Unfortunately, you do not really have an easy task on your hands there. I've done this numerous times since I renovate old houses. Without seeing exactly how deep the grooves are, there a possibly 3 options: 1-install smallish sheetrock over the ceiling plaster (3/8"). I don't like to do this b/c it is usually hard to hang as you have to make sure you get a stud and not screw into plaster or lathing. And, sometimes it is not really level. To save on removing plaster, I just had an idea but have never done. You could run 1x4 wood furr strips across the ceiling, then run sheetrock. 2-You can do the same for the walls, but then the reveal around the doors and windows is messed up and does not look good. Can work if you have really thick trim and use thin sheetrock. But, sometimes this is wavy. 3-Remove the plaster and sheetrock. Best approach. Then you can open a bit of a can of worms: studs that need to be replaced, need furr strips, maybe new wiring... Will look great when done, though. 4-You can apply a wide fiberglass mesh to the entire wall and mud it in. Use hot mud on the first coat---very important! They come 3-4 ft wide. It is kind of expensive, but less than demo. However, if the grooves are too thick then this may not work since the finishers would have to apply way too much mud to fill it in. Julie

I prefer no texture on the ceiling. We're mid-reno right now. Tore out the plaster ceiling because we were running so much lighting that it made sense. Our plaster has a very random figure-8-ish texture. Very random. I know because I spent a ton of time when we first moved in patching small areas that needed attention. But, I digress. We have 8 foot ceilings and we are keeping the ceiling untextured. The rest of the walls (now a mixture of original plaster walls and some drywall) are going to have texture. We are having discussions with our guy right now trying to get him to get the texture right...did I mention that we have a random figure-8? Anyway, do you have texture on the rest of the walls? If you do and you're trying to match it, it might be difficult to do so. You don't want to go with a high-gloss paint for the ceiling - you'll see every variation of the ceiling. We opted for a satin finish for the ceiling...it's still got a bit of sheen, but not really glossy...I've found satin easy to clean (unlike a flat or even in some cases, an eggshell) if I wind up with a tomato sauce pop up on the ceiling. We're doing cabinets to the ceiling and we're hoping that gives a illusion of higher ceilings. We're thinking of doing a glass tile that has long thin strips, and if we run it vertical instead of horizontal, it will also help with the illusion of higher ceilings. Another thing that I think helps, is keeping simpler lines. I think that the more ornate things are (fancy countertop edges, complex cabinet door styles, etc) from the floor to eye level, the more your eye gets drawn to them and gets stuck from traveling upward.

I live in Socal and used all kinds of paints in different temps, and never had this problem. I used BIN and BM Advance to paint my previously stained cabinets, and they still look as good as the day I painted them. My thinking is this guy either didn't understand the products he was using or didn't care. Extreme temps in Socal? Maybe twice a year, but I doubt that's the day you choose to have your cabinets painted. I did sand between layers of BIN, caulked, and buffed between layers of Advance. No I didn't use a sprayer, so dripping was not an issue. Just curious, did this guy have any examples to show you or reviews? I'm not a pro and I'm pretty sure you could have done the same yourself, or at least better than this guy.

You might want to have a structural engineer look at that. I've seen such cracking before. If your house has had its original architect-designed walls torn down, those cracks may indicate insufficient support replacing the load-bearing walls. In one case I know of, cleaning up the plaster to patch a crack revealed a 2x beam with nailed joists pulled out more than 1/2 inch.