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My wife and I recently bought a house and I'm trying to do a bunch of projects to update it, but I don't have a ton of experience.
I am currently getting ready to paint a continuous entrance hallway/stairway/upstairs hallway wall. The upstairs portion of the wall is drywall/compound/paint right now, but the wall is very uneven with a lot of ridges and bumps. My feeling is that previous owners tried to apply a whole wall coat of some sort of compound and did a very, very poor uneven job.
Any suggestions on how to smooth out the wall to prep it for painting? Once I have a smooth wall, I plan to prime, then paint (that probably doesn't matter, but thought I'd throw it in). I've tried hand sanding for 2 hours, and I feel that that might take a few years by hand. Thanks for any advice you all might have out there.
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I'm not sure I'm visualizing the issue very well, but if the wall has a lot of compound or texture on it, it may be worth trying a belt sander with some very coarse paper to knock down the heavy stuff.
As for ridges & bumps - some of that will be normal, especially in an older home done up with old gypsum board. Plaster & lath - not so much.
If that's the type of ridge/bump you're dealing with.... I honestly wouldn't worry about it. You could try putting up a 1/4" layer of drywall to give a fresh surface.
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It's a combination of filling in and building up the low spots, and sanding down the high spots.
I had some areas where the plaster had broken off of the lath, so I chipped out the areas and re-plastered them. I had to take out some of the lath in some cases, because it had settled on top of another piece of lath, and would never be level. I tacked in some mesh in some of the bigger open areas before applying plaster fill.
I used a textured wall product in my dining room. It gave a nice "leathery" look to the upper part of the walls above the chair rails.
Micah 6:8; He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God.
John 14:19 Jesus said: Because I live, you also will live.
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In the past I've used a palm sander with drywall mesh sanding screens with good results. Lotta dust but it works well.
SaintDawg™
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I'm not sure I'd use a belt sander - especially one with coarse paper - simply because a belt sander is pretty aggressive. My concern would be leaving ruts. (getting too deep, too quick)
Maybe an electric hand sander with possibly 120 grit paper. Maybe a finer grit, depending how uneven it is. Or, an orbital sander with 120 or so grit.
But, not being able to see the area, the size.....tough to say for sure.
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Is spraying texture and doing a knockdown an option? I can't stand drywall dust.
And into the forest I go, to lose my mind and find my soul.
- John Muir
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It's hard to tell without seeing the walls, but I have had jobs wear the walls were originally a spanish texture and the customers wanted it smooth. That could explain the compound being all over it.
Of coarse not everyone can polish a turd like a professional.
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Do you do that on purpose? 
yebat' Putin
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Was that texture in the plaster, or added on top of the plaster as an extra coat?
If it's a product added over the initial plaster/paint, then you might be able to scrape it off using a medium size putty knife.
Micah 6:8; He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God.
John 14:19 Jesus said: Because I live, you also will live.
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Quote:
I'm not sure I'd use a belt sander - especially one with coarse paper - simply because a belt sander is pretty aggressive. My concern would be leaving ruts. (getting too deep, too quick)
Maybe an electric hand sander with possibly 120 grit paper. Maybe a finer grit, depending how uneven it is. Or, an orbital sander with 120 or so grit.
But, not being able to see the area, the size.....tough to say for sure.
Good points.
Plus sanding a painted surface will be more trouble then it is worth.
Smooth out the walls first and then sand with a fine grit sand paper. If you are using a light (soft) weight mud, then you will want to use a 120 grit or higher.
I would use a 150 grit.
Working over a painted surface you will find a bit hard to leave enough mud on the walls and you will get pin holes.
This is because the walls are sealed by the paint and it will try to repel the moisture in the mud. This is normal.
Go out and purchase a heavy nape roller sleeve. (1/2" or more) mix a bucket of mud and thin it down to a consistency of a heavy paint. Roll walls and let dry. You now have a surface that is better to work with for leveling and or sanding.
Or just call a professional if it sounds like too big a project.
