How to Put Texture on Drywall

If you're tired of boring smooth walls and do not want wallpaper, you can texture the walls. There are several types of texturing that can be done on walls and ceilings. Three of the most common textures are orange peel texture, trowel texture and knockdown texture. Knockdown texture is commonly found in new homes.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Plastic covers
• Scissors
• Push tacks
• Painter's tape
• (2) 5-gallon buckets of ready-mix drywall compound
• Drywall compound scoop
• Empty 5-gallon bucket
• Drill
• Mixer
• Water
• Safety glasses
• 6-foot ladder
• Hopper
• Compressor
• Drywall compound tray

1. Remove as much furniture as possible including curtains and window blinds. Knockdown texture is somewhat of a messy project, so you will need to cut your plastic drops to protect the windows, doors, baseboards and any furniture you cannot move.
   Measure the height and width of each door and window, and cut the plastic to fit. Use painter's tape to secure the plastic to the trim that surrounds all doors and windows in the room that you are texturing.

2. Open the new bucket of drywall compound and fill the empty 5-gallon bucket half full of the compound using the scoop. Attach the mixer to your drill and add water to the bucket of compound that you scooped out. You will need to thin the drywall compound to be able to spray it. As you add water to the compound, use the drill and mixer to blend it together. Your mixture should be the consistency of cake mix.

3. 
   Hopper

   Plug in your compressor and attach the air hose connector to the connector on the base of the hopper. The hopper is the tool that will spray the drywall compound on the walls. Pour or scoop your drywall compound mixture into the top of the hopper. Turn on the compressor and allow it to reach 100 lbs. of pressure before squeezing the trigger on the hopper. There is a switch on the hopper. If product starts coming out before you are ready, shut it off. Put on your safety glasses to avoid having the compound get in your eyes.

4. Start with the ceiling. Use your ladder for a better reach. Aim the nozzle of the hopper at the ceiling, then pull the trigger. Make sure that the switch on the hopper is on, allowing air and drywall compound to come out. When you pull the trigger, drywall compound will start splattering the ceiling. Do not stay in one spot. Move evenly across the room to prevent applying too much compound. Drywall compound will run and drip off the ceiling if applied too heavily, and the same applies to the walls.

5. 
   Sprayed Texture

   Proceed to the walls. Start at the top of the wall by the ceiling, and spray out about 3 feet. Then work your way down to the baseboard. You will do this step all the way around the room, completely covering all of the walls. The texture will look lumpy and splattered when you are finished spraying.

6. 
   Knockdown Texture

   Hold the 10-inch drywall knife flat to the ceiling and apply slight pressure. Drag the knife across the compound until it flattens slightly. If you apply too much pressure to the knife, you will completely flatten the texture and have to respray it. Each time you move your knife to drag it, wipe the excess compound off of the knife either into a bucket or into a drywall compound tray. Move quickly around the room, repeating the process on the walls.

7. Carefully remove the tape and plastic from the baseboards, the doors and windows. Clean up your tools with water including the hopper.

Tips & Warnings

• Preparing your room first will save you a lot of time in the end. The actual time it takes to spray the texture and knock it down goes quickly. Your most time-consuming part is the preparation. Texturing a room can easily be done in 1 day. Make sure to allow the texture to dry overnight before painting.