# Textured walls - Products question, and suggestions?



## cellophane (Sep 29, 2009)

I've not done a texture myself, but there are quite a few options to consider. If you stop by a Sherwin Williams or Ben Moore they will have quite a few options for faux finishes and textures (as well as textured, paintable wall paper [heavy vinyl.]) You can also do something like a Venetian Plaster in addition to a more standard knockdown finish.


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## AdrianVall (Apr 18, 2010)

Thanks for the input. 

Anyone else have any opinions?


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## paintpimp (Dec 22, 2009)

I agree with cellophane, stop in a paint store, they will give you many options. Depending on how picky you are, the homax things can work, but the texture whont be real nice and even. You can do many types of textures, you can mix textures into your primer or paint and put a light sand finish, fine pebble finish just by rolling. You can pick up texture paint or use just joint compound and use a texture roller, sponge roller and knockdown with a wipedown knife. You can purchase a drywall hopper that hooks up to a air comperessor for under a $100 and splatter your own. Venetian plaster is nice finish. SW has new texture systems coming out real soon as well. You can also use a trowel and do a skip trowel texture on wall. TexMaster tools has a neat little kit called an Old world texture kit, comes with texture roller, roller, video and stencil that turns out real nice. This should give some ideas.


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## racebum (Mar 8, 2010)

if you want to do the walls right, get out of the paint store and get the right equipment. you will use an actual wall texture that's basically a mud spackle shot on with air. i also bought a foreclosed home this year with some screwed up walls. they look like new construction now. here's how i did it

this gun for all of $20

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=66103

harbor freight usually sells junk but this gun does the job and does it well. you will obviously need a compressor and some practice time

next, hit lowes, beadex makes wall texture by the box. it's sold by the sheetrock, don't get the stuff next to paint, it only costs more 

http://www.lowes.com/pd_250608-325-540750_0_?productId=3028351&Ntt=wall%20texture&Ntk=i_products&pl=1&currentURL=/pl__0__s?pageNumber=bead$newSearch=true$Ntt=wall%20texture$y=0$currentPage=1$x=0$totalPages=36

this is one they had on the web but beadex makes it for $7.49 a box, works great but you may need to add a dab of water to the batch. use a concrete/thinset egg beater in your drill to mix it up. it's close out of the box, just normally a tad thick. by the way, one of those 7.49 boxes did nearly half of a 1400sqft house, it's a screaming buy.

DO NOT BUY JOINT COMPOUND! some of the lesser trained people at these stores will tell you it's okay for wall texture. it isn't and will set up in your gun in roughly 10 minutes. the stuff you want says "spray texture" right on it. if you use joint compound you better be fast, it use to be how people did it but the newer school wall texture won't set up on you. much more user friendly. here's a quick video of how it goes. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jbsw7d5T9CM&feature=related


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## paintpimp (Dec 22, 2009)

if you want to do the walls right, get out of the paint store and get the right equipment. 

:icon_rolleyes: Alot of paint stores are also drywall supply stores. I know harbor freight is a much better place to get the right equipment.:laughing:

next, hit lowes, beadex makes wall texture by the box. it's sold by the sheetrock, don't get the stuff next to paint, it only costs more 

Yes this texture can work just as well. 


DO NOT BUY JOINT COMPOUND! some of the lesser trained people at these stores will tell you it's okay for wall texture. 

And lesser trained people can post dumb comments like this. You can use joint compound, I have sold thousands and thousands of buckets and boxes of drywall compound to drywallers and diyers to texture their walls. There are many ways of applying texture, as I have posted in my prior post.

It isn't and will set up in your gun in roughly 10 minutes. the stuff you want says "spray texture" right on it. if you use joint compound you better be fast, it use to be how people did it but the newer school wall texture won't set up on you. much more user friendly. :no:


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## Matthewt1970 (Sep 16, 2008)

Honestly I think youshould hire it out. You will be looking at your first texture job every day and nobody ever wants to go back and look at thier first ever texture job. Plus there are sooooooo many different types of textures to choose from.


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## Snav (Aug 20, 2009)

I love doing texture - I've done it for years.

