How can I repair a bathroom wall that is rough?

Wilma ryk
by Wilma ryk

Is there an inexpensive way i can fix my bathroom walls. It looks like the owners before me were going to put tiles on the wall but then did not and just painted over it. So the wall is beautifully white but way to rough. Any ideas on what i can do?


  12 answers
  • Kathy Gunter Law Kathy Gunter Law on Mar 03, 2020

    Without knowing what material it is, I'm unsure if you can sand it. You could cover it with tile board. If you think it's cement board, you could tile over it.

  • Lifestyles Homes Lifestyles Homes on Mar 03, 2020

    Buy a box of drywall “mud”, a 12 inch wide drywall blade, sanding blocks, and fill it in.

    Take your time and make the drywall mud smooth so that you don’t have to sand so much later

  • GrandmasHouseDIY GrandmasHouseDIY on Mar 03, 2020

    I'm in agreement with Kathy, my first thought would be to try and sand it but not knowing what it is my suggestion would be to cover it with something. Beadboard always makes a nice wainscoting and you could sheet rock above it.

  • FrugalFamilyTimes.com FrugalFamilyTimes.com on Mar 03, 2020

    Wallpaper over it?

    • Em Em on Mar 03, 2020

      You can't wall pape rover rough walls.

  • Em Em on Mar 03, 2020

    You can easlily cover with bead board. Easy to cut and less than $20 for a 4' x 8" sheet at places like Home Depot. Stick it up with Loctite construction glue and add a piece of trim you also glue on to edges and or top and bottom. Beautiful smooth finish and you can leave it white or paint any color you want. Makes a super clean look.

  • Wilma ryk Wilma ryk on Mar 03, 2020

    I hope you can see in the pic. Its plastered but without the smooth finish. And just painted over.

  • Wilma ryk Wilma ryk on Mar 03, 2020

    Do you guys think I can stencil over it?

  • If this is a bathroom that sees a lot of showering and use, I'd be a bit leery of applying beadboard or similar over it as it could trap moisture. You could try sanding it, you could try skim coating over it then priming and painting, or yes, you can stencil over it. Just know that you'll still see the texture.

  • Cynthia H Cynthia H on Mar 03, 2020

    The least expensive method would be leveling it with spackle.

  • Dee Dee on Mar 03, 2020

    Home Depot and Lowes sells beadboard kits. They are very easy to install. If you run into a snag in the corners. use a dowell. Fits the two pieces perfectly and looks great.

  • Oh my gosh, we have the same issue right now!! I was considering either stenciling the wall or applying a paintable wallpaper to it, so there's some texture. I would just paint it white again. I'm just trying to decide if it would hold well in a steamy bathroom. https://www.homedepot.com/s/paintable%2520wallpaper%2520roll?NCNI-5

  • Wilma ryk Wilma ryk on Mar 04, 2020

    thank you. You guys are great. I think i'm gonna skim coat and paint it again.