Three Easy Ways Of Fixing Bad Or Unwanted Textured Walls
Textured interior walls, such as orange peel, popcorn, or swirled patterns, usually have a practical function, due to the fact that the texture conceals the signs of drywall installation, that is, the taped seams where the sheets of drywall meet, as well as other imperfections. The best wall is the smoothest wall that you can get. Here are the three important ways to turn a stippled surface into a smooth one. These ways will also work with walls that are distressed in other ways.
Way 1: Apply A Skim Coat
- After installing drywall, the fasteners as well as taped seams are skim coated, that are usually protected with a thin coat of joint compound, or “mud,” in order to level the surface in preparation for painting or papering.
- The same technique will also help you in getting rid of bad or unwanted textured walls. You can apply a thin coat of mud over the entire wall surface, allow it to dry, before sanding it smooth. You may need more than one coat of joint compound or mud, particularly, bumpy walls.
- If you have to skim coat a whole room, it will be both messy as well as time-consuming. Therefore, when it comes to skim coating a whole room, the best option is to call a professional who has the experience in order to keep sanding dust from infiltrating every crevice of your home. As soon as the repaired surface is smooth, you can easily seal it with a primer before painting or wallpapering it, as desired.
Way 2: Replace The Textured Drywall With New Drywall
- Another best option when it comes to fixing bad or unwanted textured walls is to replace the textured drywall with new drywall. Replacing textured drywall is a less expensive way as compared to skim coating the whole room.
- It is probably one of the best choices if the texture is particularly heavy, for instance, the stucco appearance that is usually found in a Spanish-style home. However, remember that installing new drywall also means skim-coating in order to cover the seams as well as get a smooth surface, along with all the dust that entails.
Way 3: Cover The Walls With Another Material, Such As Wood
- Wood paneling is one of the popular choices these days. The majority of the flooring companies are doing wall surfaces with beautiful wood. You can also corrugate metal installed over drywall & if you are into an industrial look, then it can be very cool. But adding a new surface means you also need to address the issue of baseboards, if there are any. The new layer will, in all likelihood, protrude past the profile of your baseboards and look like a DIY gone wild.
- In order to fix the problem, it is important to remove the baseboards altogether before running the paneling down to the floor. It is highly suggested to install a Fry Reglet metal component that will take hold of the bottom of the paneling just above the floor, in order to make sure that it looks as if it is floating (the metal piece is almost invisible).
- The other option is to remove the baseboards, before adding some stock wood at the underside of the wall, and reinstall the baseboards flush with the new paneling.