When a simple coat of paint isn’t enough to refresh the look of the room, knockdown texture might be the answer for many reasons.

First of all, knockdown drywall texture (also known as ‘skip trowel’) can help deaden sound, provide a warm feel to the walls as well as hide any imperfections that may be on the wall surface. Make sure your ready, this is defiantly a messy job but well worth the effort.

Some Equipment You May Need

If you are spraying large wall areas, you will probably need to rent a small compressor and drywall spray rig. The Ready-mixed spray materials are recommended for only smaller jobs or repairs.

You will need a metal trowel as well; one that is semi-flexible and about 18” to 24” inches in width. (For the beginner it might be best to use one with rounded corners). All these items can be found at most home improvement centers.

Steps to Applying Knockdown Drywall Texture

Step One:

Thin some drywall compound with water. The compound should be about as thick as a pancake batter. If you make the compound to think it will not be able to spray out of the nozzle correctly and can clog the opening. Try testing the spray on a scrap piece of board first to ensure that the compound goes on evenly.

If there is an issue with the spray you can then readjust the mud mix to the consistency you need. You may be able to tint the compound with your color of choice before you spray so you don’t have to paint when you are finished.

Step Two:

Spray over the walls with even strokes from top to bottom. (Hint: the largest spots of mud mixture should be no larger than dimes or pennies.)

Step Three:

Allow the compound to sit approximately 20-30 minutes. The compound should be tacky to the touch. All drying times will differ depending on things like humidity, air temperature and mixture. Now hold your trowel at a flat angle and go in vertical strokes top to bottom over the compound. The point to this is to remove the peaks off the dollops not to smear them.

Step Four:

Once all the peaks have been removed then the texturing procedure is done. Allow the walls to dry completely preferably 24 hours. Open windows or even use a box fan to help with this.

Step Five:

Now you are ready to prime and paint your newly textured walls the way you would any other drywall, if you had not yet tinted the mud mix.

photo by View D'World
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