Knockdown texture drywall


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Old 08-18-12, 07:22 AM
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Knockdown texture drywall

I have zero experience with this and need some help if possible. I had to have a contractor cut this area of drywall cut off so they can epoxy the poured concrete behind it. Now I need to put it back up.

Is this easy enough so I can try to put it back up myself or with some help? The previous owner of our home built the rec room. A contractor quoted me $225 to repair it with 4-6 hours of labor. I just think that's wav too much for a small area like this. I managed to get this piece of drywall up.
 
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Old 08-18-12, 09:50 AM
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I'm sure that you can put the dry wall back in place but you might have trouble with the spackle & tape. That could be why the price seems high to you. He might have to make a couple of trips there to do the job.
 
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Old 08-18-12, 02:56 PM
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After securing the panel in place, tape and mud the joint really well, sanding between coats. Your last swipe will be of thinned out joint compound and a 12" knife. It will be a light coat. Once it is all done, one way to do the knock down on repair jobs without renting or buying a sprayer is to cover all adjacent areas and get a wallpaper brush. Dip it in slightly thinned j/c and throw it on the wall in a splatter fashion. Not too thick. After you have coated the entire area, and let it dry for about 30 minutes, take your 12" knife and holding it at a really sharp angle to the wall, lightly scrape off the tips of the compound you spattered on the wall wiping the knife with every stroke.
You may want to try it on a scrap piece of drywall to see if it is worth your time to do it or bring in the big guns for $225. This is a DIY forum and we promote doing things yourself, obviously. But there comes a time...................
 
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Old 08-18-12, 03:41 PM
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I don't see any reason to hire out the repair except maybe the texture. Larry's method of texturing the repair will work ok but the repair will be visible to the trained eye. If you want/expect texture that will make the repair disappear with primer/paint - the texture will have to be sprayed on [and knocked down]

It takes 3-4 trips to hang, finish and texture the repair - that's all added into the quote, raising the price.
 
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Old 08-18-12, 04:18 PM
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My sister had to have considerably more drywall replaced in her house and it was done in one trip. The installers used a "hot" mud that set up in less than 15 minutes so in an hours time they got either two or three coats. They were there maybe three hours total, including clean-up. They used the spray cans of texture and I defy anyone from finding where that repair was made.

I had to open the back wall of my bedroom closet to replace the shower valve. After securing the drywall back in the opening I ran a hook scraper over the seams to remove the texture and then taped using a ready mix mud. Of course I had to do the repair over several days because of the required setting time of the mud but after it was hard and sanded I used a can of spray texture to repair the surface. I found that it is necessary to let the spray texture harden for ten to fifteen minutes BEFORE trying to knock it down. I did have to paint the entire wall afterwards but again, the repair is invisible.
 
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Old 08-18-12, 11:50 PM
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I talked with my sister this evening and she said the drywall people DID have to come back the second day to do the texture, which turns out is an orange peel texture. I don't remember it that way but it IS her house.
 
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Old 08-19-12, 05:44 AM
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Hot mud works well but when you have such a small repair [only 3 runs of tape] you don't really have enough time for the next coat without standing around waiting on it. If the bed coat isn't good and dry before the next is applied, you run the risk of the tape coming loose.

Orange peel is probably the easiest texture to match/blend in. Knockdown is a bit harder to match [for me anyway] I never cared much for the aerosol cans of texture but I guess it all depends on what you get used to
 
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Old 08-23-12, 07:17 PM
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I've done hundreds of S.F. of knock-down texture, and all of it was "learned by doing." A small area like that shown should not be difficult, even for an amateur. Do as chandler suggested, although I prefer making the final knock-down with a steel (cconcrete finisher's) float instead of a drywall trowel--easier on my wimpy wrists, and firmer pressure can be applied in case the wait time was too long.
 
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Old 08-24-12, 03:24 AM
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You know, bridge, I was going to suggest that, but figured it would confuse the matter. I DO like a long float, with rounded edges (sometimes done on a grinder intentionally) for floating. The rounded edges don't leave a line. Good idea.
 
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Old 08-25-12, 06:00 PM
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I figure this patch will be about 40" wide when finished. Were it mine I would drag out the hopper gun for one this size but you might try this to texture it? Let it dry overnight Dry that is not simply set. Sand if necessary then mix up some 90 minute mud to pancake batter consistency or a little thinner and get a whisk broom. Dip the broom into the mud and use one hand to bend the bristles back and release them thus flicking the mud onto the wall. Do this until the whole patch is covered. You don't need 100% coverage just get it the same density as the adjacent wall. When it is the right stage of dryness or set whichever happens first knock it down with your tool of choice. The mud seems to set more slowly on painted surfaces so be careful not to use too much pressure on the overlap or knock down the overlap too quickly. This is a pretty large area to do this way but it is cheaper than renting a gun.

On the other hand if you have a compessor, Harbor Freight has a little hopper for pretty cheap that will do the job.

Cover, Cover, Cover.
 
 

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