could install some style of tongue and groove bead board or you could do a frame and panel with beams dividing the room. either style should accent the cabinets and completely cover the sheetrock.

[Brian Effinger]

A tin (actually I think they're aluminum now) ceiling might look good.

[Jacob Robinson]

i know this might look like an ad for the product, but i swear, its not. you might look into getting something like these people make: http://www.armstrong.com/resclgam/na...al-ceiling.asp
or a similar product, when installed well, it looks absolutely fantastic, and really gives a place a lot of character. Personally i hate plan old sheet-rock walls/ceilings, and would rather see wainscoting, chair rails, and metal paneling on ceilings.
true, thats just one person's style. i just think that textured sheet-rock looks like office construction.

[Russell Tribby]

i know this might look like an ad for the product, but i swear, its not. you might look into getting something like these people make: http://www.armstrong.com/resclgam/na...al-ceiling.asp
or a similar product, when installed well, it looks absolutely fantastic, and really gives a place a lot of character. Personally i hate plan old sheet-rock walls/ceilings, and would rather see wainscoting, chair rails, and metal paneling on ceilings.
true, thats just one person's style. i just think that textured sheet-rock looks like office construction.

We have these tiles in on our bathroom ceiling and they look great. They are not the tin tiles but rather 12x12 foam tiles that have a coat of primer on them. When we got them 5-6 years ago they ran about $1/sq.ft. They were easy to install, relatively cheap and they look good. I ordered them through HD. We've also done beadboard and t&g. Personally I don't think you can go wrong with any of these options.

[phil harold]

I think that a semi gloss painted smooth finish is best for a kitchen ceiling.

Much easier to clean


when removing a popcorrn ceiling use a garden sprayer to spray a 5x5 area at a time cover the floor, its going to be messy...

Skim coat the ceiling afterward

Tin ceilings are nice but a spendy option need to plywood over the sheet rock first then tin

cheaper to higher someone skim coat your cieling to a #4 or 5 finish and then paint

[Paul Greathouse]

Thanks for the ideas, I like the tin ceilings but my wife is undecided. I'll have to check into the foam tiles that Russ used.

Tongue & Groove or beadboard would also work, our home is actually my grandparents old farmhouse that I acquired and remodeled back in 1989.

I do like a slick smooth sheetrock finish but I would have to hire someone to get the quality of work that I want in the timeframe that I need. The existing cabinets go all the way up to the ceiling and will have to be removed before the work can be done. I don't want to remove them and then take the time to do the ceiling correctly myself. Can't go without a kitchen for that long.

The frame and panel with beams would look great on a taller ceiling but I only have 8' walls in the kitchen.

[Jason Strauss]

When I built my house a few years ago, the painter said that he only uses flat paint on the ceiling to hide any finishing defects in the wall board (carefull, Sheetrock is a brand name). He said that he sprays it on pretty thick and the rolls it with a 1/2" nap roller to provide some texture. He may have been blowing smoke, but it made sense to me and looks good.

After scraping off your "popcorn" (which was there to hide imperfrection in the first place), I would skim coat with a lite topping compound and then do the paint treatment described above. Any drywall finisher worth their salt could do this (excluding the painting) in a few hours or less and it wouldn't cost you too much.

I also like the "tin" ceiling panel idea, but with 8' ceilings, that could cause the room height to look even lower.

[sean m. titmas]

When I built my house a few years ago, the painter said that he only uses flat paint on the ceiling to hide any finishing defects in the wall board (carefull, Sheetrock is a brand name). He said that he sprays it on pretty thick and the rolls it with a 1/2" nap roller to provide some texture. He may have been blowing smoke, but it made sense to me and looks good.

After scraping off your "popcorn" (which was there to hide imperfrection in the first place), I would skim coat with a lite topping compound and then do the paint treatment described above. Any drywall finisher worth their salt could do this (excluding the painting) in a few hours or less and it wouldn't cost you too much.

After you remove the popcorn from the "drywall" and patch any gouges you can apply a thick coat of thinned down "drywall" compound with a thick nap roller. mix it to pancake batter consistency and apply to give the ceiling some texture and hide any imperfections in your finishing. cover that with a flat ceiling paint and that will be the cheapest and fastest ( as per your request) finish for your ceiling because the other options involve more work and materials.

for removal of the popcorn i get the best results by dragging a scraper across the ceiling first to break off the tops of the paint and popcorns. this will speed up the soaking in process. also a garden sprayer will take too much time so i use a regular garden hose with a spray nozzle set for a fine spray pattern and dont be afraid to soak the drywall with 2 or 3 quick passes. allow about 15 - 20 minutes of soaking before you scrape. do a test scrape and if it does not come off completely clean the first pass than you need more water or longer soaking time. this is a one pass process so you need to make sure it is wet enough before you begin. also dont let the surface dry out or you will have trouble removing it. if it does start to dry up than spray it again lightly . purchase a popcorn removal tool (about $10)from your local big box store and attach it to a long pole so that your angle of attack will be as shallow as possible. cover the walls with lightweight plastic sheeting and dispose of after you scrape and cover the floors with drop cloths to prevent any slippage.

[Eric Gustafson]

The texture treatment I prefer, and is popular in these parts, is the skip-trowel. After you've removed the popcorn and patched holes and gouges, give the ceiling a light skim coat. Perfection not required. Then using thinned drywall compound, skip the trowel across the surface, every which way, breaking up patterns. Let the mud dry on the edges, then go over it every which way with a large drywall knife knocking down the peaks and stretching out the patterns.

That is all there is to it. I like this because later repairs are easily blended in with the rest of the surface.

[Jim Rimmer]

I thought I posted a reply to this earlier but I guess not. (Or some other poster is really confused by my response ). Anyway, I recently textured my medium to large kitchen walls after removing the wallpaper. I found roll-on texture at the borg and a pamphlet next to it explaining how to apply and how to get different textures. I bought the recommended roller for $10 and then tossed it and used a cheap foam roller and got the affect I wanted. I would recommend getting some texture and a scrap piece of dry wall to pactice on and get your technique down and then go for it. Contractor had quoted a high $$$ (hard to tell how much for texture because other stuff was included) and I textured and painted for about $250.

[Wes Bischel]

Paul,
Another option is to use furring, scraping only where the furring strips fasten. (and not worrying about the looks) This would allow you to use beaded planks, drywall, metal panels, etc. without the need to remove all of the texture and still maintain a flat installation. I did this in our kitchen using 3/8" pine beaded plank (primed and painted before installation). There are a lot of off the shelf plank options these days - many pre-finished. Planks are great to install - very little waste.

Oh, and if you use screws to install the furring, that will allow adjustment to get everything flat.

We'll need to see pictures naturally!
Good luck, Wes

[Dan Mages]

+1 on tin ceiling. I put one in my last house. It is a difficult install, but well worth it. I purchased mine at http://www.tinceiling.com/

Dan

[Josiah Bartlett]

I have an old house that has at least three ceilings thick in a couple of rooms- original shiplap/tng, lath and plaster, and popcorn over drywall. The ceiling has lost enough height that I'm planning to rip the whole thing back to the shiplap (or maybe to the joists and use the shiplap for something else) and either clean that up or put thin beadboard, planks, or tin over the top. I've painted the popcorn gloss white for now and it looks much better, but its coming out eventually.

Do yourself a favor and rip out the popcorn. And never paint a kitchen ceiling flat- always use semigloss or satin, otherwise it will pick up grease and dust and look dingy after a few years. Gloss also helps with lighting.