The worst thing about textured walls is (as you can see!) patching!

Do you think you can scrape the stuff off? It almost looks like that stuff you'd mix into paint to add texture. Sort of like sand.

Whatever you do, start with the smallest room first--don't tackle anything big until you know you can do it without losing your mind. If you have a walk-in closet or a bathroom that looks bad already, that would be perfect.

I was going to start in my son's play room because it's easiest to get everything out of and we can keep everyone including the cat out the easiest BUT it's a 10X13 room so you make a good point lol everywhere else in our house gets used a lot though so I may just have to pick a small patch to start on in there. I don't think it would bother me to leave it that way if I get in over my head because all the walls look crappy to me anyway. whoever painted the walls it looks like they didn't even bother taking things off the walls. There is paint on the baseboards and light switch panels and some door knobs and parts of the ceilings. It's just unreal. I have no idea what the texture is made of. I seems pretty hard though. My aunt said soak it and scrape it instead of sanding right off the bat. Do you know if I start that way if I could break through a bad patch job? I have a feeling I'm going to end up seeing the insides of my walls before this is all said and done. I would consider just redoing the drywall but we just don't have a lot of money to throw into this right now. I feel like I can do this given a good method of attack.

I can totally understand that sentiment haha I've had my dad try something and then screw it up more. Have you ever seen this texture before on a wall? It's so bad, so uneven and sporadically placed, and seems relatively hard to me... I'm sure a pro could do it quicker and better. My aunt isn't a pro but she can knock down walls and rebuild them on her own and they look amazing so I tend to take what she says with some seriousness. She knows a lot just doesn't do it as her career. This could be a 20 year project for the walls given price and time and everything else that could go with it. I don't feel like we can start anything else until we address the walls and it's killing me not being able to even try anything.

That's ok if you simply can't spare the money and aren't piticular how it turn's out. What would you like it to look like when job is complete? Regardless what you do,use 4&1/4tr x 11&1/4tr sanding screen on matching pad. You could do minium sanding then apply a different texture right over what's there. You could sand it smooth then apply a thin coat to level and sand again for smooth wall. If you want the most bang for time spent,look at "crowfoot" brush. You can crowfoot right over it the way it is.

We'd prefer a smooth wall (crowfoot seems even worse but at least we'd be able to cover the weird patches and imperfections easier). We are in the Houston area and most updated homes I've seen have flat walls (we've seen a lot as we just moved into this house in September and we've looked at many many houses). I'm thinking about resale value without putting in more than we could get out of it. Your idea seems like a good one. I'll probably see if I can smooth it down some then hire a pro to come in a apply compound to smooth out properly because I don't think I can address the weird patches on my own and end up with an even surface.

As pad size increase's,wall become's increasingly level. 4x11 is minimum if you are carful,6x18 isn't out of the question but wall better be precisely built at onset.

Thank you for the insight!!

. At whatever stage you want to see how close you are to perfect,lighly mist quick drying black spray paint over surface,just a light mist. Make sure paint is compatiable with paint that is to be used. Now sand to see low spots pop.

That is one of the most brilliant things I have ever heard... I feel like I read that once a long time ago. Great advice!!

The thought of scraping / sanding this smooth makes my shoulders ache. A possible solution is to skim coat it with drywall mud. That will still require sanding, but because it's new, will be a lot softer, and easier to sand. Whatever route you decide on will be a horrendous mess, so make sure you wear dust masks and have a shop vac with a hepa filter. If the room has a door, close it.

I agree with what you are saying sofaspud,now let's see if you agree with what I say. Without any doubt,sanding this smooth will make the intire home look far better. Meaning,by the time you finish one wall,you will think the rest don't need sanding. (:

Lol, agreed. Shelby, to find your easiest way, you might try both methods on a section of one wall in a room that's less visible. Another idea is to remove the old walls entirely and put up new drywall, but that may be too ambitious for someone who's never done it.

I have done drywall work anything with plaster, sanding or applying is very messy and there is a skill set to getting a good finished product. You will not be able to keep,his mess from every nook and cranny in your house without really sensing the space up. You mentioned that baseboards and trim are sloppy with paint etc, you might be better off in the end to have 1/4 new drywall installed over your existing walls. Baseboard is not expensive to pop off and replace even. I wish you the best of luck.

All great ideas. this has definitely put things into perspective for me. I'm going to see which house project is most needed first and talk to a pro on what they can do and see if any of it can be done by us first to help shave off some cost. I don't want to sand down a whole wall for it just to be knocked down later because we change our minds LOL

I'd try using a scraper to knock down the highest spots then have a pro do a skim coat of plaster (not drywall mud!) over the surface. Extensive sanding will be a mess.

If the trim needs re-done as well it's probably easier just to pull down the existing drywall and replace it than to smooth the existing surface.

Replace it. You don’t go to all of that effort and still have it still look wack. You start over entirely. It’s tons cheaper too if you’re doing paid labor. Tons cheaper to if you count the rotator cuff injury that results from sanding and keeps you out of commission for 9 months.

Did you ever get the texture off your walls? We have these same textured walls in our house and I'm trying to figure out how to remove it, so I'd love your feedback.

Laura- Sometimes trying to remove these textures is extremely complicated and you can end with such a mess that you regret having attempted it. Get a professional opinion first so you don't end up wishing you'd never started.

Step 1 should be to test the wall texture for asbestos.