re-texturing bathroom walls? (roof, painting, sink, install)

[campmom123]

We just bought a 1949 little ranch home and at some point somebody added a 2nd bathroom into what must've been a storage room or something. The fact that it HAS a 2nd bathroom made the sale for us, but whoever did it did a poor job. The walls are slightly textured, like the rest of the house, but there are vast spots especially at the corners where the walls are completely smooth and you can see where the drywall tape is, etc. and it looks terrible! It is a super small bathroom, they just barely squeezed a pedistal sink and a toilet in there across from the shower (which your head kinda sticks into when you sit on the toilet). For such a small bathroom the least we could have it do is look nice with better looking walls and some paint.

Can anyone give me a basic run-down of what it would take for us to DIY re-texture the walls before painting? Do we just buy some stuff at a home-store and spread it on? What is the most straightforward way to do this (besides paying someone else to do it )

[Bugnubs]

If the tape is popping badly or drywall seams show, you might have to address that first. Otherwise, thick joint compound spread over the walls with a small trowel should do the trick. You can experiment with texture and design while it's wet, but probably best not to create sharp peaks, which chip off easily. It's a quick and easy solution. When finished, let it dry completely for a couple of days before priming and painting, carefully covering the texture from all angles. Be sure you buy thick joint compound, not the thinner type meant for top coats. I had lumpy, uneven walls in my kitchen and redid them about 5 years ago with joint compound and it's held up very well. Good luck!

[JimRom]

They sell paint additives at the big box hardware stores that will give the walls some texture. Another trick, sometimes cheaper, is if you can find a good deal on super-fine perlite, you can add it to your paint to give the walls a pearl texture.

Definitely address the drywall issues first, especially in a small room with high humidity. If the seams are popping now, then after a few hot showers in that room no amount of paint will hide it.

The paint additives are the cheap, easy way to go. The plastering textures that Bugnubs suggested are a much more pleasing alternative, imo.

[campmom123]

I don't know that the drywall is "popping", it just looks like they took a trowel or whatever it's called and smoothed the edges of the room flat (well, actually kinda gloppy) while the middle of the walls are textured normally. It looks BAD. I don't know if paint additives would help since there are good spots that don't need done twice, I just need to somehow make the bad spots match (or maybe I have to do all of it over so it will be the same?)

Tell me more about the "pearl" texture? what does that mean?

What else would help the high-humidity of the room? We plan to install a better fan and check the venting....

We may not do any of this, we just got word that our closing that was supposed to go thru tomorrow is getting pushed back yet again by the underwriters from hell. You can read my mad post about that in the mortgage and real estate forums

[JimRom]

Hmmm, hard to describe the pearl texture and I can't seem to find any images. Too bad I don't have internet at my grandmother's house that we are renovating, it's got the texture throughout the house.. for now. I think my wife is trying to talk me into venetian plaster in a couple of rooms.

Best description I can give is that it is like really fine sand in the paint, giving the walls a slightly bumpy texture. It does well at hiding minor flaws, and is probably the quickest way to texture paint.

Best solution for a humid bathroom is good venting. Take a square of toilet tissue and hold it up to the fan while it is running. If it holds the tissue against the grill, it's working. If it doesn't , chances are the vent is clogged, or, as I actually saw a few years ago, there is no vent hose connected and the moisture is blowing into the insulation in the attic (that was a fun job to fix). Make sure the vent is going to the outside of the house, either through the roof or through the wall, never just vent into the attic.

[ShaneSA]

You can use joint compound to fill in and repair the places that are flat and cover the tape, then texture it with a sponge or a rag or use a trowel to make the pattern match what is already there. Just make sure you do not leave pointed spikes in the texture.