My ceiling has a rough textured finish. Can it be made smooth?

Many older homes have ceilings with a rough textured finish. The texture collects dust, is hard to paint evenly because the roller can't reach into all the little dips, and when it breaks in one spot the patch shows.

In this job, the ceiling of the large room had a rough texture, and around one light fitting a piece of it had fallen off, showing the surface underneath. First the windows and floor were covered with plastic sheeting. Then the ceiling was skimmedFillerA fine paste or powder that fills holes, fine cracks and dents so a wall, ceiling or piece of wood is smooth before it is painted. smooth and painted white, and the room looked brighter and cleaner.

Skimming a whole ceiling is overhead work, with a fair amount of dust from sandingSandingSmoothing a surface with sandpaper or a power sander to remove bumps, loose old paint or gloss, so the new paint or varnish grips well and comes out smooth.. The room is emptied or the furniture is well covered, and the light fittings are protected or taken down.

Keep in mind: if the texture has come loose over a large area, sounds hollow or has damp stains, skimming over it is not enough. Whatever isn't holding has to come off first, and the cause of the damp has to be found. How the work is done on a particular ceiling is decided once someone has seen it up close.