Any interior painters here?

[ivwshane]

I want to paint the inside of my house and on some newer model homes I was looking at they had a nice texture on the wall but I don't know how they did it. Does anyone know how to get this texture on the wall?

Example
close up

 

[bockchow]

looks like knock down. if i remember correctly you spray on the texture then use a trowl smooth down the high parts.

 

[Ryan]

The texture is built right into the wall material, it's a coating - it has nothing to do with the paint.

 

[styrafoam]

How is the joint in the drywall boards concealed?

 

[docmanjimmer]

sheetrock mud and tape i believe

 

[styrafoam]

Right, my point is that if the texture is part of the sheetrock what do you use to conceal the screws and joints? I actually think bockchow is close with his guess that it is sprayed on and then sanded/smoothed. Some texture is also applied with a trowel and then brushed, but I don't think you get as fine a pattern as ivwshane is looking for.

 

[bockchow]

sheet rock is perfectly smooth it doesn't have any texture to it. you throw up the drywall, tape and mud the seems, mud the screws then load up the hopper of a texter gun with the texture then spray it on. if left as is it's alot spiker like the stuff thats on most ceilings but if after spraying you go in with a trowl and knock down the high points it smooths it out. you can knock it down as much as you like but do it too much and you completely lose the point of spraying texture. it looks sweet but is alot more time consuming, and it takes some practice to be able to get it all even before it has dried too much.

 

[T2T III]

Originally posted by: bockchow
sheet rock is perfectly smooth it doesn't have any texture to it. you throw up the drywall, tape and mud the seems, mud the screws then load up the hopper of a texter gun with the texture then spray it on. if left as is it's alot spiker like the stuff thats on most ceilings but if after spraying you go in with a trowl and knock down the high points it smooths it out. you can knock it down as much as you like but do it too much and you completely lose the point of spraying texture. it looks sweet but is alot more time consuming, and it takes some practice to be able to get it all even before it has dried too much.

You're right on with your explanation. It does consist of drywall mud that has been pushed "flat" with a trowel. The appearance of that stuff is great.

 

[T2T III]

Also, as a update, I checked my renovation software to see more about how this process is described. The following was present:


Texture drywall
Machine applied and knocked down with trowel 0.09 (material - per S.F.) 0.22 (labor - per S.F.) 0.31 (Total price: per S.F.)

If you desire to do this yourself, you'll be able to get the material price down to about $.09 per S.F. However, there might be some equipment rental charges and the $10.00 you'll have to buy the trowel from. Plus, if you are adding it to a room that has been finished off, lots of items might need to be taped and covered.

Best of luck !!

 

[dman]

In the old days, skilled laborers were able to make walls look straight and smooth. Nowadays, they use the cheapest labor they can find and the walls will look warped in certain light.

Knockdown is a clever way of covering up the majority of defects. And the customer pays for it because it's perty.

Just my opinion.

 

[Ornery]

"...a nice texture on the wall..."

Matter of opinion. Some people think 1/4" paneling is 'nice'. Well, at least paneling can be easily removed. I'd think twice about making that kind of change to a wall. There's all kinds of faux finishes that can be painted on, but many of them would be very hard to remove, too. You would be surprised what kind of highly textured wallpapers can be purchased. I'd look into that before making permanent changes to walls.

 

[ivwshane]

I knew you guys could help!

So it sounds like I will at least be able to rent the necessary tools?


Tiles2Tech what software are you talking about? do you have a link? if not what else does it have and how much does it cost and how can I get it?


Thanks again.

 

[alkemyst]

Yeah knockdown...you can spray it on or put in on by hand

Then you scrape it with a trowel and it gives the patch look.

When I get a house again I am doing a knockdown with 'exposed' block beneath it for a old look inside.

Sucks to rent...just spent this morning cleaning the sidewalks here...I have already added new plugs and switches / checked the wiring here (two plugs were reverse polarity).

 

[T2T III]

Originally posted by: ivwshane
I knew you guys could help!

So it sounds like I will at least be able to rent the necessary tools?


Tiles2Tech what software are you talking about? do you have a link? if not what else does it have and how much does it cost and how can I get it?


