BURLINGTON · CEILINGS, STAIRS & INTERIOR FINISHING
Cathedral Ceiling & Staircase Renovation in Burlington
The arched window brought light into this Burlington home—and showed every uneven patch in its cathedral ceiling. We removed the heavy texture and skim coated the ceiling to a Level 5 finish, then fitted crown moulding through its difficult angles. Staircase refinishing, a hardwood infill, fireplace work and whole-home painting completed the renovation.
- Location
- Burlington, Ontario
- Ceilings
- Popcorn removal, Level 5 skim coating and crown moulding
- Staircase
- Existing wood and nosing refinished; new posts and spindles
- Interior
- Hardwood infill, fireplace renovation and whole-home painting
- NEED A SMOOTH CEILING?
The light showed everything
The cathedral ceiling was one of the room’s defining features. It was also an unforgiving surface to finish.
Light from the arched window crossed it at an angle, revealing imperfections that would be less noticeable under ordinary room lighting. Removing the popcorn was only part of the work. The ceiling underneath had to be brought smooth enough to look right in that light.
The dining room had its own raised ceiling, with particularly heavy texture. Both spaces needed more than a quick scrape and a fresh coat of paint.
“It looked so good we ended up having our main hallway, front foyer, & sunroom ceilings re-done as well.”
MikeKK · Google review · Burlington
A smooth finish at full height
We removed the texture using our PLANEX and HEPA-filtered dust-extraction method. The same attention to dust control continued through the preparation work.
The ceiling scope also included patching the old speaker openings and installing pot lights. Those changes had to disappear into the finished surface rather than remain visible as separate repairs.
We skim coated the cathedral ceiling to a Level 5 finish and took particular care with the painting. The standard was not simply that the texture was gone. The ceiling needed to look smooth when the window lit it from the side.
Crown moulding through the difficult angles
The crown moulding followed a ceiling that changed direction and pitch. That made the corners a much more involved job than fitting a moulding around a square, level room.
We fitted the crown through those angles and continued it beside the fireplace. Each junction needed to look like part of the same run, not a collection of pieces trying to meet.
The columns were built out and painted as well. Together, the ceiling, crown and columns gave the upper part of the room a more finished shape.
Bringing the curved staircase back to wood
The curved staircase still had its carpet runner. Once that was removed, the fixing holes and the wood beneath it needed attention.
We filled the holes, sanded the existing stair wood back to bare wood and refinished it. The nosing was refinished too, while new posts and spindles updated the railing.
The staircase was kept rather than covered with new tread caps. Its curve remained a feature of the house, now with restored wood surfaces and a different railing finish.
Finishing the carpeted triangle
One piece of the earlier renovation had never quite joined the rest: a triangular area of floor around the staircase was still carpeted.
We fitted a new hardwood piece into that area, following the shape beside the stairs.
It was a small area compared with the rooms around it, but it sat at a prominent edge. Replacing that leftover carpet completed a part of the floor that had looked separate from the surrounding renovation.
Bringing the fireplace into the room
The fireplace was replaced and retiled, with new corner details and trim. We also made a custom wooden mantel.
Its sides received the same furniture-grade paint as the custom furniture made for the room. That connected the fireplace finish to the other built-in elements without making every surface identical.
The crown moulding continued beside it, bringing the fireplace work and the ceiling work together. The mantel, tile, painted sides and surrounding trim all needed to meet as a finished part of the room.
Painting beyond the feature areas
The painting extended throughout the home, not just around the staircase and fireplace.
The walls, crown moulding and built-out columns were finished as part of that wider work. The painted interior work was spray-finished with Benjamin Moore Scuff-X in Pearl.
The preparation mattered as much on those surfaces as it did on the cathedral ceiling. Fresh paint needed properly finished walls and woodwork beneath it.
A renovation seen from every level
From the great room, the smooth ceiling and fitted crown moulding complete the view upward. Around the staircase, the refinished wood, new railing components and hardwood infill finish the view down.
The fireplace brings another part of the room into the same renovation. None of those changes stands alone: their edges, finishes and proportions meet one another throughout the interior.
Thank you, Mike, for trusting us with the work and for sharing your experience in your review.
Planning answers
What homeowners can learn from this project
What made the cathedral ceiling difficult to finish?
Its height was only part of the challenge. Light from the arched window crossed the ceiling at an angle and revealed surface imperfections. We removed the texture and skim coated it to a Level 5 finish before careful painting.
Was the staircase capped or refinished?
It was refinished. We removed the runner, filled the fixing holes, sanded the existing wood to bare wood and refinished it. The nosing was retained and refinished, while new posts and spindles were installed.
Was all the flooring replaced?
No. The additional hardwood work addressed the triangular carpeted area beside the staircase that had remained from an earlier renovation. A fitted hardwood piece completed that area.
Did the crown moulding follow the sloping ceiling?
Yes. The new crown moulding was fitted through the cathedral ceiling's intricate angles and continued beside the fireplace. Those junctions were an important part of the finish.
What work was done to the fireplace?
The fireplace was replaced and retiled, with new corner details, trim and a custom wooden mantel. Its sides were painted with the same furniture-grade coating used on the custom furniture made for the room.
What the homeowner said
We initially contacted Max to remove the popcorn finish on our vaulted great room ceiling & to refinish/modernize our curved 'blonde-oak' finished stairway leading downstairs. Not only did he do an impeccable job making the ceiling look brand 'new', and with no detectable dust left anywhere, but he also re-located some potlights & installed new crown moulding that required meticulous precision due to several odd corner angles that other contactors insisted couldn't be done. It looked so good we ended up having our main hallway, front foyer, & sunroom ceilings re-done as well. The stairway & railing were re-finished in a darker oak stain that matched our dark hardwood flooring & the new modern metal spindles, and new trimwork have made it look better than ever & despite the hours of sanding off the old finish, there was no dust...!! In the end, we also had his team re-paint all of the above areas, which turned out perfectly as well... Our level of confidence with Max's professionalism & skilled expertise, not to mention being easy to deal with, is such that we would recommend his services to anyone, and should we need assistance from a contractor in the future, he'll be the first person we call, as it's clear he can handle just about anything...
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