We want to get rid of the texture on our ceiling. It's a very ugly stipple effect.
However, there's a foot and a half of insulation over this ceiling. Knocking it down to install new drywall is not an option.
We also don't really want to slap another layer of drywall on top of it, because we don't want to give up any more height than we have to.
So we are torn between sanding it down with a very coarse paper on an orbital sander or just skim coating the entire thing (and yes I do know how much effort that is, I skim coated a whole wall once to eliminate the texture).
Is there another option, and if not, which one of the two above should I use?
Edit: The stipple I mention is joint compound which, while wet, was pulled down upon with a wet sponge, creating lots of peaks. It has subsequently been painted many times presumably over 72 years. (House built in 1940)
Best Answer
As with many textures, it is likely formed from water-soluble base like drywall topcoat. If so, spray it with water from a spray bottle until you think it's saturated enough then take a wide drywall knife and see if you ca scrape it off. If this works, you'll need to tape and re-texture afterwards.
Alternatively, a drywaller can skimcoat over the top of it, then re-texture to your liking. They may often use a giant heavy-nap roller of sorts and "paint" on drywall mud. Then they scrape it flat enough to base whatever texture you intend.
If you could manually scrape off the large peaks before this, though, it will work better.