Textured walls/ceilings - less costs more!
 

We are thinking about building versus adopting a pre-loved home.

While discussing various options with the helpful folks “living” on the street of dreams (design center) it emerged that if I wanted smooth walls/ceilings it would cost $5,000 for that option!

I grew up during the Kodak era with nothing but smooth walls/ceilings (usually wallpapered but that’s another topic). When the option for textured prints became available I recall this one retailer who put it this way. “Just get the (I forget what the standard finish was called so...) “sharp” finish and if u decide you rather have textured prints then place then face down on the pavement and step on them.”

Well....that summed up his professional opinion regarding the new textured photo processing option....and I’m using that analogy to declare my preference for finished drywall!

The design center stated that all surfaces are default textured because it’s easier to repair dings that occur before the house is turned over to the buyer. ???

I did a bit of post discussion research. Drywall only comes smooth - one must texture the surface after it’s been installed. It appears the process involves applying a loose mud mix with a hopper gun then applying a coat of paint. Soooo....it’s more labor more steps to do textured.

Yet - to get just painted walls/ceilings it will cost more - $5,000. Seems crazy to me.

I’m thinking that maybe with textured walls they don’t tape the joints/screw holes and that’s the time savings that trumps just painting.

Does anyone know what the real deal is behind paying more for less?

My wife doesn’t care one way or the other...but doesn’t want to spend the 5k. To me...smooth walls look much sharper than textured. Plus textured - in my opinion - resides with the popcorn finish and I deplore that look.

I don’t want to spend the extra money either.....however.....I’m afraid that I will end up seeing a sidewalk everywhere in my house - except on the floor!

Thoughts comments?

News to me, too. And, I just bought a pre-owned, which we love. But, it has a few defects in the walls, which the previous owner tried to repair, but it didn't come out that great? It doesn't seem that simple to repair, as you have to try to match the "knock-down" plastered design? So, I'm with you on this one. Good luck!

Smooth walls are much more difficult and take a lot of skill which is why they do not do it and why it costs more. It is much easier for them to just texture them to hide all of the flaws. If you paint the walls a dark color you can sometimes still see the seams even with the texture.

I don't like the textured walls either, because it is difficult to repair dings and holes. But, textured walls are the standard in The Villages, so I would stick with it. The workers are just not used to installing smooth walls, and you could end up with an unacceptable result, with no recourse. Also, a smooth finish will show uneven and wavy drywall defects, especially on long walls and ceilings.

Exactly. It is more demanding to leave a smooth finish. It requires more work and attention to detail, and will take longer to repair the inevitable dings and scrapes.

I think 5K is a bit high, but it is more work.

Dry wall is smooth, but the most common size it comes in is 4 ft x 8 ft sheets. The seams that occur between the sheets are the problem. The seams are taped and drywall compound (sometimes called mud) is used to cover the seam. This is a very difficult procedure. To get a really smooth surface the mud must be sanded and repeated coats applied and sanded to feather out the seam. Otherwise you end up with a bump at every seam. Texture makes the seams easier to hide. To get a perfectly flat wall, a lot of man hours and skill need to be used.

This sounds very reasonable. They have a process, based on many, many, many, many hours of experience with not only materials, workers but customers as well. They do NOT build a custom house in the sense some might have experienced before, but they build a very good home. We are on our second new home here. We have built eleven new homes in our lifetime and we think this one is the most comfortable. (Except in the winter, the vents are on the ceiling because cold air FALLS and we have hot weather most of the time here in Florida)

When you opt to do a process not offered they charge WAY more to discourage it. THEY are VERY GOOD at warranty to stand behind problems presented to them. VERY GOOD. Just remember to approach them as you would any nice person.

I consider myself somewhat a person who is VERY interested in home décor and home interiors and I think the walls present a blank canvas for lovely pictures, and accessories and color to make them beautiful. I don't consider the texture a minus at all.

They aren't out to get you. We enjoyed building and watching the process every day. It is like a well orchestrated ballet. AND no more expensive in the end than buying a used home. Below is a picture of walls in first home in Hadley. Loved it. Love the one we are in now.

Indeed, it is far more work to make the walls smooth. While the sheetrock is 'smooth', it is still paper and won't look perfectly smooth if it is just painted. So, to get a smooth finish you actually have to put sheetrock 'mud' on the entire panel after finishing the seam, then you sand that entire layer. Then, you put mud on the entire wall again and sand the whole thing. Then any imperfection at walk thru requires a huge area of re-finishing to make it right.

I would guess that it is someplace between 4 and 10 times the amount of labor.

The reason that old houses up north had smooth walls is that they did not have sheetrock, but most were plaster and lath. The lath was thin strips of wood that were nailed to the studs, then plaster (heavy mud) was applied across the entire wall several times and sanded.

Any competent sheetrock hanger/finisher should have no difficulty achieving a smooth finish on the joints. If they do, hire someone else.

An aside to the OP: Or, you could just stay on your Nordhavn, a beautiful boat.

Getting smooth flat walls takes a knowledgeable, experienced sheetrock finisher. It is not difficult to do, but to do it quickly (read this as someone who can make money doing it) is a skill that is learned over time. Many contractors add $ to cover the extra time their regular crew will need. This is NOT a good plan because it ends with NO ONE being happy with the result.

My advice: Have them show you some completed examples (the whole house, not a small area).

Good Luck!

This is not correct. Only the seams are taped and mudded and then sanded, not the entire panel. It does require more work to get a good result. The choice of paint is also important in not accenting any imperfections.

You are correct photo and the key word is competent. I don’t understand why people are making excuses for the drywall sub. The default position should be a smooth wall, that is a skill all hangers should have but they don’t. Texture should be the option not vice versa. Texture hides imperfections and allows the sub to speed through the job without the need to rub a hand over the seams.

Since smooth walls are so rare in TV I would be cautious about that option. I’m guessing it’s so expensive because the one sub that has skilled labor can demand that price. For the record I like texture because it gives the walls some character and I’ve never been a fan of wallpaper.

My dad was a plasterer before he became a GC so the two homes I grew up in were plaster. I don’t recommend plaster in sinkhole country but its beautiful, walls look like porcelain.

Good luck in your new home. You will be happy in TV, as I will once I am fully retired.

It boils down to labor costs. Smooth finish could take up to five days for a medium-sized home. Textured can be done in a day.

I have read all of these posts, most are correct, some are not. Drywall finishing is different around the country...this is why you are getting different opinions.

We do well over 600 inspections a year in The Villages, and have been doing so for a number of years. In the thousands of home we have done, I have only seen 2-3 homes where the owners paid the extra for a "smooth" finish. What I am about to say is NOT a criticism of The Villages builders or subs....but I will say that the owners felt that for the extra they paid the walls had many more blemishes then they expected and they were not pleased with the end result.

In some areas of New England, they use "bluewall" which IS coated entirely with a thin skim coat of plaster, which results in an almost glass like porcelain finish. You see nothing like that down here.

The Villages uses a "knockdown" finish on the ceilings and a "orange peel" finish on the walls. This takes only a few coats of mud to prep before applying the texture. It is WAY less labor to do this.

They then use a flat wall paint, which helps hide blemishes, etc. Often folks will repaint the rooms with different paint after purchase.

If it were me, I would buy what is standard, and repaint prior to moving in to have the colors, etc, you may want.

Hope this helps.

Frank D.