we just moved into a new apt. Buit in the 1920 it has thick original texture on the walls. I want to get it flattened and don’t feel that I have the skill, or time, to do it myself. What should I look for, or aak someone when getting bids? One guy said he could do 2 coats of lightweght (blue) joint compound. One guye says he covers everyting with fiberglass mesh then uses all-purpose (green) joint compound mixed with plaster. I’m thinking a thick coat of structo-lite and then a finish coat of Diamond but havn’t come across anyone that uses these and I think it may be over kill for our 1 bedroom apt that we probably won’t be in forever.
Any and all tips appreciated
jonathan (in Brooklyn)
Replies
I would not say I am the most qualified person to answer your question but I do have my own homeownership experience to offer. I'd love to hear other suggestions as well!
Our solution was based on the wood baseboards. Because we could see the texture stood out over the baseboards slightly, we felt the texture came sometime after the house was constructed in 1915. For me this meant the depth of the texture needed to disappear. We tried hard to cordon of the room with a dust barrier and proceeded to sand down the texture with a hand sander. This was EXTREMELY laborious and produced a significant quantity of fine dust that most likely will cause us to develop lung cancer in the coming years. After we sanded the texture down to the point where we felt the "wall" should be in comparison to the depth of the wood in the baseboards, the wall was far from smooth. There were points where there were indentations from the texture application. We then proceeded to use Sheetrock plaster (no idea about the "color" coding you mentioned in your question). If I remember correctly, it took about 2 coats of plaster to get all the texture to look smooth. We then had to do light sanding all over the walls to further minimize trowel lines.
Hope I help, or at least generate a ton of criticism which will help, you with your project.
Jennifer
Don't know if you want the Structo-lite, that's for filling thicker areas and for setting tubs. Depends on how thick that original texture is, I suppose--are we talking about a knock-down trowel look or serious popcorn? I think a guy could paint on a primer and then skim a coat of Diamond over your walls, maybe 1/8" to 3/16 thick. That would give you minimal build-up adjacent to the trim, and they'd be outta there in one coat, no sanding. I've had plaster skimmed over old cracked plaster & lath and that's where the mesh comes into play. Over a sound surface you can go straight up with new plaster, as long as you have the bonding primer. There oughta be no shortage of real plasterers in Brooklyn, get one or two on the phone and ask 'em. There's also probably some info at usg.com
>>Buit in the 1920 it has thick original texture on the walls.
Don't take this personally. I think you are nuts to try to alter this wonderful feature.
People are paying big bucks to get what you want to get rid of.
Texture..............it's wonderfully interesting and warm.
Try living with it for a while. You may develop a liking to it. I hope!
That said, don't let anyone near it with taping compound. It needs to be prepped and coated with a setting type compound, one thet sets chemically, not by the loss of moisture as dw coumpound does. You need an expert in this feild, not a jack of all trades or a moonlighter. You also will have issues with baseboard and trim. Uhg!
Leave it alone. Just my 2cents.
Eric
I Love A Hand That Meets My Own,
With A Hold That Causes Some Sensation.
I know what you mena by a feature. We thought we'd try and live with it but when we see other pat ini the building thata have had the walls flattened we think it looks much better. Plus it isn't like these walls arae perfect. THey have had some crakcs repaired here and there and not very well.
You'd think I'd be abale to find a real plasterer here in Brooklyn but everyone I've talked to wants to use joint compound a joint compound mixed with plaster. Maybe I'm just not looking inthe right places.
jw
Brooklyn is where I learned the trade of plastering about 26 years ago. Structolite is a bit much for a job like this. Skim coating means just that...the white coat. The guy who said the fiberglass with compound & plaster sounds like he knows what he's doing. I don't know what the wall is like so I don't know if you would want to go ahead and use straight veneer plaster without a bonder like Plasterweld. Just make sure any and all cracks are taped with fibermesh.
Pick the old guy with arms like Popeye.
"Pick the old guy with arms like Popeye."
That was funny .
Tim Mooney
Sage advice