Was wondering about your favorite drywall texture for finish appearance and ease of application. I like to apply the skim coat evenly then take a flat tool as a square mason trowel and lightly press and lift back up thus puckering the wet paste, then lightly smoothing over the tips of the pucks with a straight edge creating a lunar/adobe looking surface. After drying I lightly run a sanding sponge over it all to take off any high spots and blend in any stand out spots and cover with a soft eggshell paint. Covers imperfections left by us bloody amateurs and goes rather fast.
Half of good living is staying out of bad situations.
Replies
I like smooth rez, call me old fashioned.
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Remodeling Contractor just outside the Glass City.
http://www.quittintime.com/
Ya, don't really know what everyone sees in a smooth finish. A lot of work and for what. Our visual surroundings are composed of complex variety outside of the sky. Perhaps that's it. A subconscious desire to openness in our homes found in smooth drywall? Maybe. Maybe I've seen to much off white sterile apartments.
Half of good living is staying out of bad situations.
Edited 9/6/2002 5:10:49 PM ET by rez
Probably depends on the context, design-wise. In our house we have brick and stained saltillo floors, open beam paneled ceilings ( some dark stained pine from 50 years ago), some beadboard ceilings, areas of decorative Mexican tile - a mismash Zorro conglomeration begun 100 years ago and added onto ever since. A nice, smooth, lovingly sanded wall would be a relief in our far-from-sterile home!
"A completed home is a listed home."
I like smooth also. Trouble is the drywall joints always need help to bridge over the smooth joints and the rough paper , especially after sanding. I have a compromise that works for me . I mix drywall joint compound with paint and roll. This gives a topping of mud over the whole area thus creating a bridge over the joints and paper . It fills small imperfections . This is so easy to repair and match, Ive went to it exclusivly in rentals as it fill nail holes as well.
Tim Mooney
So you tape and mud the joints then after drying roll the mud/paint blend? What is the ratio in the mud -paint mixture?Half of good living is staying out of bad situations.
Hiya, Tim-
Seems that way out West here texture is the rule- usually orange peel or knockdown. Thing is, the texture makes it a whole lot easier to do the finishing cause it hides the imperfections that you describe.
I'm a remodel carp. and certainly not a drywall pro. But, like a lot of people in this position I also have to do smaller drywall jobs myself. I'm just finishing up 1000sq.ft. smooth ceiling. I think they call it Level 5 finish? Anyway, dang, this smooth wall thing is a bear to finish. I prime then shine the lights across it and bing-bang, more finishing to do! It's been very time consuming.
I would very much like to try the rolled on mud/paint next time a homeowner insists on smooth wall. Skim coat maybe.
Yeah, Tim, what's the ratio? Seems that you must get at least a fine stipple texture with this. When I paint smooth wall I usually use enamel undercoat then enamel with a 3/4" roller to give some fine texture.
Ken Hill
Are "knockdown" and "skip trowel" the same thing?
"A completed home is a listed home."
Not in this part of the country. Skip trowel is hand applied, so it has subtly rougher edges and not quite as uniform as knockdown, which is machine applied and then knocked down with a squeegee or knife.
Call me a smooth man, except for ceilings
"Technology is the drug of choice for most Americans."
Won't you be my neighbor
Edited 9/6/2002 4:49:19 PM ET by Barry E
Smooth man:
Thank you - that's what I thought but wanted to be sure. We're having our kitchen/family room remodeled and I want them to approximate the texture in the rest of the house, which is skip troweled. (I like smooth walls best, too, but don't plan on redoing the whole house any time soon!)
In our previous house, also skip troweled, they used what seemed to me like a lot of sand in the mix. The result was a lot more bumpy/sharp edged than the rest of the house. Can skip troweling be done without sand? Or can the finish be wiped down when it's dry to smooth it out a bit? Or something???
"A completed home is a listed home."
Lisa
Yes skip trowel can be done without sand. Skip trowl can have 1000's of varitions, which in your case is controlled by what you are matching. But it can be troweled down a little smoother or sanded a little more when dry.
We had one client who wanted to control the pattern so much, that we finally had her stand behind us and say yea or nay as we went :)
Best of luck with your kitchen remodel. May it be smooth sailing
"Technology is the drug of choice for most Americans."
Won't you be my neighbor
OK, thank you. That gives me something to go on. Matching won't be a goal - there isn't one wall in the house that matches another. I'm just hoping for blending in!
"A completed home is a listed home."
Slip trowling can be done by a professional with out sand . Its a slow method of choice . Different grits of sand and the amount added can change the texture dramatically. I usually use #60 grit sand . That is meaning that the sand has been screen sized. So you can imagine what a fine texture could be acheived with sand containg #100. Most of the application is of choice. Knock down texture has been explained.
Tim Mooney
Mixture of my roller texture is a box of joint compound to a gallon of paint . Its necesary to roll it on as thick as you can not paying any attention to lapping . AS with knock down it needs to be knocked down with a roller after most of the water is absorbed in the drywall. At that time its easy to back roll it making it uniform.
You could use a light bulb for your self , but never for the customer. Most light fixtures are away from the ceiling in a globe. Its unfair practice to make finishing stand up to a lightbuld next to the ceiling.
There is no need for a oil primer unless your sealing bad stains. Oil doesnt have any body to it . I try not to use any enamel except eggshell. But that certainly needs the roller texture behind it. I call this slick finish. All slick finishes that I do get a coat of mud and paint rolled. Two coats of texture on a sure enough smooth ceiling works wonders. Many times I call the two coats ," finished "on a ceiling, never giving it a coat of paint alone. The texture will help you dramaticlly with your smooth finishing.
