Flat ceilings take much more labor than sprayed/textured ceilings.

So do walls. Most people have no idea there are at least three(and sometimes four)finish schedules for drywall finishing.

One is one coat/sanding of mud---seen mostly in garages. And on some textured ceilings.

Two is two coats/sanding of mud---usually on walls.

Three is the minimum schedule for painting with anything other than flat paint---three coats and sanding of mud. This makes the seams much less visible and decreases the waves in a wall/ceiling surface.

Four is four(or more) coats, and is done for walls that will be painted in gloss paint or other high finish materials(Glazes/etc),

As usual, the price---as does the time needed--- increases with the number of coats/sandings.

Popcorn could be applied immediately after sanding and cut contractor time to completion.

Well that might explain why this contractor's price for doing this was much lower than the other guy. He's spraying something up there, and I am just not sure how I'll like it. I've seen the google images, and my walls are orange peel, so I know what it will look like. I just would prefer smooth.
My kitchen ceiling and walls, which were done previously by another contractor who is now out of business, was really a great job, very smooth. I don't remember what he charged.

So I'm now wondering if orange peel walls done as fine as they can get it will look good. Most new construction I see is perfectly smooth. But, if there are inconsistencies in our ceiling, then I guess I'd better play it safe with the orange peel?

Thanks for the input.

This post was edited by southernstitcher on Thu, Jul 25, 13 at 0:13

The orange peel will hide imperfections much better but if you have to do any repairs in the future (I.e. drywall patch) trying to get the repaired drywall texture to match will be a pain. I'd go smooth all the way.

When it comes to repairs, I've found making repairs easier on a wall that has a texture than one that is smooth. As shown above, with a spray can and a little practice one can achieve the same texture as the original.

When we were house shopping I saw one that had orange peel walls and ceilings. (built maybe 2004). I didn't like it, I felt like I was in some sort of dome because it was exactly the same. But thats my opinion. It didn't help that the walls and ceiling were the same color, off-white. The living area had crown molding, it helped break it up a bit, if that makes sense. I think if you have orange peel on your walls and ceiling, if you put crown molding up, keep the ceilings (flat based) white and have some color to your walls, it would look really nice. If you could get a 'finer' orange peel on your ceiling that would be even better. Its also how much money you want to put into it. Smooth ceilings will cost so much more. Would you want to do crown molding? I'm guessing orange peel ceilings and crown molding could cost significantly less than smooth ceilings : ).

Well two of the rooms will have crown. We are just going to go with the orange peel, as fine as they can do it, flat white ceiling. It would cost over $2,000 to do just the MBR ceiling, paint it, walls, and trim. We can't afford that! Thanks so much for the input.