Repairing Drywall and Adding Texture With a Secret Tool

by DeeDee

45 Minutes

Medium

We are still working on our Master Bathroom mini remodel and one thing we had to do was repair some of the drywall around the tub.

repairing drywall and adding texture with a secret tool, bathroom ideas, home maintenance repairs, how to, wall decor

This beautiful wall that my honey created was surrounded by ugly drywall yuckiness! No worries, my honey fixed it and we're going to show you how he did it. If you'd like to see how he created this wall, click HERE:http://www.hometalk.com/diy/decorate/walls/fence-picket-wall-7160796

We had to remove the lovely blue faux marble from around the bath tub and it left us with some ugly looking drywall that was in need of repair.

Don't you be jealous of our 80's vinyl floor! LOL! That's a big job coming up soon too.

TIP: Before you start, cover everything you do not wish to have drywall dust on. We used plastic drop cloths to cover all our stuff.

Next, my honey retrieved all the necessary tools along with the drywall mud and got to the repairs.

Using a scraper and the drywall sander, we removed all the extra glue and what not that was left over after removing the "marble".

TIP: Use a shopvac while sanding to cut down on the dust.

Next you'll want to hide any imperfections in the drywall. This takes patience that I don't have, but my honey does, so he got to smoothing on the drywall mud. TIP: Be careful not to make this very thick or your patch job is going to "glow" when you're finished. Let this dry for a while and sand again if needed.

Another close up of our 80's vinyl floor! Yay!

Now for the texturing. Our walls have what is called a "knock down" texture on them. The secret tool we used to achieve this look....plastic shopping bags! Cool huh? We learned this from my honey's Dad. You take 4 bags, make little crumpled balls out of 3 of them and place them inside the fourth bag. Now roll the top down and make a handle to hold on to and get to texturing.

Dip your bag into the drywall mud and dab it on. Keep dabbing until you have the entire patch area covered in little peaks.

For the knock down texture, this is the look you're going for. Lots of little peaks, you know like meringue? LOL! When you have this look over your entire area, let it sit for a few minutes so that it starts to dry a bit. Do not let this dry completely, you're not finished yet.

Now you are ready to "knock down" the peaks that you've so carefully created. This takes a very, very light hand to achieve. It's not easy and it takes practice, so you may want to practice on a board before tackling your actual walls.

This is the area all dried and ready for paint. It's really hard to photograph this texture, but in real life this looks really good and will look even better with some fresh paint over it.

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Frequently asked questions

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3 questions

Judith A Poteat on Apr 23, 2016
How did you prepare the wood to stand up to all the bathroom humidity?

2
Pauline gonsalves on Apr 23, 2016
Yah. What's with this "my honey" biz?! Poor guy.

21
Tommi L. Perkins on Jun 28, 2016
How will you keep the water from the shower off of the drywall?

1

Comments

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3 of 50 comments

Anna M.S. on Jun 27, 2016
Cover House, Deedee--I sincerely wish that I'd read your tip about the knock down finish before I bought and used 2 spray cans of plaster finish at Lowe's/Home Depot. You're right--practice first helps.

Like Reply
Kim on Oct 04, 2016
Nice job, and I think it's wonderful you love you helper so much, Nice

1 Reply
- DeeDee on Oct 05, 2016
  Thanks so much!
  
  1