Removing Texture From Interior Wall

JustWondering

Hi, I was thinking of painting one of my rooms completely black for a home theater and many forums said that the texture on the wall with create unwanted reflections. So I was wondering what the most effective way to remove the texture from a wall was. Are sanding and plastering the only choices I have?

The wall is the normal interior drywall texturing.

Thanks for your help.

AtlanticWBConst.

Hopefully, it hasn't been painted yet. If it is unpainted drywall texture then it depends on what kind of texture it is.
If it is something like a skip trowel (light stucco look) - then what we normally do is to skim coat over it with several coats of compound to make it smooth.
If it is a poorly done 'roll-on' texture;
Scrape down, maybe a quick hit with a sand pole, then skim coat as previously stated.

In either of these case, it's not really something that can properly be done by a DIYer. Realistically, you need the skill to do a smooth and consistent skim coat. Even tapers take years to acquire the ability to do wide skim coating....

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send_it_all

I find it hard to believe that you would have a problem with reflections if you use flat paint. You could also consider using some sort of fabric wall covering instead of paint.

keyser soze

Texture is better than smooth walls and acoustic panels are better than texture when it comes to acoustics. As stated, use a flat or eggshell paint for best acoustic results (and hardest cleaning).

If it were my room I'd make a few panels out of Owens Corning Fiberglass 1" thick insulation boards with louon (sp?) backing and wrap them with burlap of your favorite color. That would cover most of the surfaces and paint the rest semi-gloss so it will clean easily. It sounds worse than it really is. If you want to look into it more, just send me a PM, I can get you pointed in the right direction. You could even order the panels from one of several companies to save time and spend extra money. You would be looking at maybe $300 in materils to DIY (haven't checked material prices in awhile, could be in for a shock).

The panels would be easier and cheaper than smoothing out the walls. If you try to just smooth them out be adding mud (assuming you have less than a few years experience taping/mudding) it won't look very good when you are done. No offense, just been there, done that, then had a professional redo that.

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