Ceiling painting
A ceiling is lit from the side by every window, so roller marks, patches and missed spots show more than they would on a wall. Absolut paints ceilings in a dead-flat ceiling paint, cuts the line at the wall by hand and blocks water or smoke stains with the right primer before colour. We also remove or skim over popcorn and stipple texture where you want a smooth surface.
Concept imageryOn the quote, from the start.
- 01Furniture moved and covered, floors protected and light fixtures dropped or masked
- 02Water stains, smoke marks and old leaks sealed with a stain-blocking primer so they do not bleed through
- 03Cracks and nail pops repaired, seams taped and sanded, and texture patched to match the rest
- 04Two coats of flat ceiling paint rolled in one direction so the finish reads as a single surface
- 05A hand-cut line where the ceiling meets the wall, or a tinted ceiling if you want the walls to run up
- 06Popcorn and stipple removed and skimmed smooth as an added line, after a texture test
No figures published. The drivers, in order.
| Driver | What we look at |
|---|---|
| Height and shape | Eight foot flat ceilings roll from the floor. Vaulted, cathedral and stairwell ceilings need ladders or staging and slow the work down. |
| Stains and damage | A clean ceiling takes two coats. One with leak stains, cracks or nail pops takes primer and repair first. |
| Texture | Painting over popcorn uses more paint and a thick roller. Removing it and skimming smooth is a separate, longer job. |
| Fixtures and openings | Pot lights, fans, vents and skylights each need to be masked or dropped and cut around by hand. |
Ceilings are usually added to a wall job and listed per room on the same quote. A ceiling on its own has a minimum day because the room still has to be protected. Read the cost guide.
John checks each ceiling with a light held low to the surface, which shows the cracks, patches and stains you do not see from the floor. The written quote lists each ceiling, the primer if needed, and whether any texture is being painted, removed or smoothed.
The room is covered from the floor up. Stains get a shellac or oil-based stain blocker. Cracks and nail pops are repaired, seams sanded and any patches textured or skimmed to match. Fixtures are dropped from the ceiling and bagged rather than painted around.
Two coats of flat ceiling paint go on with a thick roller in one direction, with the wall line cut by hand. A room's ceiling takes [n] day on its own and is usually done before the walls so any spatter is painted over. The walk-through is done in daylight, from the window side.
Questions about ceiling painting
What paint do you use on ceilings?
A dedicated flat ceiling paint, such as Benjamin Moore Waterborne Ceiling Paint or Sherwin-Williams Eminence, both of which dry dead flat and hide roller lap marks. Flat paint also hides the small bumps and seams in older ceilings. We only use a sheen on a ceiling in a bathroom or kitchen where it needs to be wiped.
Should my ceiling be white or the same colour as the walls?
Ceiling white is the safe default and lifts the room. A ceiling in the wall colour, or in a lighter tint of it, makes a small room feel taller and hides a wavy wall line in an old house. We bring both options to the walkthrough and show you what the line will look like.
Can you remove popcorn ceilings?
Yes. The texture is wetted and scraped, the ceiling is skimmed with compound, sanded and primed, then painted. Popcorn applied before 1990 can contain asbestos, so we send a sample for testing first and will not scrape a ceiling that comes back positive. In that case we skim over it or install a new layer of drywall instead.
Will the water stain come back through the paint?
Not if it is primed properly. A leak stain bleeds through latex paint no matter how many coats go on, so we seal it with a shellac or oil-based stain-blocking primer first. We also ask whether the leak has been fixed, because paint cannot hold back water.
How long does a ceiling take?
A standard room ceiling is about [n] day including prep and two coats, with the second coat going on after the first has dried. Repairs, stain blocking and texture work add to that. Popcorn removal and skimming is [n] days per room because the compound needs to dry between coats.