Question about the drywall finish in the new city hall lobby

I was there for a permit yesterday and noticed the ceiling has a perfectly flat, almost polished finish with zero visible seams, and I'm trying to figure out what technique they used to get that result on such a large surface.

4 comments

4 Comments

the_sage2mo agoMost Upvoted

Oh man, that's not drywall. That's almost definitely a veneer plaster system, like a level 5 finish with a skim coat. They taped and mudded the seams, then put a super thin plaster layer over the whole thing and sanded it smooth. It's a ton of work but gives you that flawless museum wall look.

dianawilson2mo agoTop Commenter

Sounds like a great way to never get your security deposit back.

jamiesullivan2mo ago

Actually, I've seen some landlords who really appreciate that kind of care. A perfect wall means less work for them between tenants.

the_john6d ago

Haven't seen a lot of posts about this on here, but @the_sage is spot on about that plaster system... I had a client who had the same thing done in their home gym and it looked just like that, so smooth you could eat off the ceiling. It's a nightmare to get right though, took their guys three full days just for the skim coat.