No. 07 · Orange peel, knockdown, smooth
Drywall texture, matched or made smooth.
Orange peel, knockdown, skip trowel and sand swirl matched so a repair disappears into the wall, new texture applied where you want it, or old texture skimmed over for a smooth, paintable surface.
About drywall texture matching & removal
On a textured wall, the texture is what gives a repair away. A patch can be flat and solid and still show, because the spatter is finer, the knockdown flatter, or the pattern stops at a hard edge.
Matching it means reading the original: whether it was sprayed, rolled, troweled or brushed, how heavy it went on, how long it set before it was knocked down. Then it is tried on a scrap until it dries the same, before it goes near the wall.
Some clients want the opposite. Texture hides a lot, which is why textured walls are often finished to a lower drywall level underneath; taking it away means skimming the wall smooth.
One caution in older houses: texture from before the mid-1980s should have a sample tested before it is sanded or scraped.
When it’s called for
When a wall needs texture work
A repair on a textured wall
A patched hole or a new piece of board that has to carry the same orange peel, knockdown or skip trowel as the wall around it.
Texture you’ve outgrown
Heavy knockdown or swirl on walls you’d rather have smooth, often ahead of a new, darker color.
Sand-finish plaster
Older plaster with fine sand in its finish coat, a look popular in the early 1900s, matched with sand rather than with drywall texture.
Texture by choice
A light texture on a ceiling or a basement wall, where it softens side light and hides an uneven surface.
Four common textures, and how each is made
Orange peel is sprayed: compound thinned to about the consistency of paint and atomized onto the wall in fine droplets that dry into a dimpled skin, like the rind it’s named for. How heavy it reads depends on how much material goes on.
Knockdown starts as a heavier spatter. After it sets for a short while, a wide, flat blade is drawn lightly across it, flattening the tops into soft-edged islands.
Skip trowel is troweled on by hand, or sprayed in large spatters and flattened with more pressure. Either way the blade skips, leaving overlapping patches with bare wall showing between them.
Sand swirl is compound with a fine aggregate, brushed on in overlapping arcs. Old plaster has its own version: the sand float finish of the early 1900s, sometimes raked with a broom into swirls.
The work
How the work goes
Read the wall
The texture is studied in side light: its pattern, its height, how it was applied. Then Randy talks through the choices with you: match it, change it, or take it off. The walkthrough and written estimate are complimentary.
Test older texture first
Texture or compound from before the mid-1980s should have a sample tested before anyone sands or scrapes it. If it tests positive, removal is work for a certified asbestos abatement contractor.
Repair and prime
The patch is finished flat and primed before texture goes on, so the new texture absorbs and dries the same over fresh compound as over old paint. Primer also keeps the patch from flashing through the paint later.
Match it, or bury it
To match, mix and pressure are tried on a scrap until the pattern dries the same, then texture is applied and feathered past the repair. To remove, the wall is skimmed in thin coats until the pattern is gone.
Prime and paint the whole wall
Primer evens out new and old surfaces. The whole wall is painted, corner to corner, so the sheen reads as one.
From the job sites
“We had a great experience working with Randy and his team on a big and complicated drywall repair and painting job. The project required extensive repair to custom drywall throughout a 2-story space and 2 bedrooms…”
Questions
Asked at the walkthrough.
How do you match existing drywall texture?
By working out how the original was made and reproducing it: the same tool, the same consistency, the same wait before knockdown. It is tested on a scrap until it dries the same, carried past the edges of the repair, and the whole wall is primed and painted so the sheen is even.
Can texture be removed from walls?
Yes. On walls, texture is usually skimmed over rather than scraped off: thin coats of compound fill the pattern until the surface is flat, then the wall is sanded and primed. It is the same work as skim coating.
Does old wall texture contain asbestos?
It can, and you can’t tell by looking. Textured paints and patching compounds for walls and ceilings could contain asbestos until it was banned from them in 1977, and older stock stayed in use for some years after. Texture from before the mid-1980s should have a sample tested before it is disturbed; if it tests positive, removal is work for a certified asbestos abatement contractor.
Is a textured or a smooth wall better?
Each does a different job. Texture hides small flaws and softens side light, which is why textured walls can be finished to a lower drywall level underneath. Smooth walls look cleaner and take dark and glossy paint well, but they need a higher finish, up to Level 5, to hold up in strong light.
Why does a patch still show after painting?
Usually one of three reasons: the texture is slightly off, the patch wasn’t primed and absorbs paint differently, or only the patch was painted and the sheen doesn’t match. The fixes are a closer match, a primer, and paint on the whole wall.
Can you add texture to a smooth wall or ceiling?
Yes. The surface is finished and primed, the pattern is chosen and tried on a sample board first, and the texture goes over the whole surface rather than in patches. It must be fully dry before it is painted.
Where
Drywall texture matching & removal, town by town.
Randy works from Easton across the Lehigh Valley and Bucks County. Choose your town for what drywall texture matching & removal involves in its houses.
Lehigh Valley
Related
Often done together.
Consultation
Request a private consultation.
Private walkthrough & written estimate, complimentary. Tell us a little about the house and the rooms, and Randy will be in touch to arrange a time.
- Hours
- Monday – Friday8:30 AM – 5:30 PMSaturday10 AM – 3 PMSundayClosed
- Service area
- Easton, Bethlehem, Allentown and the greater Lehigh Valley; Bucks County, Pennsylvania.
Fully insured — proof on request. Residential and commercial.