Patching a Sand Painted Ceiling.. Suggestions?

I just moved into my new place and I would like to relocate some wiring from one side of the room to the other. Normally this would be a no brainer but the roof is flat and does not have attic space to run the wiring through. So basically, I would have to snake the wires through the ceiling requiring me to cut patches of sheet rock out and then replacing, spackling, painting etc. Now my problem/question is... The current ceiling is painted with a sand mixture to give it a grainy look. My concern is, that after spackling, I am going to have to replicate that texture and make sure it blends without making it look horrible. Does anyone have any suggestions on how I would go about this? Is it better to repaint the entire ceiling with a new coat of this "grainy" paint and will it blend in or will it still look off in that area that I patched.

Any help in this matter would be greatly appreciated.

-John

 

It's a tough call
You might be able to 'blend' the texture to make it look OK or 'good enough'


But it's all in how well you can do it....there's no one way to make it come out right, as there's no one type and pattern of sand paint

It will always be a little off, but some of the better repair guys/gals can make it look 'OK' to pretty good
It depends....

 

Once you've managed to get a smooth patch (which isn't easy; you'll have to scrape or sand off all the texture for 12 inches on all sides of the patch) you'll want to achieve the same texture as the current ceiling BEFORE painting. I like to add 1/3-1/4 of the necessary sand to the primer...and then prime it repeatedly until I've built up the right amount of sand. By feathering each coat out further into the surrounding area, you'll be able to achieve a smoother transition. Then paint the entire ceiling with un-textured paint.

 

You also can buy 5 foot drill bits from Greenlee (Home Depot) and use the hand held bender to drill from one joist to the other saving a few patch work holes. They even have extension 5 foot bits. You will need a 1/2 inch shank drill for this. Then do what js1 said.

 

I guess you can't get under the floor either?
Are any of the walls involved outside walls? If all inside walls (no insulation and no vapor barrier) it may be neater to go thru the walls.