Taping and texturing... (need help)
 

I am re-doing my garage. I ripped out the old crappy cabinets and put in attic stairs to take advantage of storage above the garage.

I had a local company repair the cracks in the concrete floor and paint it with textured epoxy. (Looks great).

I have new cabinets and a workbench arriving in two weeks, so I need to patch some damaged drywall, scrape off some old peeled paint and re-texture before painting.

I've framed houses, put on roofs and fixed plumbing, but I have never worked with drywall and taping or texturing. Any pointers?

Also, for the paint. Should I choose flat or semi-gloss?

Semi-gloss will clean up a lot easier. I painted my garage with flat paint a couple years ago, because I had a ton of it leftover. I'm regretting it now.

I was thinking the same thing.

Anyone know how to do "knockdown" texture repair?

For texture, try it on a big scrap of something first, so you know what to expect when it's time for the real thing.

For taping, number one rule is to not leave any ridges to sand. A few extra swipes with the taping knife to knock them down will save an enormous amount of time later.

It really is as easy as it sounds. Like Dantilla said spray some on a scrap piece of dry wall first just to see what it looks like.

Personally, I wouldn't texture a garage - the texturing collects dust.

when taping joints, work your way up to a good 12"-16" trowel.
You can also use joint compound cut 10-25% with flat white paint to make a stucco look. You skim coat it, then use a grout float to blot the wall making little pointy bumps. Use a dampened rag or sponge to knock down the highs in a random pattern and you het a real cool texture.

For spot texturing, I dip a whisk broom in slightly diluted drywall mud mixture and pull back on the bristles, flinging the mud onto the wall. Wait 5-10 minutes and knock down with a drywall knife. Practice on a piece of scrap first. HTH

I'm with Thom on this one, but I didn't bother to paint the drywall on the inside of my garage either.

I'm deeply immersed in a project requiring a lot of texturing (and it's killing my ability to finish my 930).

If you're doing small areas, I just use the spray.

If you're going to texture a large area that's never been textured before, I'd use a thick texture paint or mix one box of premixed floating mud and one gallon of cheap white paint. Then apply it with a heavy (3/4") knap roller. You can adjust how heavy the texture is by how much apply and how many times you roll over it. Rolling down or up affects the texture so make sure your last roll is in the same direction (down seems more common).

Another choice is a sand texture that comes premixed or you put it in paint. Light for walls, heavy for ceilings.

If you're trying to match existing texture, send me a PM and I'll give you my phone number if you want to describe what you have.

If you want to match existing texture, you need to determine how it was originally applied - sprayed, rolled, etc. After the texture is applied, wait till the mud has half cured, then drag a 12" knife lightly across the tops.

sheetrock tape and texture is another one of those things that you will be good at right about the time you finish. agreed on a wide ace trowel for joint taping work. also get one of those pole sanders with the mesh material for sanding. mix a little water in the joint compound, and i would buy one of those drill attached mixer deals to mix the mud up a bit. i used the "topping" type joint compound early on, its thinner, sands a little easier and spreads like butter. also the mesh type joint tape is easier for beginners, less likely to get air trapped under your tape.

i agree with thom on the texture and the dust. once you get the walls taped and sanded flat you can mix a real thin batch of joint compound and drag a trowel foo across all the paper areas remaining after the tape work. another quick sand and you should have garage grade "smooth wall".

good luck,

T$

RE: knockdown texture, like SO CAL says, buy the aerosol can, it has different nozzles for different finishes.

Hole repair - Get a big piece of good scrap drywall and drywall screws and your Cordless makita and some mud.

Cut out the damaged section all the way till you have two studs present - you can use a steak knife if you have to. Put your patch piece in, tape the seams and throw mud across it and when dried, sand it outwards till it's visibly flat.

Throw the texture down fanning outwards and you'll have to go way out to get it to blend.

Dry and paint..

rjp

Thanks, folks! If I screw it up badly, my son will abuse me roundly. (As if he needs more ammo!)

or you can look in the pennysaver mailer and find an illegal to do it while you watch with beer in hand.

I was going to say that but was afraid of the flaming I would get. :D

And I figue anyone crazy enough to do their own roof would want to take on drywalling.

BTDT!

Knock-down textured surface walls is a lot of work and detail for a garage wall. The rough surface can impede finding studs and dose not facilitate hanging fixtures to the wall. It serves no purpose here.

But if you need it for repairs here is what I have done. Don’t pay the $$ for the aerosol cans. They cover a small area and you cannot control the density of the texture.

My walls had large and heavy blotches. The aerosol cans could not match this. I used a natural sponge and premixed drywall plaster. Then you can control the texture by experimenting with adding water to the plaster (I used plaster straight from the premixed can) and different grades of sponges (your local Lowe’s has different grades of sponges in the paint dept.). Just dab the sponge into the plaster and then onto the wall. Let dry to a paste and use a large trowel for take down. The toweling motion should be arbitrary (not up/down or side to side). Shine a light parallel and on the surface of the wall to better see the texture. Some experimentation is required. It’s not hard.

Good luck SmileWavy