Walls and Ceilings - knockdown odds of success for newbie.

Hi,

I've stripped wallpaper in a 4x4 half-bath, and i'm trying to reproduce a knockdown texture that looks like this:

http://www.crossingellum.com/normal.jpg

I really don't want to go the sprayer route for such small space, and read 2 different techniques to try this:
1) From HD person: half inch nap roller that i first wet, then roll on thinned down joint compound, then knockdown the points

2) roll on first layer of mud smooth, then with a brush, "fling" more mudd onto first layer, then knockdown that.

Does anyone have experience with these, and will it turn out comparable?

What do you "knockdown" with, a trowel? or a large putty knife?

Thanks for help
Nate

If you experiment on some scraps of rock you will be able to hit it. Try some thin mud and a piece of wadded up newspaper or an ocean sponge or a round stipple brush. Part of the secret is the proper consistency of mud and the proper timing of the knockdown. Just mess around until you get it right with scraps and different tools. Yes, you can sometimes get it by flinging or flicking a whisk broom.

You will never match what you have in the picture without spraying it on. Every medium has it's own characteristics. Like Tightcoat suggests, practice with different things first. How do the walls look after you removed wallpaper?

Thanks for the replies...

Originally i really wanted smooth walls after removing the wallpaper.

They aren't in the best of condition, and after a previous post, i was informed i was in need a a good skim coat, to really get to where i was wanting to be.
This sounded like an intimidating underataking for a newbie weekend warrior like myself.

so you don't think i'll be able to get reasonably close to what i have? It's just the guest half-bath, so there's not alot of time spent in there, i just want to get something reasonably close that the casual look really wont' notice difference from rest of house...

I had precisely the same situation. I stripped the wallpaper (all the while alternating between cursing and pitying the deranged, demon-possessed, maddened fool who had put wallpaper over a textured wall) and put a couple coats of slightly thinned joint compound over all the walls. Then I rolled the texture and knocked it down. The texture is different from the rest of the house, but it isn't that noticeable. Actually, my wife really liked the "hand finished" look of the bathroom--the texture isn't as uniform as sprayed texture, and it gives the walls some character.

The skim coats are really easy. Make sure you've cleaned off the paper completely, grab a 12" taping knife, load it up with compound, and drag it across the wall. The compound fills in the gaps in the existing texture. Wait for it to dry, then repeat. You can add a third coat if you like, but after the second coat, you will have filled most of the gaps.

In a 4x4 bath, with minimal skills, you're looking at *maybe* six to eight hours of work. Emminently doable for a weekend warrior. A quick set compound will dry faster, but you'll have to work faster, too. I spent more time waiting for the compound to dry than I did coating and texturing the walls.

It's not hard at all to spray it, probably less labor than any "flick" method, and you'll end up with more consistent results. (a nappy roller can give you an interesting texture, but not likely the same texture as sprayed) You can rent all the equipment, or even buy your own hopper for slightly more than a day's rental (in most cases). I'm just a DIY-er myself, and my first time with the hopper involved a few experiments. As tightcoat mentioned, most of the secret is just getting the right "settings": mud consistency, compressor pressure, hopper nozzle opening, partial drying time before knockdown. A day's worth of playing around will teach you those secrets. I've now done over a dozen rooms in various houses, with a variety of orange-peel spatters to modern long-streak knockdowns, and it's one of the easier drywall tasks (IMO). I say go for it!