OK now, grab the texture gun and head for the house, don't worry about the crazy woman blocking the door thinking you lost your mind. Well maybe you should slow down a little bit and make sure you are ready.
Once again preparation is the key!
It is now time to refine your masking skills.
When I look at a job there are many things to consider.
Is the ceiling in good condition or will it be redone also?
Is it textured already? Does it have crown molding?
Is the room empty?
It needs to be easy to move around in.
How you answer those questions is going to determine what type of masking you need to do for protecting it. The best option is protect it no matter the answer.
This can be done simply by using 2" green or blue tape and 1.5 mil painters plastic, I recommend buying the 400 ft rolls for the best value.
If it has crown molding the job is fairly easy.
Take the 2" green tape and tape nice straight lines on the bottom edge of the crown all the way around the perimeter making sure to over lap pieces a few inches for strength and press first half of tape on lower part of crown so it will hold firm, leaving top half of tape hanging so you can attach plastic to it.
Take your roll of plastic and pull about 4-5 ft of and cut, you will then be able to pull the folds apart and it will stretch out 9-12 ft depending on which size you bought.
Start in a corner and attach the cut side one direction and the length the other direction.
Take small tabs of tape and secure plastic towards the center of ceiling and then over lap next piece of plastic and tape seam together, repeat process around ceiling.
If you have slick ceilings with no crown you just tape the perimeter in the same fashion.
When it comes to popcorn ceilings you have two options.
If you are going to repaint which I stress must be done with a spray gun you can shoot texture and then mask off walls when dry and paint.
If you are not going to repaint you will want to staple plastic around perimeter about 4-5 ft wide.
You can touch up staple holes with a dab of mud and paint if needed.
OK that covers the ceiling, the hard part is done.
Now we move on to the floor , doors, windows and base board.
I still like to use the 2" green tape for this job, some will say why not blue tape and my answer is.
I have had it come loose from glossy finishes and you do not want that in the middle of a job!
First have enough drop cloths to cover the floor and get them positioned, it is not a bad idea to do this before you mask the ceiling even.
Start with the windows and run 2" tape around the casing leaving the inside edge loose to attach plastic.
Grab your plastic roll and walk up to window, pull running length and measure so you have a couple extra inches on each side and cut. I like to use the snap off razor blades for this.
Start at the top of window and tuck plastic under and down one side to tape, move to other side of window and fold plastic behind itself so there is no loose plastic left dangling next to the wall.
Then fold plastic inside itself at bottom of window and attach to tape.
The doors can be done in the same fashion except you will let it lay on drop cloths on floor and secure with a couple tabs of tape, leave your entrance to the room unmasked until you have every thing in the room you need to spray and work with.
Next is the base which is pretty simple, run your 2" tape on the top lip of base and leave bottom loose to attach plastic, I'm sure you have the hang of running plastic by now.
Make sure to overlap pieces, about 2 ft wide is good and tape the seams together and secure to drop cloths with tabs of tape.
You are now ready to get your equipment and mud supplies into the room with you which I will list and explain process in next post.
Thursday, September 30, 2010
Tuesday, September 28, 2010
Prep is the most important part of job
Whatever the paint or texture job you are considering preparation is always the key to a satisfying result. The surface should be repaired or pointed up. Sanding smooth the surface is the next step and woodwork should be cleaned and caulked if its painted.
When it comes to two tone textures the next step is to paint your base color ( gloss finish is best) being careful to cut straight lines around your trim.
Masking may be a good option for you if you are a novice and I recommend either blue or green one inch tape for that purpose. If masking take your time and run tape in nice and straight on your trim.
You can make this easier by tearing the tape off in lengths that are easier to handle and overlapping the ends. If you do use masking be sure to remove soon as you are satisfied with finish coat(very important) or you will end up pulling paint away from wall and creating a mess you do not need!
The next step is making sure your trim is looking good and re-coating if necessary for painted trim and letting dry long enough so it can be taped on again, I recommend at least 24 hrs and maybe more depending on drying conditions.
