re: How big of imperfections can you float out of ceiling

quote:

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But sanding off a 1/8" layer of mud over an 8x14 area, and then trying to make that all match seems like way more work than just putting up fresh drywall and sanding down the seams and scratch coat

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I would try hard as hell to work with the patch that is already there, because it will be the easiest option. You also do not have to sand it all off, just all to the same or relatively same height. If you skimcoat the whole ceiling, you will probably end up even with that spot anyway.