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I have a comment and this comes from a self-professed DIYer and a person with almost 20 years in the construction industry. Don't do it yourself.
Sanding/applying drywall mud to even out an old bumpy irregular wall is darn near like art. Find a professional drywall finisher and pay him a couple hundred bucks to fix this for you then you can paint it. He will do it twice as fast, he will make half the mess, and it will look twice as good as you trying to do it yourself and it will be done forever.
This is the entrance to your new home, it's the first impression anybody will have of the inside.. This is not the best place for you to try to learn to do drywall repair.... get it done right.
yebat' Putin
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Quote:
Was that texture in the plaster, or added on top of the plaster as an extra coat?
If it's a product added over the initial plaster/paint, then you might be able to scrape it off using a medium size putty knife.
Normally if this was textured whenever the house was built, then no it would not have been painted or primed first.
If it was painted or primed prior to texture and was 'not painted over' like some ceilings then you could use a bug sprayer filled with water, wet and it will be much easier to scrap off, but I don't think this is the case being that it is walls that are painted.
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Quote:
I'm not sure I'd use a belt sander - especially one with coarse paper - simply because a belt sander is pretty aggressive. My concern would be leaving ruts. (getting too deep, too quick)
Maybe an electric hand sander with possibly 120 grit paper. Maybe a finer grit, depending how uneven it is. Or, an orbital sander with 120 or so grit.
But, not being able to see the area, the size.....tough to say for sure.
If you can handle a sander, it isn't an issue.
I was suggesting it, however, because we can't see what he's dealing with, but in my mind I pictured a lot of heavy compound on the wall.... I wouldn't waste time with a palm sander on that, *especially* with only 120 grit, lol.
The idiot owners of my house prior to me put popcorn texture on the walls in an area that I wanted to join to my kitchen, and covering it with 1/4" drywall wasn't an option. The ONLY choice was scraping the wall, then belt sanding - and I used 40 grit - because you just are NOT going to remove heavy texture from a large area with simply a palm sander - not in a single lifetime, anyway. Once that was done, a few skim coats with 20 minute mud and I had a perfectly smooth wall.
Browns is the Browns
... there goes Joe Thomas, the best there ever was in this game.
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Quote:
Sanding/applying drywall mud to even out an old bumpy irregular wall is darn near like art.
Yes it is.
That's why I try and talk customers out of texturing walls. It may look nice to them, but what if you want to sell and now you have to hope that a perspective buyer will like it as well.
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I may try your technique in my office/spare bedroom.
My house is an older one, and there has been significant settling. I have worked put most of the issues in the rest of the rooms, but this bedroom is the worst of the bunch. The walls have all kinds of inconsistency to them. Maybe I'll try your plaster in a paint tray technique.
Micah 6:8; He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God.
John 14:19 Jesus said: Because I live, you also will live.
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Quote:
I may try your technique in my office/spare bedroom.
My house is an older one, and there has been significant settling. I have worked put most of the issues in the rest of the rooms, but this bedroom is the worst of the bunch. The walls have all kinds of inconsistency to them. Maybe I'll try your plaster in a paint tray technique.
My method is one that I came up with over the years. Giving yourself a workable surface will save a lot of headaches in the process.
Just remember no one can do it in one coat not even a professional.
Also I wanted to add that you can rent a vacuum sander from most home depot's, however not all have the fine grit sand (220g) paper to go along with. You can use it for sanding the majority of the work, but will need to get a hand sponge to finish the sanding smoother.
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I don't mind a little texture on my walls. My kitchen, living room, and bedroom all have fairly heavy duty textures on the walls.
My dining room and the eat in part of my kitchen have a leathery type texture. My mom hates wall textures, but she likes this. Go figure. lol My bedroom has a swirl type texture similar to what's on many ceilings.
I am mainly going to use your technique for the ceiling in the office. This ceiling is a mess, and has been patched about 15 different times. I fogure that if I can get a modestly even surface, I cna texture it with a traditional ceiling swirl type pattern and move on from there. The walls in here have a few issues, but there are bookcases covering 2 walls almost entirely, so that's not as much of an issue.
