Looking for some advice here. Have a 1200 square foot (2bd/1ba) house that has primarily lathe and plaster walls, yet we have made a considerable amount of drywall repairs after the electricians finished installing new recessed lights, recepticles, light switches, etc.
The original plaster walls are not textured, yet they have multiple layers of roller brush “texture” as the walls have seen a lot of paint over the last few decades. Need less to say when priming the new drywall and the original plaster, its pretty obvious to see where new and old are.
I could purchase/rent the equipment to texture, although I’m not sure if that would even cover. Skim coating all the walls to a smooth finish is my preference, yet I’m not sure if that would be too cost prohibitive. Perhaps a kind of texture that can be applied along with the primer would be an inexpensive fix, yet not sure if that’s the way to go. I remember the forum was thumbs up on the D-Mix formula that someone came up with too. . .
Help!
Thanks,
Tark
Replies
Consider this a "bump" (no answer, but a reply that keeps your discussion current so others can see it and reply). I was going to suggest "D-mix," but I've never used it myself. I think spray-on texture would be a pain.
Do a skim coat over the whole wall. Trying to make it look like nothing was repaired will drive you crazy. There's also a mesh that comes on rolls that is applied over the wall, after the cracks have been filled and smoothed. The rest of the wall needs to be flat and smooth but you don't need to do anything heroic at that point. Prime the surfaces first, in either case. I blended a bunch of drywall to the old plaster in my place and while it looks really good, not skimming the areas that weren't worked on was a bad idea. I used setting compound for the cracks and new corner bead and regular compound for everything else. Whatever sets up harder is what I would use and it'll be more durable, unless you compare it to a skim coat of plaster.
"I cut this piece four times and it's still too short."
Edited 10/3/2007 9:32 pm by highfigh
Thanks highfish. You may have answered it in your post, but for the skim coat, should I use regular joint compound or could I get away with topping compound that is lighter and easier to work with.
Might be easier and lighter but it's also easier to damage. The regular joint compound is what I used and it was pretty hard when it was set. My street was just replaced and they used a pile driver to bust up the old concrete. The whole house was shaking and rumbling. Not a mark, new or old crack showing. From my experience, I can definitely recommend NOT doing a whole house in the middle of a long, hot summer and having no AC. One thing to really avoid is spraying texture with a hopper gun when it's that hot and muggy. That was disgusting. Did the whole place in one session. Walls, ceilings, death.Good workout, though. I think I reached my target heat rate, several times over.
"I cut this piece four times and it's still too short."
Thanks. All the seams between new and old have been taped and mudded smoothed over with joint compound. Since I'm just trying to smooth out the "texture" of decades of paint rolling on the rest of the old walls, I'm might try skim coating them with topping.
Neither joint compound nor topping compound is designed for skim coating. I believe it even says so right on the container. If not their, then the manufacturer's web site probably says so.Real plaster would be the best solution from the beginning. Given where you are, look at the Diamond veneer plaster from USG if you can get it in your area. Be aware that you will need a bonding agent.Or you might look at Master of Plaster. They have a skim coat substance that claims not to need a bonding agent. I have not used their products, but I have heard from some people who have and they have been happy with the product. Search for their web site.
I have to read the cans, I did not realize that they could not be used for skim coating. I wonder if I prime all the walls first, if using the topping or joint compound would then be ok?I'm not thinking that texturing the walls might be the way to go
Neither joint compound nor topping compound is designed for skim coating. I believe it even says so right on the container. If not their, then the manufacturer's web site probably says so.
I had never heard this before. Curious, I went to USG website for verification. Here's what they wrote (color highlighting by me):
SHEETROCK¯ Brand All-Purpose Joint Compounds are used for embedding joint tape, finishing gypsum panel joints and for hand-applied simple texturing. They combine single-package convenience with good taping and topping performance. Also recommended for skim coating gypsum panel surfaces, laminating and repairing cracks in interior plaster and masonry not subject to moisture. SHEETROCK Brand All-Purpose Joint Compound formulation delivers excellent slip and bond and easy workability. Available in ready-mixed formulation and in a conventionally drying-type powder material that is easy to mix with water. Joint finishing is fast, easy and smooth, reducing labor costs and improving appearance and quality of the job.
I've used it for skim coating many times without problems. I haven't used a bonding agent other than a good primer.
I actually looked at the topping and joint compound and could not find anything to suggest that it could not be used for skim coating. I tried it today on a couple of walls to experiment. I'm not even sure if what I'm doing could be even considered skim coating, as I'm just running a fine film of mud over the wall to fill in the paint roller texture. Seems like its working out, yet doing this over most of the house will definetely be a PITA.Tark
Tark,
Here's what I would suggest...Use E-Z Sand 90 setting type compound, use a 14" plaster trowel to apply....then lightly sand as needed (shouldn't need much if you do a good trowel job).
A plaster trowel (or finishing trowel as they are labeled) is flat, unlike a drywall trowel, which is curved.
This would be the most efficient method,IMO.
I'm assuming the "texture" is really paint build-up, and not sand-texture. Hitting the surface real quick with sander will knock down any "dingle berries" left from previous paintings.
Geoff
I'll look into the plaster trowel, although after experimenting for a couple of days, I'm thinking I may buy my way out of this task. No sand texture here, just decades of paint build-up, which covers up pretty well on the walls I've touched. I have no problems rocking, taping and mudding a bathroom or some other defined area, but I've come to realize that there are a lot of walls in this house and just not enough of me ;-)The tile for the kitchen floor and backsplash came in and I'd rather tackle that for now.Many thanks to everyone that did respond.Tark
We use all purpose to veneer and sheer coat all the time. All purpose has more stick to it than topping. any walls with glossy finish should be sannded or primered first. Mike
Trust in God, but row away from the rocks.
A good primer is probably a sufficient bonding agent, just slower than using a bonding agent in the mix. Two steps instead of one.I'll look for the quote. It's probably a particular brand.However, I still won't do it. If nothing else the durability issue.
Try a sample spot for this. Thin down some drywall compound and roll it on like thick paint. What you're trying to do, of course, is reproduce the effect of multiple paint layers. Vary the direction in which you use the roller.
Along with the multiple layers of paint providing some texture buildup do you also see what might have been a "sand" finish in the plaster?
Many of the older plaster walls and ceilings that I have worked with have this "sand" finish, which is not uniform like the non-slip strips on stairs or course sand paper but extremely bumpy.
My fix for this is to use various grades of perlite texturing additive that I mix with the primer. Rolling that mixture over the patch and feathering it into the old finish hides the junction of the two materials extremely well.
It does take two or more coats of paint to help round over the sharp profile of the additive to match the old paint buildup and I have also started to use a more heavy bodied primer to start the process.
The stuff I have is from LITEX, Inc. Ft Lauderdale, FL
I second the EZ Sand 90 minute suggestion. I use it A LOT for skimming rough plaster and transitions to drywall. Sometimes I lay down a fill coat of the 90 minute (or 45, if it's not a big area or needs multiple fill coats) and topcoat it with lightweight.
I'm a borderline competent DIYer, I've used D-mix as prescribed for both new work over sheet rock, repair work over lathe and plaster and blended work between both.
It takes some fiddling but it's cheap and pretty fun once you get the hang of it. You wouldn't fool a plasterer with it but once you have it down, it can look quite nice. EZ to emulate various textures as well. Buy a decent set of tools; a real plaster trowel is invaluable in skim coat over plaster work. I've made do with a "pool" trowel from blowes from some work, I actually prefer a large knife.