The textured walls of Pittsburgh (deal, hiring, room)

[stburr91]

I've been doing plaster repair, and painting for over 20 years. Generally speaking, removing texture is difficult, and can be very labor intensive. If the texture can't be easily scrapped off, you are going to be better off drywalling over it. There is no way to give an estimate on cost without seeing it, but again, generally speaking, either route, removing the texture, or drywalling tends to be fairly costly.

[UKyank]

^agree with this. Removing wall texture would be tough to get the results you want. Putting up new drywall isn't too difficult to do yourself.

[WhoIsStanwix?]

Originally Posted by UKyank

^agree with this. Removing wall texture would be tough to get the results you want. Putting up new drywall isn't too difficult to do yourself.

If it were that easy, I'd be doing it. The issue to me is putting drywall over existing plaster, and needing to either work around existing trim or trying to remove and reuse the very old woodwork that is likely irreplaceable.

[theta_sigma]

Originally Posted by WhoIsStanwix?

If it were that easy, I'd be doing it. The issue to me is putting drywall over existing plaster, and needing to either work around existing trim or trying to remove and reuse the very old woodwork that is likely irreplaceable.

This isn't actually an old house with precious woodwork. It was built in the 50s, so don't weep for the trim

[aw_now_what]

I had this problem once. I started out trying to sand it down, but that was tedious and I worried about what I was breathing in. So I hired people to skim coat over it with joint compound. It looked great and still does 20+ years later.

[stburr91]

Originally Posted by aw_now_what

I had this problem once. I started out trying to sand it down, but that was tedious and I worried about what I was breathing in. So I hired people to skim coat over it with joint compound. It looked great and still does 20+ years later.

That can work, but generally only when the texture is not very rough.

[WhoIsStanwix?]

Originally Posted by theta_sigma

This isn't actually an old house with precious woodwork. It was built in the 50s, so don't weep for the trim

I was thinking selfishly. My house was built in 1900. Has original (but painted over) trim but awful textured walls. Ugh.

[jea6321]

if its a stipple coat, you are pretty much out of luck on trying to skim coat it. If its a knock down texture, you might be ok to do so. Depending on how aggressive the texture is will determine how many skim coats it will take. depending on how many rooms and ceilings you have, it could range from a couple grand, to 10k plus for doing it and painting everything.

[eschaton]

Originally Posted by theta_sigma

This isn't actually an old house with precious woodwork. It was built in the 50s, so don't weep for the trim

How are you going to deal with drywalling over the arched room entrances though?

[theta_sigma]

Originally Posted by eschaton

How are you going to deal with drywalling over the arched room entrances though?

Nope, none of those either. Rectangles as far as the eye can see. The person who built this house for sure wore a pocket protector.