I just had a contractor drywall my previously unfinished basement. They did a drywall ceiling with a little textured look rather than smooth. My question is - should I now prime the ceiling? I didn't think I should or would have to, but he recommended it. Anyone with input would be appreciated!

 

Welcome to the forums!

Most textures are water soluble so it's always best to prime and paint them. While it may look good now without any paint the problem is that over time the texture may absorb moisture and then when latex paint is applied at a later date - the texture can loose it's adhesion in places

 

Thanks for the reply and I'll likely have more posts as I attempt to get this basement in liveable shape.

Initially I wasn't planning on even painting the ceiling - thinking the texture would suffice - but it sounds like both prime and a flat ceiling paint would be best? What about one of those 2-1 type paints so I only have to do one coat? If I didn't paint - would prime alone be sufficient?

 

A separate primer and paint is best but you can get by with just applying 1 coat of flat latex paint [no primer] I've painted over 100 ceilings in that manner when costs needed to be trimmed. Primer by itself won't wear as well as finish paint. Even on a ceiling where you would think there wouldn't be any wear - primer alone will get dirtier quicker and be more apt to absorb moisture.

IMO self priming paint is more advertising hype than fact.

 

Much thanks marksr. So it sounds as if I use a decent flat latex ceiling paint - that should suffice?

 

Yep, that should work