primer for re-painting old plaster?

[Eagle]

Really? What state? Most plasterers here in So.Cal. are Mexican now. All the old times like Me are retired, and the Unions are mostly gone now, so the only folks who get into the trades are Latino and get half of what wages were in

1995, and the only health insurance available is with the employer. This is a much better way to get health coverage than what the Unions negotiated for by FAR. Unions are another thread!

True. It's much faster doing texture finish inside and out, therefore cheaper for the sub-contractor. Smooth finishes are special order and the cost is tacked onto the final price of the home. Stucco material is a special mix for smooth finish as the regular stucco mix will check as it drys.

We did a tract of homes in San Diego [Mira Mesa] with that super heavy texture on the front of the house. The base coat was sand finish, then a texture finish was applied. A second texture finish was applied over the first, and the third texture layer was added using extra #16 grit silica sand. The result was texture that stuck out like 4 inches over the whole wall! It sold lots of homes, but after ten years or so, the owners would have all that dirt attracting texture removed and sand finish stucco replaced the nasty dirty texture, or brick or stone or wood siding was done.

Exactly. I used a pool trowel to smooth driwall since that trowel has round nose and ass so no trowel marks are left.

Did you use a hood and long sleve shirt to keep the dust off?

Sounds like you have it well in hand Don! :D

[DerbyDad03]

That, of course, is how the "replacement" walls that I put up were done.

I have never been able to master the taping process so it either takes me forever + more time to get it done or I get someone else to do it for me.

My first major drywall project was a basement bathroom with all sorts of angles and joints and "shelves". Cinder block walls, wider at the bottom than at the top with a sloped ledge about 5' from the floor. Instead of building out the upper wall to be flush with the lower section, I created a flat shelf with the drywall where the walls narrowed, essentially flattening out the slope. This created additional inside and outside corners that needed to be taped/finished. There was also a box I built around a gas pipe, adding even more seams that needed to be finished. Then there was the area above the shower stall, the wall around the stall, etc. There was no way I was going to be able to tape and mud all of those joints in any reasonable amount of time, if ever.

At the time I was working for a company that had hired a contracting firm to renovate some office areas. I found the foreman, told him that I was looking for a decent drywall guy who was looking for a side job. He introduced me to one of his guys and we struck a deal for him to stop by after work for the next few days and tape/mud my bathroom.

By the time I needed some more finishing done, I had already taught my son how to hang drywall while also telling him that I was no good at the finishing. I knew *how* to do it, I just couldn't get it done in an efficient manner. He did his own research on youtube, etc. practiced on an apartment he was fixing up for a break on the rent and was more a less a natural at it. The next few times I needed some taping done, he came over and did it for me. I love it when a plan comes together. ;-)

[Don Y]

That would have been back east (New England).

Yes, same here (S.AZ)

Yes. My stucco point was that its rare to see even a *brick* house, here. They slather stucco (and texture) over EVERYTHING! Even wood-framed homes.

Exactly. That was the problem we encountered with the aggressive popcorn texture on the ceilings: air blowing past it (ceiling height vents) would result in dirt getting caught in the texture. You'd literally see these brown steaks across the ceilings, originating from the nearby ducts.

Of course, you can't just wipe it down with a wet cloth as the surface is too rough. You could *spray* it with a fine mist and hope the dirt DRIPS off... :< Easier just to remove it.

Walls have a pretty bold knockdown texture in most places. Makes small patches a bit of a chore as you now have to try to match a "random" pattern (instead of just sanding it smooth) and repainting. But, at least you can wipe it clean.

Ah! I will have to look for that! Thanks!

No. Just my typical short-sleeved T-shirt. No head covering. So, a good long shower after each "shift" -- with a couple of shampoo cycles (long hair).

I seem to have a conceptual problem matching shirts to the job at hand. E.g., Short sleeve when I should have covered my arms to scrape the popcorn. Short sleeve when I should be wearing something long and THICK as I pick the citrus (large "thorns" scrape the hell out of my exposed arms as I reach into the trees). White shirt when I work on the cars (can you spell "grease and oil"?). Black shirt when baking (can you spell "white flour"?).

I always realize my mistake -- AFTER having made it. But, never seem to learn/remember for the *next* time! :-/

(sigh) A shame there isn't some quicker way to get from "here" to "there"...

Thx!