Micah 6:8; He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God.
John 14:19 Jesus said: Because I live, you also will live.
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Been there, done that, got the T Shirt. I've worked on many walls, both plaster and sheet rock, and have discovered what I consider the Holy Grail of tools for fixing a botched drywall finishing job. Be warned, this can get messy but it's worth it. The Magic Trowel! Texmaster has some pretty good videos concerning using the thing. It works. I can finish a wall or ceiling in a fraction of the time I used to waste with better results. It will also allow you to fix someone else's Betty Crocker frosting job much better than breaking out the belt sander. A real drywall finisher probably wouldn't use one. A real drywall finisher probably won't return your phone calls about fixing someone else's mess unless you mention you are a young single blond female millionaire who owns a chain of liquor stores. You can find the trowel at a Sherman Williams store.
"Let people think this is a dumpster fire," - Mike Pettine
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To each their own. I have done homes with different textures on walls in every room. But just as any artist work is hard to duplicate so too is custom textures. I did a remodel once and had to match the spanish texture. It had what looked like sea shells randomly within the spanish. I had to think for a while to get into the workmans head, before I could even begin. Then it came to me how he/I could try to duplicate the look by using a 6" knife. The walls were then painted an aqua green and the sea shells were a pinkish color, so there are countless ways to texture. Even most professionals hate to smooth out textured walls or ceilings. If possible I will laminate with 3/8 board and start a new 
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Quote:
A real drywall finisher probably wouldn't use one. A real drywall finisher probably won't return your phone calls about fixing someone else's mess unless you mention you are a young single blond female millionaire who owns a chain of liquor stores.
Actually I only use it for a knock down.
Edit: (It maybe his best option however along with first applying a base)
As far as turning down work these days.
Not I. I have had one job (a duplex) since January, but blonds are always a plus
I have to go here in a little while to look at a water damage job on a rental at the lake. The guy is trying to do most of the work himself, but he thinks he might need a professional to finish the new board. He cut the walls at 2' every where. I hope he left him self an extra half inch any way he will most likely want it done for nothing as is usually the case today.
Wish me luck, my saving are gone and the cupboards are bare.
PS: tj think build up not strip down and wax on, wax off grasshopper
Good luck.
Last edited by FL_Dawg; 06/17/11 11:33 AM.
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Quote:
But, not being able to see the area, the size.....tough to say for sure.
If you can handle a sander, it isn't an issue.
What?
Quote:
I was suggesting it, however, because we can't see what he's dealing with,
Stop right there. Now - look at my statement above. See? Neither one of us know exactly what he's dealing with. I'd hate to tell him to use a belt sander with 40 grit if a palm sander with 120, or even 80, will do it. Know what I mean?
Quote:
but in my mind I pictured a lot of heavy compound on the wall.... I wouldn't waste time with a palm sander on that, *especially* with only 120 grit, lol.
The idiot owners of my house prior to me put popcorn texture on the walls in an area that I wanted to join to my kitchen,
You mentioned popcorn texture - he didn't.
Again, without seeing it (as I said in my original post) no one knows for sure WHAT to do - but suggesting someone start off with a belt sander with 40 grit paper - .........heck, it would make just as much sense to tell him to tear everything down to the studs and put new drywall up. 
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And I'm pretty sure I put that recommendation in context.... so, back to you.... WHAT? 
Browns is the Browns
... there goes Joe Thomas, the best there ever was in this game.
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I'll up you one: 
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Quote:
OH NO YOU DIN'T!!
Yup - and if you're up to it, I triple dog...........well, we can't really bet each other, or dare each other, since we aren't doing the work, but doggoneit - I triple dog ......bet....thing.
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j/c Thanks for all of your help and suggestions. I am going to give it a go, since the wall is in a poorly lit upstairs hallway. I plan to knock down the really high spots with a hand sander, smooth the whole wall out with fine sandpaper, then lay on some mud with the suggestions here. I will let you all know how it turns out. If I screw it up, I will just take out all the lights up there.
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