It looks good to me, although I have no idea what "level 5" is. I don't even know how to determine level 5. Do you happen to have a sample of what level five is suppose to look like? Is the designer happy with the results? Does the designer work for you or do they work for the builder?

Level 5 is a drywall spec, not concerned with paint.

You need to communicate your thoughts to your painter.

Apologies. I meant to say level 5 finish for textured walls. Our painter also does level 5 wall finishes to make textured walls flat.

Texture of the first photo looks about right for Level 5 finish; not sure what happened in the second. We had our entire home spray painted and backrolled for a perfect finish.

Normally, people do a Level 5 wall when they want a smooth wall with a perfect surface. You might have a Level 5 wall under that grainy surface, but it's obscured. With that nubby of a surface you could probably have paid for a Level 4 surface and been good. Here is a useful explanation of the various levels of drywall finish:

https://www.thespruce.com/the-five-levels-of-drywall-finishing-4120152

the 1st pic looks like its textured. level 5 should be smooth without any texture or imperfections. is the project done? the paint shouldn't matter how it looks at the end.

Project was supposed to be done by end of day today. We have paid about 70% Thanks everyone for your comments.

My first thought was they used a roller with too long of a nap for flat walls which will create that kind of texture, but then you say it's level 5 textured so I'm confused.

Level 5 isn’t “textured”. It shouldn’t be, anyway. Now if you asked for Level 5 Textured, I don’t even know.

There is nothing to show scale of the pic. Something shown from 3” isn’t the same at 3’. Show a whole wall, with trim, in a series of far to near, with measurements from the wall, so we get context. Paint choice can affect a stipple appearance as much as roller nap. Some paints are just goopy.

This is where an expert painter would have advised you on a better choice. Most paint these days are low VOC. No need for any specialty paint at all.

I have never heard of level 5 textured either. However, that said, I think your walls actually look very nice.

Agree with your drywall installer/painter and designer. That looks like level 5 drywall finishing with a built up paint (high solids, low VOC) coating. But those are extreme close up photos. How does it look from 3 or 4 feet away? How smooth does it feel to the touch? I think your DH needs to chill on this. Find a model home nearby you can visit with the typical textured finish to remind you just how smooth your new walls are. Then enjoy!

Here’s my guess from outer space: ”level 5 textured” means they skim coated the existing textured wall to make it flat. Similar to what you would do when taking a plain level 4 drywall finish to a level 5.

My opinion based on the first photo where the light is at an angle: That is not a good paint job. I have level 5 walls in my house, some areas sprayed some rolled with a fine nap. Neither look that bumpy no matter how close you look with your eye. My walls were sprayed with BM low/no VOC paint. The paint is very high in solids and is extremely hard to do correctly. That paint requires a large orifice nozzle that makes it very easy to apply too thick if you are not an expert. That paint dries within hours, which is not enough time for any meaningful self leveling to take place. If you apply it too thick the first time your only option is to come back the next day and sand it down (a real time consuming pain). It took me 3 tries with a 2k spray gun and I can confidently say spraying that brand of paint requires a high level of skill you will pay for.

Level 5 only refers to the smoothness and lack of variation in the drywall and drywall finishing. It does not refer to the quality of the applied finish (in this case paint). Any paint looks better on a true level 5 surface. When I did developer work, the cheap drywall work stood out no matter what paint texture was used. If yours looks good and doesn't telegraph the difference between drywall paper and mud, and doesn't have noticeable dips and bumps at seams, you probably got level 5.

That’s wrong. We paid for upgraded smooth walls as well with up to 10% imperfections. So not mirror smooth if you painted with high gloss (that costs big money) but SMOOTH/no obvious texture, minus the up to 10% of errors. That’s what we got and we love it (I was so tired of textured walls). Ours does NOT look like that grainy surface texture you have. Level 5 is one way to refer to texturing. Orange peel, Santa Fey, etc. are all types of texture. You wanted SMOOTH. It’s so expensive because of how much time it takes scraping the mudding flat and because it’s very unforgiving of errors. Did you see sample boards of their version of Level 5? To me, what you have is not what I’d be happy with.

I’m assuming the painters were a separate crew than the drywall guys? This appears to originate in the paint choice rather than the drywall work. The painters may have been unaware of the drywall upgrade choice, and went ahead with your paint choice, regardless if it played nice with the smooth surface that the drywallers created, rather than the textured choice the painters were used to. Level 5 smooth drywall work can be undermined by paint choice and application.

With both a designer and contractor on board, someone should have had the consult with the painters, as professionals, before hand. Before the paint was chosen. I’m not a fan of Natura. It uses up to 10% kaolin and silica fillers as opacifiers. Those are low quality materials used to get the 0 VOC rating, aNd do not make for a great paint. A better paint would use only titanium dioxide, and be still be very low VOC. Just not 0 VOC.

I repeat, Level 5 has nothing to do with texture or paint. If this term has been bandied about in that context, it is being used incorrectly. Level 5 refers to a specification of the Gypsum Association, and can be found here: www.pabcogypsum.com/sites/default/files/GA-214-17.pdf

Seabornman I can’t speak to OPs experience, but some tract builders have taken to using ‘Levels’ as jargon for the quality/cost of upgrades. With our tract new build we chose Level 8 cabinets (of 8), Level 5 floors (of 10), Level 5 walls (the smoothest option). Different choices were offered in each level. Lower levels of wall texture had more obvious texture and were cheaper.