An upstairs shower seal around the floor gave out and resulted in a leak to the downstairs. I have to repair the portion of the ceiling downstairs and need some help on matching the texture so I don’t have to redo the entire ceiling. Can anyone help me with how to get this texture. Should only be on about a 6x4 foot section that needs to be textured. I have no experience with ceiling repair but this is a project that I feel like I can handle and just hoping I don't completely mess it up.

 

Well, we can tell you how to get a texture pretty close to what you have. Are you going to replace the plaster or drywall or will a simple scrape and retexture be all you need?
This looks like a simple stomp texture. There are all kinds of ways this was done. Basically some mud was mixed to a thin like pancake batter consistency then some kind of a tool was dipped into that mud and pressed quickly with some force against the ceiling and pulled away. There are special tools made called crowsfoot brushes to do this. Your texture looks more like it was done with a sponge or maybe a piece of shag carpet nailed to a board or maybe even a wadded up piece of plastic. The best advice is to get the ceiling nice and flat and smooth then experiment with different consistencies of mud and different types of stompers until you get it. The experimenting can be done on scraps of drywall. You can try something then if it is close enough use that on the ceiling. If it is not close, then scrape off what you did before it is dry and try something different. The variables are the tool and the consistency.
Have fun, experiment, get the ceiling right first. I am looking at the ceiling in the room I'm in. It looks a lot like yours. I used a plywood disc and some foam padding on that then a couple layers of burlap bag on that There is a handle in the middle on the bottom. I got the mud to the consistency I liked then dipped the stomper and hit it in expanding areas three or four times per dip then dipped again and kept going until the lid was done. After it was dry I shaved off some of the high, rough spots with a trowel. Took longer to cover the floor and mix the goop and wash the stomper than to do the ceiling.
Others may have other ideas about what tool to use. Some advise painting or at least priming first then texturing. You have more than one chance at this if you wipe off your attempt if you don't like it before it's dry. Sorry this got so long.

 

Thank you. I will see what different brushes and texture tools I can find then that would seem to make something similar and try them out.

The burlap idea is intriguing though. I might have to give that a try.

 

I should have made the stomper I described just a little smaller. It won't fit all the way to the bottom of a bucket. I had to get a large dishpan to hold my texture mud.

 

I've watched the process done and it's fascinating. I was checking out some videos on this work and found one where the guy used a roller to roll (stiple) the mud first. Then he used a stomper. I think it looked better before he stomped it.

Mud stomping