How to Fix a Stained and Cracked Ceiling

Ceiling Cracks

• 1

  Cover floors and furniture with protective tarps and drop cloths.

• 2

  Run your fingers along the length of the ceiling cracks to see how much damage there is beneath the cracks and to their sides. Feel for loose or soft spots. This is the area you need to repair.

• 3

  Fill a spray bottle with hot water. Spray the water on the area you identified in Step 1. Allow the water to soak into the ceiling texture for a few minutes. Gently scrape away the texture to expose the drywall underneath, using a putty knife.

• 4

  Spread drywall mud over the cleared area to repair the crack with a trowel. Feather the mud near the outer edges so it is level with the surface of the ceiling.

• 5

  Place some drywall mud in a container. Thin the mud with water. Practice making the same texture pattern that is on the ceiling onto a piece of scrap lumber. A paintbrush dipped in the mud and dabbed on the scrap lumber is often a good tool to replicate the original texture.

• 6

  Cover the patched area with the texture pattern you chose. If you have popcorn ceilings, spray acoustical texture product over the patched area to re-create the popcorn effect. This product is available at hardware stores.

Stained Ceiling

• 7

  Cover the floor and furniture. Surround the stained area with painter’s tape.

• 8

  Spray a light coat of stain sealing ceiling paint inside the taped area. This aerosol product comes in a container that sprays up.

• 9

  Apply a second light coat of aerosol paint when the first coat dries. Remove the painter’s tape.