Thanks again.

Here's a link to the software for estimating. There are about 5 or 6 guides available - depending on the type of work to be done (e.g. - painting, insurance repair, construction, etc.) I've been using the insurance repair/replacement estimating guide because for my use, it's pretty accurate. The software guides are only $17.50 if you download them from the site (or, $45.00 if you want the book and the software on CD.) Plus, they offer you a 30-day trial to see if you like the software before you buy it. Oh, the 30-day version is the full version, but just expires at the end of 30 days. Link: Get-A-Quote

The software is pretty neat as you can export quotes into many different formats (.CSV file, etc.) Plus, you can also copy and paste an estimate into MS Word and then add a business logo, if you want. Additionally, there is a "Wizard" software at their site that you can also download. The "Wizard" produces some professional looking estimates. If you land the job, you can do the work, then use the "Wizard" to produce an invoice based on the estimate. The estimate takes a little time to build, but after that it's all gravy. After you've done the work, you can then export the file into QuickBooks accounting software for your business.

Didn't mean to consume a few paragraphs talking about this software. But, for $17.50, it's one of the best pieces of software that I've ever used.

 

[alm4rr]

everyone that I've known to put that texture on the wall F@#@# hated it. It was supposedly a major pain the ass to clean and it applies and can clump together on the wall, instead of clean finish.

And once it's on and done wrong, imagine trying to get it ALL of it off. If you paint over it, the texture is still there.

 

[ivwshane]

Originally posted by: alm4rr
everyone that I've known to put that texture on the wall F@#@# hated it. It was supposedly a major pain the ass to clean and it applies and can clump together on the wall, instead of clean finish.

And once it's on and done wrong, imagine trying to get it ALL of it off. If you paint over it, the texture is still there.

Believe me I plan on practicing first

Thanks for the info Tiles2Tech!

 

[amdskip]

IMHO, it's an alright finish for a room or two but not a whole house. Faux painting looks much better but thats an art form too that is probably a tad bit harder.

 

[thedarkwolf]

My house has textured walls and I HATE IT. Mines older and has been patched in lots of places and since its textured there is noway to get the patches to look right. I want to gut everything and go to smooth walls.

 

[alkemyst]

absolutely all upper echelon homes in palm beach county have been finished this way for at least 5 years now, possibly 10.

The only bad jobs I have seen are when Joe Handyman decided to make his walls look like these homes.

If you finish the walls in a decent paint, cleaning them should not be a problem....if you do need to repair a wall, usually a 'pro' can get the effect looking good on the repair.

Heck I popcorned a small section of ceiling between two areas in my old house where a suspended celing was....tub of plaster/spackle and patience...it was very hard to tell where I started and finished, once it was all painted, impossible.

 

[ivwshane]

Ok, ok, I get it, I'll practice even more after I practice

 

[flot]

I've got knockdown walls and ceiling in my house and I do like it. However, the idiot who applied it didn't appear to do any sort of surface preparation.. As I've been painting and nailing etc I've had chunks of it delaminate from the wall, which is a mess. For instance there's now a 2" square patch on the wall in my kitchen which is perfectly smooth, while the rest is all textured. argh.

 

[Curly01]

There is another way to texture walls. Get a roller cover (try practicing different naps 1/2, 3/4 and so on), 5 gallon bucket of drywall compound and a gallon of latex primer. Mix the primer and mud to thin out the mud a little. Roll the mixture on th wall. If you don't like the texture take an broom and lightly drap it over the texture. There are endless possibilities for texture designs. Experiment.

Rolling it on is more time consuming than spraying but messier. Personally I like to roll it on with a 1/2 inch nap roller and drag a broom through it. Another thought is to texture one third of the way down, wallpaper the bottom third and install a chair rail where the texture and wall paper meet.

 

[bockchow]

i have to say that your much better off only texureing the ceiling and doing something different on the walls. flat, wallpaper, paneling, or a nice Faux finish. Curly was right about splitting up the wall and then haveing a rail it can look realy nice but have the lower section be the same color as the ceiling i think it looks alot cleaner.