I’m not a contractor; just an interior designer. I had to look up what a knock down ceiling was...

Scape it off and cut your losses.

Back in the day, a look alike was called a popcorn ceiling and folks have been spending $$$ for years to get rid of that look.

It is my opinion it will not add one cent of value to your home.

@JudyG Designs This is the texture we currently have all over inside our house, so we have to have kitchen ceiling match everything else. I was just trying to determine if contractor did something wrong to have this issue, and whether or not re-spraying and knocking that down tomorrow will look ok, or if we need to have it scraped off and re-done (by someone else)

(forgot to mention -- this is not the same as popcorn ceiling)

I agree with Judy G. Just scape it all off and keep the ceiling smooth. Make sure the drywall taping and mudding is good. Because you just had it sprayed, you may have to have it skim coated now, to get it nice and smooth, but, it would be worth it to me.

There's nothing wrong with a knock down finish. It's a builder's preference because they believe it covers more seams with less finishing, thus saving them money.

If the knock down isn't setting up, they used the wrong mud.

@Joseph Corlett, LLC Thank you, that's sort of what i was wondering...

It is just so weird that a licensed drywall contractor would not know what mud to use... And then saying that it didn't set because we had previously applied the primer.

I see that it is starting to dry now (3 hours later). Should we allow them to try again tomorrow?

Knockdown and popcorn aren’t even close to being the same thing.

@PPF. tomorrow he is planning to spray again. He is saying that because it will be sprayed on top of another mud layer (that he applied today), it will dry quickly and he will be knocking that down (not the one he sprayed today). Is that the correct thing to do ?

Feel the surface. Is it rough? You said you researched DIY texturing. Think about dragging a knockdown knife over a rough surface.

It may be fine. Report back tomorrow.

"I don't know of any type of "wrong mud" they could have used."

It wouldn't surprise me if these guys thinned some pre-mixed mud enough to get it through the gun. Don't believe someone could be so stupid? You haven't been hanging around here long enough.

No, it isn’t the same as a popcorn ceiling, but it looks the same.

The ceilings do not have to match. If your ceiling doesn’t turn out well, consider beaded board to cover the mess. Again, it won’t match the rest of the house, but again, ceilings do not have to match.

Here are pros and cons on having a knockdown vs smooth ceiling. Aesthetically, IMO, smith ceiling wins!

@PPF. @Joseph Corlett, LLC

So, they came back today. They sanded some of the texturing off.

They applied it again, and this time they were able to knock it down, well, mostly. Some areas that had less previous mud was still too wet for them to do much.

I will correct that myself by sanding off the peaks once everything is dry.

Bottom line: this was not "normal". I wish we never hired anyone and tackled this as DIY, as we did with tile, recessed lighting, etc.

“No, it isn’t the same as a popcorn ceiling, but it looks the same.”

But it doesn’t.

Yes, smooth ceiling do look the best, but it isn’t always feasible.

OP, suedonim75, has the option for a smooth ceiling.

And, please, do not quote me to correct me.

Use your own words, supporting your expertise.

Opening a can of worms, but if the ceiling is not done correctly, you may want to consider not paying for a sloppy job.