Up here in my part of the Great White North (Montreal) any kind of textured finish is only used in lower-end housing. When we built new out in the country, there was no question about texture - all walls and ceilings are level 5 smooth. Properly primed and painted there are no imperfections that can be seen. I'm in the process of a large DIY remodel of a 109 year old house (in town) and all the drywall I'm putting up (walls and ceilings) will be smooth. To my eyes, texture (such as popcorn and orange peel) has that "cheap motel" look and screams "lack of skill". Any idiot can slap up drywall and spray it with a machine to cover the poor quality workmanship. I'm originally from the UK where the norm is to use real plaster (actually it's a lot faster to do than taping and mudding drywall). Textured finishes were popular in the 1970s (particularly on ceilings) but they looked like crap when done DIY and again were just to make up for a lack of skill. Otherwise smooth finish was the norm there too. When I see anything else but a smooth finish, it just makes me think of this! Of course, if all you're used to is seeing texture, then smooth probably looks strange. Paul in Montreal.

It is very normal to have to fix flaws in new drywall after primer. Most of the minor stuff you can't even see very well until a coat of primer has been applied. All you need to do is spot prime the patches, then apply two coats of finish and you should be fine. The repairs that look like a bunch of tiny bubbles comes from laying the mud on too heavy.

Hi, I just read this and wanted to give you a little reassurance. I live in Denver too and I can tell you that your issue is the norm here, not the exception. If your house was built in Denver during that time, it is going to have asbestos in the texture and joint compound. The last owner probably didn't know because they didn't have the same rules for testing before doing remodeling work back then. Or they did know and didn't disclose it to you. But it would cost you a lot of time and expense to prove it. The important thing is to not freak out. There are lots of homes in Denver that are in the same boat. We are in a super tight housing market here and your home is probably still very desirable. If you sold right now, you would probably take no hit what so ever. I friend of mine just listed their home with asbestos and led paint in Denver for 1.5 million. Just be sure when you disclose it, that you keep your disclosure brief and include that the areas that tested positive for asbestos were professionally removed and remediated. Something like: "Asbestos was found in the kitchen area during a remodel and was professionally removed and remediated." Our disclosure forms in Colorado include a box that says "I don't know" if you really don't know for sure if there is asbestos in other areas of the house because they have not been tested, check the "I don't know box" for asbestos on the disclosure. Then write in "Asbestos was found and professionally removed from the kitchen during a remodel." Then you are providing all the facts and leaving it up to the potential buyer if they want to do additional testing after they purchase the home or do any remodeling. But seriously, don't feel bad. Your home is still great.

No, you don't need primer but sheetrock really sucks up the first coat so it may be cheaper to use a primer, then finish with 2 coats of Aura. If you have not chosen a saturated color, you may be able to get away with 2 coats total though in which case I would say to skip the primer and just use the Aura. Although I am not a painter by trade, I have some rental properties and paint 3 full houses a year. I always use Aura paint because the great coverage and short dry time save me a lot of time.