I'm finishing up the drywall in my attached 3 car garage. A buddy says that knockdown texture on the ceiling adds a nice finishing touch, and hides some of the imperfections (it's my first time taping and mudding, so there are definitely some). I talked to a proffesional drywall guy who said every customer he's done knockdown in the garage for has wished they didn't do it. He contradicted my buddy by saying that it will make imperfections easier to see. He also said that the exhaust fumes make the cieling turn black after a couple years. My buddy has done knockdown in 2 garages and has never had that issue. Anyone have an opinion on whether I should texture the cieling or not? Also, what type of paint finish would you reccomend (flat = less obvous imperfections, but less reflective for light, less durrable(?); gloss = more obvious imprefectsion, better light reflectiveness, more durrable)?
Ceiling texture?
- Thread starter cdkoch
- Start date
ddawg16
Well-known member
Comprimise.....
1st Option would be to use textured paint. Here is a pic of what mine looked like.
And how it looks from a distance relative to the walls.
On the walls, I did not use a texture...instead, I used a heavy knap roller....so it has a bit of a orange peel look to it....you can see some defects...but then again, most walls end up being covered with stuff...so your typically not looking at much paint.
If I had it to do over again....I would take some mud (the stuff you tape with), thin it down with water so it's a bit thicker than paint...and then rolled that on with a heavy knap roller. Then prime and paint.
The problem with knock down is that if you ever have to go back and patch it....it's a ***** to match up.
1st Option would be to use textured paint. Here is a pic of what mine looked like.
And how it looks from a distance relative to the walls.
On the walls, I did not use a texture...instead, I used a heavy knap roller....so it has a bit of a orange peel look to it....you can see some defects...but then again, most walls end up being covered with stuff...so your typically not looking at much paint.
If I had it to do over again....I would take some mud (the stuff you tape with), thin it down with water so it's a bit thicker than paint...and then rolled that on with a heavy knap roller. Then prime and paint.
The problem with knock down is that if you ever have to go back and patch it....it's a ***** to match up.
Falcon67
Well-known member
Having been forced to repair knockdown recently and do some drywall work in general on a house, I will be using a coarse nap roller and just paint on my shop ceiling. Texture is a PITA. It's a shop, not for display in Better Homes & Gardens. I want easy up and if some carburetor in storage up there slides out of a box and pokes a hole in the ceiling (or ******* picks up a 6' piece of conduit and scrapes the ceiling 
) , easy repair.
) , easy repair.thrifty bill
Well-known member
Smooth is the way to go.
jcp907
Well-known member
I did orange peal from a spray gun. Easy to duplicate for repairs. Hides some imperfections. I have some plywood that transitions to sheetrock and used bondo instead of tape compound...it didn't hide that. I should have spent more time on sanding, but I was in a rush to get it done, and it is a garage, afterall. I'll have weld spatter, dings, marks from dragging stuff..go with what is easy and you have the tools to duplicate if repairs are made.
Thanks for all of the suggestions. I think I'll just go the heavy knap roller route and skip the texturing. Sounds like any repairs are tough to do with knockdown. I'll probably spend a little more time cleaning up the spots that are really noticable and then prime and paint. Is a flat ceiling paint the way to go, or would a semi-gloss be better (light reflection?)? I'm planning on putting some light bars up (T8's?...haven't done much research on this yet), so I'm not sure how much of the ceiling is going to be visible. Bottom line, I'd just like it to not look like **** when I'm done.
rburke65
Well-known member
There are paints that are marketed as 'high hide ' paints just for this application.
I didn't know that. I'll ask about that when I'm at the paint store. Thanks.