Comments on: How We Got Smooth Wall Texture on a Budget

By: Annette Chichester

Annette Chichester — Sun, 04 Feb 2024 03:28:51 +0000

Nice one, there is actually some great facts on this post some of my subscribers may find this useful, will send them a link, many thanks.

By: Jason

Jason — Sat, 09 Feb 2019 06:56:18 +0000

I see this thread is a few years old. I’m a Canadian contractor and home builder and have very rarely seen or installed textured wall finishes… It’s just not done. It’s only occasionally used in high traffic commercial areas. It is a harder wearing surface (the texture compound dries harder than joint fill compound). It’s also actually a lot more expensive to do. And here is the reasoning for it : even though texture hides imperfections, you still have to do 1st coat tape+mud and a 2nd coat to fill and feather. This is for all joints and fasteners. These coats can be done on the same day without drying period in between (despite what a lot of contractors will tell you). Up to this point the, the process is the same for both Textured and smooth finished walls. Moving on, for smooth finish, a 3rd “finishing” coat is skimmed and feathered out 12″-14″ over all joints and a thin skim on fasteners. This is left to dry and a quick sanding is done the next day. For texture, the texture compound is sprayed on the whole surface of the wall ((this is A LOT of material… the 1st major cost contributor) and then the material is “knocked down” or troweled to achieve the texture. This is a very messy process that included a lot of extra prep material, prep time, and clean up (2nd major cost contributor). The next step for both smooth or textured walls is they need to be sealed/primed using drywall sealer + primer. This is a 1 coat process and is generally sprayed on. Textured walls will require a heavier coat using up to 1/3rd more paint (which is an expensive product – 3rd cost contributor) to achieve complete coverage. This also applies to the 2 x color coats to finish. Smooth walls are just cut in and rolled. Textured wall take twice as long to cut in and then will require 1st color coat to be sprayed for proper coverage (lots of prep to protect all other surfaces from over spray) and 2nd colour coat completed using a deep napp roller sleeve. In the long run, the texture costs more in material and labour due to the difficulty in finishing the final product, which counters the marginal time savings achieved from the actual texture install. Completely makes no sense to me why anyone would consider this to be a cheaper alternative. The only time texture is cost saving is when it’s used on ceilings as a smooth finish ceiling does take a lot more time, material, effort, and expertise to acquire the full level 5 finish (the whole surface is coated, not just the seams and fasteners). But the extra cost on the ceilings is only about an 1/4 more expensive than texturing and an extra day or 2 in scheduling which can be easy recouped elsewhere in the build/reno process (I usually schedule this over a weekend when most other contractors don’t work, which means I don’t actual lose any time.)

By: Nora

Nora — Sun, 25 Nov 2018 20:08:24 +0000

In reply to Lindsey V.

From wikipedia:
Knockdown texture reduces construction costs because it conceals imperfections in the drywall that normally require higher more expensive stages of sand and prime for drywall installers.

New Englander now in CA. Hate knockdown.

By: John

John — Wed, 17 Oct 2018 06:07:05 +0000

In reply to Lindsey V. A year late to this thread, but..... I find it interesting that drywall finish varies so much throughout North America. We are building a custom home in Northern California. First off, skilled labor is a thing of the past around here. We have a bunch of companies getting rich off cheap labor. Bosses are back at office bidding jobs and sending out inexperienced workers to get a job done. Cheap labor doesn’t have the knowledge, pride,or desire to do a quality job. Thus, spraying on texture is common practice around here. Less skill, and hides all of the imperfections. 3700 sf- It costs 16k to have drywall hung with knockdown texture. It’s $19k for an “imperfect smooth” (old world kind of look) and $22k for perfect smooth. Smooth walls takes a little longer due to the sanding and it takes a little more expertise. Spraying on texture takes low skill set and hides everything. In conclusion, without talented craftsman, it costs more to accomplish something that should cost less. That’s California in a nutshell.

By: Alan

Alan — Sun, 23 Sep 2018 03:39:04 +0000

In Texas, textured walls are the rule for low and medium-priced homes and are used in many higher-priced ones as well. The issue is not just a lack of skill of the drywall finishers. Textures can help hide imperfections in the wall studs, ceiling joists, and drywall. Warped studs and joists are common here. A warped stud can require mudding a wall for several feet on either side, to hide the bowing. The workers doing the texturing have to make up for whatever is lacking in materials or craftsmanship of everyone coming before them. I’ve used three drywall guys for our houses, and all of them have the skill to hide seams and cover nail heads (they use three coats with sanding between) and to produce smooth walls, if the walls are straight to begin with. But I imagine that 90% of their work in new construction involves texturing to help hide wavy walls and ceilings. Apparently it’s faster and cheaper for a builder to do things this way. Having lived with textured walls for all of my life, they don’t bother me, but seeing a wall or ceiling that isn’t perfectly straight would drive me crazy.

By: Jose Lopez

Jose Lopez — Sun, 16 Sep 2018 04:06:19 +0000

In reply to Jaryd. Sheet Rock +3 light weight compound. It east to sand, however application technique is the key for a successful finish and smooth wall...

By: Jose Lopez

Jose Lopez — Sun, 16 Sep 2018 04:01:23 +0000

I move to San Antonio, TX from Chicago. Smooth walls at every home I live in Chicago. Now, In Texas all the home have textured walls.(Orange Peel) The worse part is that you can see every spot were walls has been repaired/patched due to lack of matching the Texture.
Currently, I am smoothing my walls. The reason houses get texture walls is because its hard to find drywall finishers that can finish drywall without seeing drywall seems. Specially ceilings and worse in rooms that get sunlight through the windows.
I spent 20 years repairing walls and resurfacing walls after removing wall paper, making them smooth for painting.

By: Marcia Gyles

Marcia Gyles — Wed, 12 Sep 2018 18:18:41 +0000

In reply to SUsan. I wish it was a scam but I have spoke to our local drywall companies in Montana and all have given me the same story. In Indiana, where I grew up smooth is how it was done and it was not more expensive. Who knew!

By: Marcia Gyles

Marcia Gyles — Wed, 12 Sep 2018 18:15:19 +0000

In reply to Zovesta. I grew up in Indiana and smooth was standard. I am building in Montana now and I am getting the same response. 3-5 times the cost for smooth however I am now getting excited about the old world. It gives it some dimension but not too much. Who knew it would vary so much!

By: Jaryd

Jaryd — Sun, 09 Sep 2018 12:15:32 +0000

Hey hey. What is the paint/mud you are using? In desperate need of some advice