I use 3 sizes of scrapers - the cheap plastic ones bcause they break often (metal ones do, too, and are more expensive and don't handle the abuse well, etiher) . .. a plastic container of some type - big enough to get the scrapers into but small enough to hold comfortably - and a bucket (or boxes) of joint compound.

I fill my little container so it's easier to get to while on a ladder.
I get a lot on my scraper (starting with a 4" scraper to apply) and spread - spread spread spread. When there's a 3x3' size section that's covered I use all 3 to just smear the mud around. Top - bottom, bottom - top - side to side, on diagonals and big swoops . . . I only try to avoid big chunks that stick out or 'cliffs' (too much built up with a stroke).

Tada - I did this really heavy in kitchens and livingrooms but not so heavy in the bathroom that I'm still working.
I've done this in other homes, as well, and everyone liked it.

No pattern, no name (like knockdown or stucco where it's a specific look) - just whatever I'm in the mood for and no two rooms are alike.

It's messy, a bit time consuming but It's a hell of a lot of fun  I think I enjoy it too much, honestly - and I always *must* wipe my scraper off on my clothes. Cannot possibly pretend to be clean while in the process.

Oh - but after a while of living in a house with a heavy texture livingroom and hall I've realized that heavy texture on the lower 1/2 of a wall takes alot of abuse if you have kids. I've had to do a lot of repairs and I'm considering covering over or undoing the lower portion purely for this reason. (food for thought)

here are some pics of my current houses texture:

Livingroom - smeared and scraped with the scrapers but also used strips of paper to drag the mud around.
Painted with a dark color, first, and then dry-brushed with a lighter color to bring out the texture detail.








Hallway - same method as with the livingroom but only painted with one color. Ignore the marker marks 









Bathroom - no paint, yet, just the mud - the light/dark is because it's new and not yet dried.








TAPE your JOINTS FIRST. In the livingroom I have a lot of areas where you can see the tape or the tape pulled out from the crack or had bubbles - that's because I didn't tape, first, I taped and mudded at teh same time.
BAD IDEA! 

In the bathroom I was certain to tape FIRST and THEN mud after it was VERY dry (2 days later). . . and I used a wet-dip method (like Willie T often advises) to apply the tape so it's invisible.


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## racebum (Mar 8, 2010)

paintpimp said:


> if you want to do the walls right, get out of the paint store and get the right equipment.
> 
> :icon_rolleyes: Alot of paint stores are also drywall supply stores. I know harbor freight is a much better place to get the right equipment.:laughing:
> 
> ...



not sure why you would comment like this. joint compound and wall texture are roughly the same price, why would you choose compound with it's shorter mix life? 

everyone knows harbor freight sucks but that gun seriously isn't a half bad piece. unlike a quality paint gun, like a say a precision piece from sata; mud guns don't require precession. they just splatter mud. all you need is a controlled rate of flow which mostly in the consistency of your mix. not a good choice for frequent use due to the chrome tip and cheap rubber seals. stainless and viton are what i would expect on higher end units. however, for the home gamer, it shoots quite even. 

the worst part about this thread is the direction it's taken the OP. with such a host of ideas i'm not sure how much help has really been provided. my point of view, or reasoning behind the suggestion was dollar to benefit. it's professional looking walls for little money. a couple boxes of wall texture, a cheap mud gun and some practice would have the effect you're after. i'm sure there are many other options but can any get you a gun, few boxes of wall texture and still be under $50?


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## angdeer (Nov 6, 2009)

I decided to be frugal and paint our living room myself with some of that texture paint, didnt use mud like above thank goodness. It looked really nice at the store but not in my living room! Who knows what I might have done if I were smearing mud all over, Ahh good thing I didnt see this post earlier. Anyways my husband called a painter http://www.paintingbymassarone.com/ to come fix my crafty work. I got what I wanted, looks wonderful but that's because I didn't do it. I think I'll stick to things that are a bit easier and not so large of a project from here on out but more power to you guys that take this on, lots of work. Like the look minus the marker  more depth than what mine has.


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## Snav (Aug 20, 2009)

Yeah, it is work - you have to like doing it or be willing to experiment (and improve your skills) in order for it to be something to really take on.


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