wall texturing question

[MatD]

Has anyone here textured their own walls? I am in the process of doing that at my new house and it seems to be taking forever. It has taken about 4 hours to do a small room and closet.

I am using a texture roller to apply it, then I let it dry for about 20 minutes and nock it down with a trowel then lightly sand when fully dry. Would a hopper and air compressor be a better choice? With all the mess that it would create I'm not sure I want to deal with it.

Any ideas on a easier method?

Thanks,
Mat

[Lou_williams]

Mat,

The texture gun is the way to go. I have tried lots of things including just trying to match existing texture with a the DW knives and mud.

The way to solve the mess is lots of plastic.

I just did the celling in my kitchen with one and it took about an hour from total start to finish.

[MatD]

Since I just ordered the air compressor and brad nailer combo for $100 I guess it would make sense to invest in the hopper at this point.

Mat

[Lou_williams]

Home Depot sells and rents the units. They are about 45 to by and 17 a day to rent. I just bought it there have been too many times when I have ended up doing drywall work.

[dicklaxt]

Go with the gun even if you throw it away afterwards,,,,I have been there and done that and I was never satisfied with my hand jobs(no comments) could never get it even just do it over and over what a PITA

dick

[bobleverton5]

Hi,

The hopper gun is definitely the way to go. I have never seen a roller texture job that looks very professional.

We spray both the accoustic spray (some call it popcorn) and the knockdown finish. Both finishes can be applied with the hopper gun. For the knockdown finsih, we use the pre-mixed lightweight joint compound and thin it down to a consistency of pancake batter.

If you are spraying over drywall - we recommend priming the surface prior to spraying as the drywall mud and the drywall paper absorb the moisture at different rates and result in a noticeable difference in the knockdown.

Buy an air control lever to apply between the gun and air hose so that you can regulate the air at the gun. The amount of air mixed with spray determines the size of the pattern. Use plastics to cover anything that you do not want sprayed. Make sure you have a big enough compressor so that it can produce enough constant air for the gun. (This becomes more of an issue on multi room projects)

Begin in an inconspicuous place and begin spraying. Once you begin spraying - do not quit. An easy beginner mistake is to spray and quit, spray and quit. This produces noticeable results. Apply at a uniform coverage and make sure you have adequate lighting. Take special notice of corners and the bottom of walls as people have a tendency to get lazy and get an un-uniform coverage there.

If you buy a decent gun and have a steady hand - you should be able to put a much better finish on the wall than you can with the roller method.

Bob

[Chris Moore]

Are you doing walls or ceilings? If you are doing ceilings, then I concur with the others. Using a hopper gun will be much easier and faster. If you are doing walls, then doing a knock down texture with a roller and trowel is not only possible, but it can lend itself to more creativity if you are handy with a trowel. It also allows you to use a variety of finishes that don't perform well in a hopper gun, such as sanded textures or combed knock downs.

Chris Moore
Chris@ChristopherCMoore.net
West Palm Beach, FL

[Larry Williams]

Gee, I'd have said the opposite. I prefer a rolled and tromped (with a crow's foot) then knocked down ceiling and a light orange peel spray on the walls. Some times, in large rooms, a knocked down and heavier spray on the walls seems to match scale better. All three finishes take a little experience to get right. I avoided popcorn or acoustic ceilings when ever I could but, frankly, this discussion reminds me of why I'm not unhappy about being out of construction.

Larry Williams

[Grandad]

One thing to be concerned about with this, if you ever have to repair a drywall crack, it is near impossible. I have had to replace a piece of ceiling under a bathroom, and still need to repair a ceiling in the master bedroom. The first one simply sucks. It is impossible to match a sprayed on finish by hand later, and I don't think re-spraying is an option although I did not try. The cracks left to fix are where the cathedral ceiling hits the flat ceiling. Ever try patching drywall on a corner? Now consider doing this when you have "bumps" every half inch or so.

What annoys me is where we built the builders all said this was better because it hides flaws. Sure, their flaws when they don't know how to drywall correct. Any flaws that show up later like nail pops or cracks, well you are on your own.

It does look nice, I would just think about the long term before doing it.

[Frank]

It is not impossible to touch-up a patch job later, but it can be a pain. I have seen a couple guys in the business use the spray cans from HD. They work well, but you still have to cover what you don't want textured, and at $8 a can, is a lot cheaper and easier than renting a hopper / compressor.

Frank

[doo_hicky]

I just did my whole house with the texture gun. It was a whole lot easier than doing it with a roller and/or crows foot and brushes. The consistancy at which I sprayed lent to a completely random splatter pattern, the effect was pleasing to me and my wife which tried the texture roller in on room and failed miserably. I got the gun from HF for $40, it is the same that Lowes and HD but with a different name for $20 less.

When I mixed the joint compound with water I had mixed approx. 1 gal of water to 4 gal of compound. The texture is controlled by a plate that goes over the nozzel to regulate the flow of the mixture and the air pressure, there are even different types of nozzels. This is completely adjustable to fit what ever texture you want.

Hope this helps, the one thing that I liked about doing it this way was the time savings, I did a whole 21' X 21' room with cathedral celings(10.5')in a little over 2 hours. With being a random pattern I was not concerned with matching up the finish if any repairs would be needed.

Mike

[aerowood]

A hopper gun is what I used and it took no time a all. Don,t be surprised if your pancake compresser cannot keep up with a hopper gun do to the volume of air they use

[edandq]

I just got done taping and mudding. It's pretty smooth, a blemish here or there, not too many though. Getting ready to spray some texture on it. I'm going to borrow a friends gun so the cost is good! Do I have to prime first? I hadn't planned on it and most homes I see being build they dont' do that.