The next thing I recommend is if you haven't ever used a texture hopper to practice on some scrape drywall with how to set your air pressure, mud thickness and practice your blading techniques.
You can purchase colored knockdown mixes but I recommend for practice to just thin down some joint compound with water , start with a small amount say half a galleon of mud and add water a little at time mixing with a drill and mixing blade until it is just thin enough to run off mixing blade, should be a little thicker than paint.
You are now ready to practice spraying, this can be messy and is best done outside away from anything that can be over sprayed, you don't want that mess.
Sheetrock should be leaned up against something like sawhorses so it is like working on a wall.The lower the air pressure the bigger the blobs of mud will be and the closer you will have to be to your work.
If you do not like the the pattern you spray then just scrape it of with a sheet rock knife and try again( practice makes perfect).
Next comes practicing the knockdown part.
I use a variety of sized blades when I am working in a house but the best is a 8" sheetrock knife for knocking down the mud, smaller blades are used for areas around corners with trim that larger blades do not fit in.
When you are working the mud you will have your main blade in one hand and a cleaner blade, I use a 6" in the other to wipe excess mud of the one you are using for knockdown.
Look at your blades and you will see that one side curves in a little bit( that is called the bed side) and you want to use the other side for knockdown.
When you hold the blade in your hand you want to have a lite grip and pull it along the wall without too much pressure on it and at about a 80 degree angle to the wall, this to will take practice.
Spay your mud on the practice area and give mud a couple minutes to set and then try moving your blade over mud to drag it out into whatever patterns you can make, practice makes perfect.
If you don't like the look scrape it off and try again, it's all about making a variety of pattens with the mud.
.Next post we apply all this to inside of house.
When it comes to two tone textures the next step is to paint your base color ( gloss finish is best) being careful to cut straight lines around your trim.
Masking may be a good option for you if you are a novice and I recommend either blue or green one inch tape for that purpose. If masking take your time and run tape in nice and straight on your trim.
You can make this easier by tearing the tape off in lengths that are easier to handle and overlapping the ends. If you do use masking be sure to remove soon as you are satisfied with finish coat(very important) or you will end up pulling paint away from wall and creating a mess you do not need!
The next step is making sure your trim is looking good and re-coating if necessary for painted trim and letting dry long enough so it can be taped on again, I recommend at least 24 hrs and maybe more depending on drying conditions.
The next thing I recommend is if you haven't ever used a texture hopper to practice on some scrape drywall with how to set your air pressure, mud thickness and practice your blading techniques.
You can purchase colored knockdown mixes but I recommend for practice to just thin down some joint compound with water , start with a small amount say half a galleon of mud and add water a little at time mixing with a drill and mixing blade until it is just thin enough to run off mixing blade, should be a little thicker than paint.
You are now ready to practice spraying, this can be messy and is best done outside away from anything that can be over sprayed, you don't want that mess.
Sheetrock should be leaned up against something like sawhorses so it is like working on a wall.The lower the air pressure the bigger the blobs of mud will be and the closer you will have to be to your work.
If you do not like the the pattern you spray then just scrape it of with a sheet rock knife and try again( practice makes perfect).
Next comes practicing the knockdown part.
I use a variety of sized blades when I am working in a house but the best is a 8" sheetrock knife for knocking down the mud, smaller blades are used for areas around corners with trim that larger blades do not fit in.
When you are working the mud you will have your main blade in one hand and a cleaner blade, I use a 6" in the other to wipe excess mud of the one you are using for knockdown.
Look at your blades and you will see that one side curves in a little bit( that is called the bed side) and you want to use the other side for knockdown.
When you hold the blade in your hand you want to have a lite grip and pull it along the wall without too much pressure on it and at about a 80 degree angle to the wall, this to will take practice.
Spay your mud on the practice area and give mud a couple minutes to set and then try moving your blade over mud to drag it out into whatever patterns you can make, practice makes perfect.
If you don't like the look scrape it off and try again, it's all about making a variety of pattens with the mud.
.Next post we apply all this to inside of house.
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