Easy House Painting Tips - Newsletter June, 2008

How to Repair Ceiling Cracks - make sure you address the prep work before painting.

How to Paint a Slanted Ceiling - not as hard as you may think.

How to Paint a Popcorn Ceiling - use an airless sprayer.

Ceilings – Problems with Mildew? - let bleach do the work.

When it comes to unsightly crevices and holes on a plaster ceiling, a significant number of people actually consider having it fixed by a professional. If there are a lot of cracks, then that option is definitely one to take; however, if all we're talking about is less than a dozen of them, you can actually do the fix yourself.

Regardless of how bad the crack is, there are two phases to take when making a repair: Filling the gap, and retouching. This is usually easier than it sounds, especially in the case of small and minor cracks or holes. All you would have to do is to patch them up with a substantial amount of quick drying compound. You can easily apply this material with a taping knife. After filling up the gap, don't forget to smooth it over. You would have to wait for a good amount of time after that to let the material dry.

Once that is dry, you will need to sand th e area with a sanding block. After sanding, dust off the area, and apply a thin coat of some drywall compound and make sure you feather it out a few inches either side of the crack.

Fixing bigger gaps follows the same concept, but it just takes a little more time. Take an edged tool and undercut the insides of the crack. This will ensure that the drying compound that you will be applying would bond better with the plaster. Speaking of drying compound, do not fill the gap. Using the proper tool, take some of the compound and spread it on the insides of the crack, making a thin layer. Take a portion of fiberglass tape and embed it in the compound, thus filling the crack and preventing it from getting worse.

Cover the whole area with another coat of the drying compound, and make sure to feather it so it is as even as it could be with the ceiling's surface. Leave the whole area to dry when this is all accomplished. It shouldn't take more than a day, but it depends on the size of the crack you are fixing up. Nevertheless, once the area dries up, you can use a sanding block to smooth it..

After performing these steps and ensuring everything is dry, sand the whole area just one more time to make sure the area is smooth and even with the ceiling's surface. Apply 1 coat of new drywall primer to the areas – if bad enough, it’s best to do the whole ceiling followed up with a flat ceiling paint.

Painting slanted ceilings is a chore, but it may not be as difficult as you might think. Of course, it is always a challenge to paint any ceiling, but once you figure out what colors you are using and how to design your paint color scheme, painting slanted ceilings is just like painting the walls. There are a few things to think about before you start, specifically what colors you want to use for your walls and ceiling, and whether or not you want to distinguish between the ceiling and the wall. If you do want to distinguish the ceiling from the wall, you need to know where that line should lie on the wall.

Choosing your colors for the walls and ceiling are an important part of painting slanted ceilings. There are several options for your color scheme: you can choose the same color for the walls and the ceiling; you can choose two colors, one for the ceiling and one for the wa lls; or, you can choose three colors, one for the slanted ceiling wall, one for the other three walls in the room, and one for the ceiling itself.

The benefit of choosing three colors is that you can draw attention to the slanted ceiling, which is generally a very interesting architectural aspect in a room. Some people choose a lighter color for this wall and then a darker color for the other remaining walls and white or a coordinating color for painting the slanted ceilings. Other people choose to put the darker color on the wall with the slant, and then use the light color on the other walls. When more than one color is used on the walls, the ceiling is usually white.

Now you need to decide how to distinguish where to start painting slanted ceilings compared to where you paint the wall. This requires the use of a laser level. Place the level at the height you want the ceiling color to begin. A good tip is to make the ceiling color line even with that of the other walls in the room. Now use masking tape to mark where the wall and ceiling colors will change, and starting painting slanted ceilings!

One of the best methods of painting a popcorn or acoustic ceiling is to use an airless sprayer.

You should also apply an appropriate primer if you have any stains (water or nicotine for example).

A trick I learned is to use good latex exterior flat paint as the finish. It sticks extremely well and covers better than interior paints. For spraying a little thinning is necessary, ½ gallon of water per five gallons of paint. The water will help the paint soak in.

Apply in two coats using a 515 spray tip. A spray extension pole connected to your gun will make the work a lot easier. These are available in lengths from 16 inches to six feet. Spray the paint in alternating directions, one coat north to south and one coat east to west. Allow 4 hours between coats.

If you decide on rolling the ceiling, the ideal roller to use is called a “split-foam” roller. As yo u roll over the texture, the roller will spread around and get into all the crevices and indentations. Apply two coats to ensure proper coverage.

Once in a while you may see fuzzy black or green spots on a bathroom ceiling or even the wall.

This very likely is mildew, the name for all the spores that are health hazard & a frightening dream to the proprietor. When it gets to the walls and ceilings, it's hard to take out it.

The first thing that you've to do is to wear rubber or latex gloves. Dip a sponge in a bucket full of 1/2 a cup of chlorine bleach, 1/3 a cup of power laundry detergent & 1 gallon of hot water.

It is good to squeeze out the excess so you don’t drip the bleach solution on yourself and surrounding areas. Stand on a stepladder and gently scrub the affected areas.

Following that fill the bucket with clean water and wash thoroughly with a scrubber sponge.

The final thing that you have to do is to implement an anti-mildew paint when it gets dry.

Be cautious not to drip a solution on the rugs or the floor.

Be certain that the room is well ventilated in order to avoid the hazardous bleach fumes.

The things that you are going to need are anti-mildew paint, plastic spray bottle, chlorine bleach, rubber or latex gloves, ladder, plastic scrubber sponge, power laundry detergent and a pail.