Smooth finishes are more pricy as they are more labor intensive with multiple coats of the seams ,typically four, follwed by a skim coat of the entire surface, level 5. It could also be that the finishers your builder uses aren't familair or capable of smoothe wall/ceiling finishes. Not many are, imo, and you're not going to get the same results form drywall that you would a blueboard, skim plaster finish. Sanding down the slap isn't going to give you the same texture as a knockdown although you could have them do an area and see if you care for it. Otherwise it's a matter of sanding down and skim coating the area that has been done to try and achieve a decent smooth finish. Whatever is specified in your contract, otherwise it would be a change order, all in writing.

The link is to a picasa album. Here is the before from the home listing: The elkay is black. DH(this stands for Dear husband right?) picks the color. We also picked our granite slab last weekend! We went with NVG. Our fabricator will throw in the remnants for the bathroom. We are pretty scared? that he won't do a good job.. Seam will be at the sink and DH picked 1/4" chamfer eased edge for kitchen and I wanted double pencil round for bathroom. I am contemplating to change the backsplash... We'll visit HD to see what's on clearance..

Agree with Nicole here. It doesn't matter what costs more, what is premium and what covers what. It all comes down to what you like. So what if it is a contractor's way to cut costs? It looks nice. I think we are caught up with the cost of doing something compared to what it looks like, as if something that costs more must be the best thing to do and the best looking. Personally, I love to see a knockdown texture on my ceilings with large crown molding. Plain, flat, non-textured ceilings might be considered "high-end," and more costly, but they are, in my opinion, rather boring. Texture, metal, wood, or whatever (minus the popcorn, even though some still like it) on a ceiling adds interest and beauty. Just because knockdown is the excuse for contractors to cover up flaws is no reason to "knock" it! I remember when popcorn was the thing and bathroom ceilings were flat because in the 80s, people liked to wallpaper the ceilings, which could be considered a "texture." My 2 cents.

Hi Quietwalker, We had painters strip the popcorn(ing) off the living room ceiling entirely (revealing a patchwork of plaster repairs covering most of the ceiling -- leading us to believe that MANY repairs were made over the years and the heavy popcorn was the cheapest way to cover the evidence!) They repainted (after an oil primer) with a slightly textured (sand) paint -- they had thought they could get a smooth surface, but that was impossible with the amount of plaster repairs that surfaced. Aside from a hairline crack that has developed across the ceiling, it has gotten through the summer (which was when we saw the most evidence of moisture when the popcorn was there -- it literally swelled like a sponge, from condensation in the pipes) with no evidence of trouble. So so far, we've dodged any further bullets in that room, but we know it is only a matter of time until we have more problems. And we are seeing less serious, but still noticeable, problems in the ceiling paint in a number of other rooms, leading us to believe the seller must have repaired and repainted all the ceilings immediately prior to listing the house. Having lived here two years now, my overall response is that I very much wish we had more carefully considered the ramifications of living an aging ceiling radiant system, and would NEVER again buy such a house. Not only do we worry about those solder joints every minute, but we can't hang light fixtures, ceiling fans, etc., for fear of puncturing a pipe! Why on earth running copper pipes full of water through the ceilings to generate heat EVER seemed like a good idea is beyond me! I would advise you, if you love the house, to perhaps consider having more than one inspector (get people with a LOT of experience with older radiant heat) to assess the status of what's there (look VERY closely for evidence of past repairs -- a heavily textured ceiling would be a real red flag to me now!), and I would also suggest you talk with a heating contractor to determine what your options (and cost) would be if you were to choose to disable the ceiling heat and replace it with an alternative system. Just so you know what you're potentially getting into... Oh, and bargain hard if you DO go for the house, keeping in mind that you may well have significant costs with the heating system maintenance or repair, plus it's likely the sellers are having a tough time finding buyers willing to take it on. We knew a number of deals had fallen through on this house before we bought it ... we now believe some if not all had to do with buyers getting nervous (and wisely so!) about the heating system! So proceed with caution. We would probably have bought this house anyway, but we would have offered less had we better understood what we were taking on. But it IS nice not to have radiators! ;) Hope this helps?