Applying drywall joint compound with various tools provides various effects.
Plaster walls are common in homes built before the advent of gypsum drywall panels. To create them, builders installed a framework of narrow laths over wall studs and then applied wet plaster by hand over the laths. Plaster walls are very hard, and removing them is a major project. Sheetrock All-Purpose Joint Compound is USG Corp.'s brand of drywall joint compound. The preferred material to add texture to walls and ceilings, including those made of plaster, is drywall joint compound, also known as mud.
Wall Preparation
Stripping wallpaper and removing loose bits of crumbled plaster from cracks is necessary before adding texture to plaster walls. Because water stains and rust stains on the walls can bleed through the new texture, it's wise to apply a coat of stain-blocking primer to entire plaster walls before using joint compound to give them texture.
Texture Application
Applying texture to plaster walls isn't difficult, but it's very messy. Premixed joint compound is available in 5-gallon buckets and must be thinned with water to the consistency of thick cream. Drywall contractors use professional spray rigs to apply the compound quickly and evenly over walls. Do-it-yourself homeowners can use texture spray rigs from construction rental stores, or they can roll thinned joint compound on walls with a paint roller and then apply a texture design while the compound is wet.
Design Choices
Texture design options for plaster walls include rolled-on patterns, which are achieved by placing thinned joint compound on the walls and then using textured rollers on them while the compound remains wet. Other designs include sponged texture, made by patting the walls' wet joint compound with a large-holed sponge, and slap-brush texture, made by smacking the wet compound lightly with a large, splay-bristle brush. Knockdown textures involve wiping only the tips of a wet texture with a wide trowel to knock them off. Hand-applied stucco and swirled patterns are made by sweeping large or small trowel blades over walls' wet joint compound. Practicing on a scrap piece of drywall helps to perfect a design technique before applying it to entire walls.
Considerations
Besides adding a design element to a room, applying wall texture conceals small discrepancies in walls, but only to a certain extent. If a plaster wall has large dings or gouges, they probably still will be noticeable after texture is applied. In those cases, an option is to skim-coat the wall, which means to apply a smooth layer of thinned joint compound to even out the wall surface, and then let it dry before applying the texture.
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