What to do about textured wall?

Question

We've got this textured wall that the previous owners did. It looked like they did it to avoid properly taping and prepping the drywall for paint. It was not done well. We painted over it a couple of years ago to see what kind of effect it would have, but it didn't help. We want to get rid of the the texture entirely. Other than plastering it all with drywall compound (which would be extremely time consuming), what can we do? Keep in mind that it has a few layers of paint on it.

I didn't mean time-consuming! I realize scraping the wall could be more time-consuming than plastering. If we plaster, it'd mean using a LOT of compound. Plus it means adding thickness to the wall. However, if that would be better than other alternatives, we'd do it.

In poorly done I mean that it's not evenly textured--some spots are very smooth with indentations and other areas are very stick-out bumpy. You can see specific strokes where it's very smooth. And you can see where the drywall tape is. %-| They had actually done some sort of sponging over top of it which helped hide somewhat how poor of a job they did, but when we painted it, we saw just how poor of a job they'd done! (The whole room was really a mess--baseboards done incorrectly, the ceilings tiles were a mess--and somehow crooked, they got crummy underlay for the carpet...)

Answer 1

The absolute fastest approach at this point, is probably going to be to remove the old drywall entirely, and replace it... and then you'd have the benefit of being able to start from fresh, and do the job right.

Here is a quick easy way to yank old drywall off --
First, lay down lots of plastic sheeting... heavy sheeting (at least 3 mil, preferably 6 mil thick). This makes clean up a lot easier later, hehehe.
Now, take a utility knife, and about chest high, just score the surface, about a 1ft square, with an X from corner to corner.
Take a hammer, and smack the center of that X, and it will cave in, easily.
Pull the pieces about a bit, and you should be able to grab ahold of the sheetrock, and yank it off the wall.
Remove any nails or screws left behind, and clean off the studs.
You're now ready to apply new drywall.

If you come across some sheets that are particularly stubborn, a reciprocating saw comes in handy, as does an air impact wrench with a chisel blade.

This is messy, and hard work, but it is fast. I can rip out a wall in minutes using this method. In fact it often takes longer to prep and clean up after, than it does to actually remove the old drywall, hehehe.

Safety gear you might want to wear would include safety glasses, and a dust mask... possibly some gloves on occasion.

Have Fun

I'll add this notation here.... Don't be too hard on the previous owners, lol... everyone needs at least one room to start with in home remodeling, lol, and should allow for beginner's mistakes.

Oh...yes, if you don't feel like tackling the wall yourself, it should be easy to find someone locally to rip the wall out and replace it for you. I wouldnt expect it to cost very much... if you do get 'sticker shock', you can follow the steps I outlined above... as I said, it is work, but you can do it yourself :D

Have Fun

Answer 2

I ran into the same situation in "flipping" a quad-plex condo. The previous owner had sprayed ceiling texture on the ceilings and half way down the walls. HIDEOUS Here is what I done.......... first I scraped the walls down with a 12" sheetrock blade removing as much texture as possible. Then I tried sanding with a 4" vibrating palm sander,....... (didn't work very well). So I broke out the belt sanders and commenced to making a mess. The belt sanders took the texture to a smoother finish FAST. But it did make a horrible mess. Leave all that sanding dust and texture on the floor till you are done skim coating with drywall compound because whatever you drop,(and you will drop a bunch) will be easier to clean. After a few skim coats and a lot of sanding your walls will look perfect. Paint with a flat latex finish using a 3/4 nap roller and it will hide some of the imperfections in the drywall. It is very messy and time consuming but well worth the head ache. Good Luck

Answer 3

u stated that it was poorly done... so is it cracking or what makes it poorly? B/c u also stated that u painted it. So y not put a color glaze over it to chg the effect? Plastering is in whether it was on purpose or not..

Other than that u would have to scrap the high spots... mud to make it smoother which would make the wall thicker but u'll b the only ones knowing this if u do it rt or chissel away & sand it down.

All work is time consumming but the lesser would b the glazing. It's worth the try. Also if u take mud & mix a darker or lighter color paint w/ it & went over here & there on the plastering... it will give it a different effect then u can glaze as well...which would tone it down.

If u want more "how to" or u have ?'s u can e me...

Answer 4

Well, if you don't want to do the skim coating, about the only thing I can think of would be to cover it in a textured wallpaper. But scrape off the worst parts of the texture first. ~It comes white, and you can paint it however you like. There are several different patterns available~ from plain to elegant scrolling patterns. They carry several of them at Lowe's...and are pretty forgiving of the wall condition. You can even put it over paneling. I used it in a small bedroom, and I love it. Prime/seal your wall first. And the paper is already pasted, so it's not hard to hang. I think I paid about $15 a double roll @ Lowe's.
Good Luck!

Answer 5

Electric sander. Wear mask & have carpet covered in plastic because it will be 'dusty'. Keep door closed to prevent dust travelling thru rest of house & open window if room has one. Wipe off walls with damp towels. Dry. Wallpaper it or install panels. Wallpaper would be my choice if didn't want to redo textured wall. or . . .

If was going to redo. Sand & wipe. Redo tape/mudding. Small bucket of sand texture mixed with water until it is a paint consistency; apply light coat of texture with non-smooth paint roller. Dry. One coat of drywall primer. Dry. Paint.

Answer 6

chisel the wall spots and it'll smooth them. or use an automatic sander.