Plaster Patching

I'm sure we've all seen it: a badly patched textured ceiling.  Joe Homeowner has a damaged textured ceiling and attempted to patch it himself.  He grabbed whatever patching compound he had and spread it over the damage in hopes no one would notice.  The resulting gloppy patch sticks out from the rest of the ceiling like a sore thumb.

For a hot second with this lastest flip, I thought I was free and clear with the textured ceilings- a few of the flat ceilings had issues, but the textured ones looked in good condition.... until I scraped the wallpaper in the hallway and discovered this gem.  The plaster layer of the ceiling was loose and started to crumble and fall the moment I touched it.

No Joe Homeowner gloppy fix here!  Unless you're really looking for it, you'd never realize there was a patch! (cue sigh of relief here)

As it turns out, a large part of getting the patch to match (giggle) is in the magic coverup mixture:

Mix ceiling paint with joint compound until you have a mixture only slightly thinner than peanut butter.

Once I had the mixture set, I went straight for the ceiling and got it perfect on the first try.  KIDDING!  I took a scrap of drywall and started testing out how to get the desired texture.  I tested out 3 different brushes that I had at the house.

My verdict was to use the regular paint brush for application, then the large paint brush to texturize.  Now comes the ceiling... but not quite with the texture just yet.

I started with my ceiling by using regular (non-mixed with ceiling paint) joint compound to fill in where the plaster was missing.

Once that dried, I sanded it and had a great base to texturize from.

Now comes the fun/difficult part.  As I mentioned above, I used a regular brush to spread the texturizing mixture, then used a large brush to add the correct scale to match the rest.  I paid careful attention to the directionality and pattern of the existing swirls, and tried my best to layer them and match them appropriately.

This wasn't a first try result- I stepped back a few times and re-swirled, stepped back again..... etc... until it started looking like it should.

Not perfect, but definitely a good start.  The biggest difference between the new swirls and the old was the definition.  The new swirls were nice and sharp, the old had been painted over for 50 years.  To make the new swirls blend more, I took sandpaper to it once the patch was dry.  I feathered the edges out and dulled out some of the sharp texturing.

The last step was just to paint the entire hallway ceiling a crisp coat of white.  That was the true test: once everything was the same color, would the patch be noticeable?

I'd call it a success!  Would I recommend this for a large blemish in the middle of your living room as a permanent fix?  Probably not.  In that case, skim-coating the entire ceiling would yield the best result... but as a quick temporary fix or a smaller patch in a less visible area (like mine), go for it!!

I'm rather proud of the finished result and how well it blends in with the old ceiling.  It's pretty near impossible to get the patch to match 100%, but I dare you to notice it when you're in the space.

Have you had any experiences (good or bad) in attempting to patch a textured ceiling?  I'd love to hear about it!

Grover: Week 7

I hope you enjoy these weekly updates as I learn to navigate through the business of flipping houses.  Check out  more about this flip, Grover, or check out posts about our last flip HERE. I think I'll be painting for the rest of my life.  Guess what.... I painted more this week!  One bedroom and the hallway and their respective closets (aside from some minor touch-ups) are complete!!!  And that includes the trim and the ceilings.

That means that these rooms are ready for the floors to get refinished!  I guess it's time to call the floor guy and get him going.

The bedroom and closet doors are on their way too.  Most are primed and a few have a first coat of finish paint.  At first, I tried to use the latex primer that I already had on hand on the previously unpainted doors...

Latex primer on the left, oil based primer on the right.  Difference much?  I was hoping to avoid the smell, but you'll save yourself several coats if you just start with oil based primer.  Lesson learned.

But painting's actually not all that got accomplished this week, surprisingly.

I'm ridiculously proud of the patch I did on the swirled hallway ceiling.  I'll be sharing my process next week, but until then... patch?  what patch?  Ok, so it's not perfect, but you only see it if you're really looking.

