Necessary to repaint a popcorn ceiling?

[Nette]

I'm going to hire a painting contractor to paint the interior of my house. I have popcorn ceilings which I think look fine. My question is, when I paint the walls (beige on top of beige) and paint the baseboards and crown molding (white on top of stained woodwork), will the new paint job make the popcorn ceiling look dingy? I sure would like to avoid painting that ceiling if I can. Has anyone had any experience with this?

[travlnusa]

When we painted our previous house, DW wanted to paing the ceiling. I looked at it over and over and saw no need what so ever.


Guess what, we painted the ceiling, and I have to admit it made a huge difference. It made each room much brighter.

It had been about 20 yrs since they were painted, so I guess it was due.

Since then, when she suggests something needs painting, we paint.

[mtman]

why paint stained woodwork

[Hoosierdaddy]

As an estimator for a drywall contractor, I can give you the professional answer. The popcorn texture is supposed to be painted. Many don't, but it is supposed to be!

Brett

[rooter]

I've seen this happen many times and almost always ends the same. Yes, white crown will make your popcorn look dingy. Even without the crown a fresh coat of beige over beige will look cleaner/brighter causing the ceiling to look bad. Its a good idea to have your popcorn painted anyway-if you have ever tried to clean a spot on unpainted popcorn you know what I mean. Also, its likely to cost less to have ceilings painted while the rest of the house is being painted than it will be to have the painter come back later.

[Ramblin Wreck]

While I agree with all those who posted that painting a popcorn ceiling really brightens up the room, the last time I did it, it turned into a much bigger job than I thought. I helped a friend this past Spring paint her home's interior, including the popcorn ceiling. I wanted to roll it, but the darn "popcorn" came off with the roller. We used an inexpensive sprayer to complete the job, but that meant much more prep work/taping/drop cloths were needed. Still, her house sold, which was what she was prepping for.

[Nette]

Originally Posted by mtman

why paint stained woodwork

You know us womenfolk--I'm just tired of it. Ready for a change.

[bare]

If you have to put down dropcloths anyway, just scrape the ugly stuff off and be done with it! Some of it contains asbestos though, so be prepared.

[TNHermit]

Originally Posted by Nette

and paint the baseboards and crown molding (white on top of stained woodwork), will the new paint job make the popcorn ceiling look dingy? I sure would like to avoid painting that ceiling if I can. Has anyone had any experience with this?

First of all the woodworking Gods aren't going to like you painting over stained woodwork LOL. if you repaint your ceiling it should be sprayed. If you brush or roll you can get a buildup of paint that looks cheap IMHO

[tamsam]

Most of the time oil base paint is needed to paint over stained wood. Ask your paint store what they recomend and make them put it in writing if they tell you water base will work. Been there and done that. The ceiling will need to be sprayed as it will come off as it gets damp from the paint. Good luck. Sam

[jennigrey]

Takes a lot of paint to paint a popcorn ceiling, as you are not merely painting a flat 10 foot by 10 foot wall, but instead each side of each tiny popcorn particle. That really adds up.

Be careful if you are using a brush instead of a sprayer... once the first coat goes on, do not touch it with your brush until that coat is dry. If the popcorn has never been painted before, the paint will dampen the popcorn and it will loosen and come off on your brush. After the first coat has dried, the popcorn will be much less suceptible to coming off.

This will make it difficult should you eventually want to remove the popcorn ceiling. The paint will seal the popcorn making it largely watertight. Some future person will curse your name, no doubt, but such is life. I'm sure they will curse you for painting over the stained wood as well.

You also cannot easily combine brush-painted and spray-painted portions of the ceiling. The brush-painted portions will acquire a much heavier coat of paint. You will have to really spray and spray and spray to feather/blend the border area between areas that have had two different paint techniques used on them.

Sure looked a lot better after they were painted, though. Hadn't realized how dingy it had gotten. Sold the place and will never ever deal with popcorn ceilings again.

Did you say that you already had crown molding up, or that you were planning on putting crown molding up?

[jennigrey]

I just re-read your original post and remembered that you are hiring someone to paint for you. Have you got a bid yet? Is the ceiling part of the bid? Or are you thinking about doing that part yourself?