ᐅ Textured plaster or smooth plaster?

Hello everyone,

I am considering which option is better in terms of effort, time, and difficulty.
We are building a prefabricated house next year and will be doing the ceiling paneling and joint filling ourselves.

The question is how we should fill and finish the drywall boards:

- Smooth joint filling (level 3 finish), with several work steps, followed by a textured roller plaster?

or

- A rough joint fill once, then a standard plaster finish?

Has anyone tried both methods and can compare them?
Is it feasible for a layperson to achieve a level 3 finish with reasonable effort?

Thank you very much and best regards

KingJulien

Q3 and being a novice can be frustrating. You really need to be skilled at using the drywall sander.

Q3 is left to the professionals. Everything else should be done DIY as well as possible. However, the final cost will probably be impossible to determine.

Okay, understood. I only mentioned Q3 because I read that this level is needed for fine textured plaster.

To put it another way: As a non-professional, is it even possible to apply the skim coat well enough to achieve a reasonably good result with textured plaster? With a reasonable amount of effort?
Or is it better to apply a regular plaster finish after a rough skim coat? Would the effort be significantly greater in that case?

Or simply put: What would you do if you had to choose?

Fill the surface as well as possible. Apply a primer with a roller—use a filled primer that contains fine sand particles. This effectively hides irregularities. Then apply the wall paint. Done.