The electrician also tackled a bunch work throughout the house... homeowner wiring is kind of like a puzzle... For example: a 3-way switch that goes to the basement stair light, also apparently is controlled by another 3-way switch in the garage and also leads to another mysterious, un-locatable light that's most likely hidden in the finished area in the basement.  Sounds logical.  His most visible progress this week was relocating the thermostat and doorbell (and outlet and switch) from the removed wall.  Speaking of the wall, it passed the first inspection, so that means the drywall can go up!

While the electrician worked away and I painted away, the contractor tiled away.  Clean white subway tile in the shower always puts a smile on my face.  Not only because it looks lovely, but also because it means that I can get started on the rest of the bathroom!!  I'm not excited for that or anything. (!!!!)

I'm getting started on tiling the floor today (since the contractor laid the backer board on the floor for me.... it took them part of a morning- that would have been at least a 2 day job for me).  I started dry-fitting the tile yesterday.  That's always fun because you get to see what it'll look like without any of the mess involved.

The plumber is coming back Monday to fix a broken toilet flange (the part in the floor that the toilet mounts to), so if I have the tile laid by then, I can get the toilet reinstalled too!  Since this is the only toilet in the house, the less amount of time it's out of commission the better.  Luckily, my sister lives 5 min down the road, so I don't have to rely on a porto-pot or public bathrooms.  Thanks Sis!

Hopefully from this point, the progress will be less of watching paint try and will forge ahead in leaps and bounds!

Have a great weekend!

Grover: Week6

I hope you enjoy these weekly updates as I learn to navigate through the business of flipping houses.  Check out  more about this flip, Grover, or check out posts about our last flip HERE. I keep being surprised how fast this flip is passing.  I'm pleased to say this week, it is finally starting to look and feel a bit different!

Remember how there used to be a wall in between the kitchen/dining room and living room?  Well, no more!

I'm so happy I decided to open up the wall- it's going to completely make this space!  The above is a view from the front door.  Just look at all the light coming from the back of the house!  It's going to be even brighter too, when I nix the dark drab colors.

Here's a before and after comparison from the same angle:

What a difference, amIright??  Don't worry, the beam isn't bowed, that's just my camera lens.  In fact, the beam is as straight as an arrow.  The contractor was even able to jack up an old bow in the ceiling and really square up the house- go him!  And since I'm so in love with the open concept here, this will be the view from the middle of the kitchen:

I originally wanted to open it up another 3', but that extra 3 feet would require a new  beam and concrete footing in the basement and all the work that went along with it.  I'll keep the 3' and the $600 on my pocket, thank you very much.

Still staying in the kitchen, the contractors are moving a wall that no one will see, but it will make such a difference.

I'm stealing almost a foot from the smallest bedroom's closet to create a proper recess for the fridge.  The previous recess caused the fridge to stick out a good 6 inches into the room.  It looked like a mistake.  The bedroom closet will still be plenty large for the room, and now, the fridge will look like it was meant to be there.

Moving down the hallway... the clean, wallpaper free, white, primed hallway... It's never looked better!

Before we head to the bedrooms, let's take a peek in the bathroom where the contractor has been prepping the walls for the new shower tile.

I know right now it looks like the contractor's having all the fun, but I am eagerly awaiting my turn on projects.  Once the contractor tiles the shower walls and preps the floor for tile, I'll be tiling the floor myself and adding board and batten to the walls.  Those are the biggies, but of course I have 10 million small projects throughout the house to make him pretty again.

While the contractor has been working away, I've done my best to stay out of the way in the bedrooms and have successfully prepped and primed all 3 bedrooms trim, walls, and closets.

The master even already has a coat of semi-gloss on the trim and I've started debating room colors.  I'm thinking a soft green in the master and a light gray in the 'kids rooms.'

I'm trying to get the bedrooms painted first on this flip, unlike the last 2 where the painting was one of the last things to happen.  Since I'll be getting the floors sanded down and refinished, it makes sense to paint first when I'm not as worried about spilling a few drops.  PLUS, painting them now means that once the floors to get refinished, the bedrooms will pretty much be DONE!

I feel like I'm dragging my feet a bit on this flip, but we're admittedly holding off on a few big-ticket items for as long as we can.  Until Frankie sells (booo) a lot of our money is still tied up.  We just dropped the price again- come and get him!!