Most Popular Textured Finish?

steve-in-kville

I have a few jobs coming up that require a textured finish over mostly old plaster and some new drywall. The goal is to hide the defects in the old plaster and the transistion where the plaster meets the patched drywall.

What textured finish is being applied most often these days? I've seen a lot of troweled finishes as well as various sprayed finishes. Any suggestions as to whats in style?

steve

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Mike Finley

I predict you're going to get two answers, one being smooth and the other being knock-down. The answers will depend on which coast you are closer to.

East coast -tons of old homes with smooth walls, west coast tons of newer homes with knock down.

Danahy

If you want to be different, but not difficult. You could use that really thin tape 1/8", tape big rock like shapes on the wall... then do a knockdown, then remove the tape before it dries.

I like doing this to make faux bricks, or faux tiles for back splashes or other areas that need a unique, low cost quick fix...

steve-in-kville

Now I'm confused... what do you call a smooth texture?? Do you mean "smooth finish" or something other than popcorn or knockdown?

Thanks!

steve

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steve-in-kville

That sounds like great idea. When the tape is pulled, does it make a clean break? Or does it "tear out" the surrounding mud? Sounds like the right timing is the key here.

steve

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747

I don't like texture finishes. But the nicest stuff i have ever seen here was that one guy who did art work on drywall. I don't remember who that was it was a while ago. It was awesome stuff.

Mike Finley

lol, smooth texture is a bit of a contradiction Should be smooth finish.

thom

Though the spray-on-knock-down is the most common, There are others that look nicer but take more time. I like the brocade on the ceiling and the slap on the walls.

I'm afraid you will have to see the textures to get an idea of their look. Brocade is pretty standard for ceilings, slap was fairly common here about 25 years ago.

Slap is installed by rolling the mud on the wall then hitting the mudded wall with a double splayed brush. Leaves an interesting and random line segments in the mud. It's a light texture.

One thing to think about, on walls, the heavier the texture, the more dirt and dust it will collect. Heavy wall textures generally look dirty after a year or so and are almost impossible to clean. Lots of work for painters though.

steve-in-kville

thom,

Agree on the "dirty" look. I have a building that was/is original plaster. The previous owner had troweled texture applied. Looks like someone used a toothed trowel (like tile layers use). Its not have bad to paint with a good roller, but I did myself a favor by going with a darker color than white. Shows the dirt after about six months.

Is there an online source where I can see different textures?


Thanks!

steve

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LennyV-NHSNOLA

Do a Google search for "wall texture" and then click the Images link to see just pictures. That should find you a lot.

steve-in-kville

Tried google, but results were mostly contractors advertising their services.

steve

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LennyV-NHSNOLA

Did you click the Images button after doing the Google search? 7,190 images at the link below. When you see an image you are interested in and the URL looks like it's applicable, open the image in a new browser window.

http://images.google.com/images?ie=U...es&sa=N&tab=wi

Here is one site I found that says they have a gallery of pictures.
http://www.cynthiadesigns.com/textur...d_finishes.php

steve-in-kville

Thanks, I didn't think of that. I found a few pics that looked interesting. The "sand swirl" appears to be a winner. The "spanish" knifed texture also looks interesting.

I have a few drywall books somewhere. There's a few techiques outlined, but obviously not exhaustive.

steve

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mudd-cat

Can i Get Some Pics on that
Thanks