Block filler is an alternative if you dont have a good drill and big bit . It has to be creamy smooth from the bottom to the top.
Tim Mooney
Tim
In my new/ old 322 year old house I bought and moving into in November I predict a lot of drywall removal where previous owners have destroyed the feelfrom the house with drywall repairs such as in the bathrooms and kitchens and ceiling repairs from batroom above leaks. I will need and want to do some sort of plaster restoration yet never really have in my 27 years in renovations.....Some of these ideas like the paint in drywall compound sounds real interesting.....I'm reading about BOXES of compound. the only thing close to that around my neck of the woods is USG in bags.....30-45-90 minute stuff. Question is.....Do you know of any good books or videos on the process? Much rather a video but a book would work.
BE well
Namaste'
AndyIt's not who's right, it's who's left ~ http://CLIFFORDRENOVATIONS.COM
You are mentioning quick set mud , or in laymans terms , "hot mud". We use that for bad fills, metal corners , and little jobs . Some times bad butt joints , if we have a bad one behind schedule. There must be mud sold in four gallon boxes wrapped in plastic bags , or five gallon buckets. There are really two different types of these. Joint compund has a lot of binder in it for taping . The past several years Light weight mud has hit the market strong. Its lighter of course , but it sands much easier. Textures are made from a bag mud they call splatter mud , or most here use joint compound to texture with. Its of the hardest , and most durable variety with out getting in to brown bag hot mud. Ive seen a book at lowes , and I think tauton sells one. The best way to learn it is to find some one by the hour to work with you . Thats a lot better than a book. I dont think its strange you havent got in to it , for I havent done tile in all my years except with my dad umteen years ago. [wait a minute ,.....years in the teens dont catch it ] I hired a hand recently that has done a lot of it. I imediatley bought a nice saw and the whole she bang of tools. Actually I would have went it alone but this is much better. Ive been finishing drywall for 30 yrs all together , but only 18 of those were dedicated full time to the drywall trade. That was enough for me. Anyway I heard about the bazooka years ago and went that alone. I tried hard to run those tools and finally hired a hand that was about ready to retire as a drywall man . He got me making good money in about a month. Sorry to drag out this thread , but that was an important decision that payed off nicely.
Tim Mooney
Tim.....You far from NY? I'l do some tile, granite, marble, etc etc with ya at yer crib if you help me with the plaster down the line on my 322 year ol' crib.....lol..no shid
Be well
Namaste'
AndyIt's not who's right, it's who's left ~ http://CLIFFORDRENOVATIONS.COM
That seems so far that the earth might not carry me that far from Arkansas !!!!!! LOL!! But iffin you lived with in strikin distance , youd be on !!!!!
Tim Mooney
Tim......you kiddin me man...or what...you arent that far PLUS think of the fun you would have with a guy livin in NY all his life....ok ok......I meant how much trouble we might get in.....what a baby you are....lo
BE well
Namaste
andyIt's not who's right, it's who's left ~ http://CLIFFORDRENOVATIONS.COM
LOL
Yo, Tim !
Thanks for the advice, pal. The enamel I was referring to is latex. My paint supplier suggested latex enamel undercoat as primer since I told them that I wanted some body to it. That was because I was trying to use it to even out the wallboard paper/mud transition and to hide imperfections.
Yeah, using the quartz lights across the ceiling is perhaps 'unfair' as you say (unfair to ME !) as it certainly shows EVERYTHING that isn't perfect. I usually use dead flat ceiling paint, which also helps.
Thanks again, Tim. Definitely will give the mud/paint roller a try.
Ken Hill
Ken,
I have to agree about not using the halogen work-lights for the customer's viewing, but I love using them to mud/tape & paint.
If the job holds up to MY pissy-ness about perfection, then an amatuer will NEVER see the flaws!
GeoD
I discovered a wonderful technique that may interest you all.....if ya like texture that is...tee hee...mix your paint thinned out with about a pint of water per gallon....then....add about a 1/4 pound of lawn seed......Roll it on and make sure to sprtiz the ceiling three times a day for a week.....Its totally incredable....I call it Andy's Chia Ceiling.....make sure you have a weed wacker though..I had a bitcg of a time trying to get my lawnmower to work upside down.....My wife hated holding it up as I pushed it..The weed wacker works great and we love it!!! : )
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BE well
Namste'
AndyIt's not who's right, it's who's left ~ http://CLIFFORDRENOVATIONS.COM
Me, I like the big popcorn texture with little sparkly things in it. Haven't found any clients who want it yet, though.
>> Haven't found any clients who want it yet, though.
Let me know when you do. I have some shag carpet and some avocado kitchen appliances I need to move.
LOL Dunc!!!
I got some shirts with wide lapels and french cuffs. And a mood ring with earth shoes.Half of good living is staying out of bad situations.
did u grow up in the 70s?Half of good living is staying out of bad situations.
I started growing up in '73, so, my experience w/popcorn ceilings has been limited to, sadly enough, scraping it off.
Roar!Half of good living is staying out of bad situations.
Forget the primal scream, just Roar!
I like to use a texture gun, with a mix leaning towards slightly-thinned pancake batter, a medium tip, and 30-35 PSI with the trigger pulled.
It gives me a spatter-like finish with some drops as large as a big green pea all the way to slight speckles. The thinned mix keeps it from sticking up too far from the surface of the rock.
It is a classy=looking painted surface that can also be used in a quicky garage rock job to hide a multitude of mudding sins.
It's fairly easy to patch, as well.
(If you want to see something cool, take your texture gun, throw in some nicely colored latex and shoot it onto a piece of white melameen......... Kids love it on closet doors, ceilings, walls, beds. My kitchen cab doors are two tone on white.....)
GeoD
"It's an Orygun thing....."