Texturing walls with a roller is a DIY project that anyone can do, with a little patience and practice.
Why would you want to texture your walls? For me, it was prompted by wallpaper removal.
My master bathroom was covered in wallpaper, courtesy of the builder. Fast forward 25 years and the wallpaper was dated and damaged. I also have wallpaper in my kitchen, which will need to be removed before we remodel it, and in the powder room. I might leave the wallpaper in the powder room because I don’t want to deal with it. Plus, I still like the pattern, which is old-fashioned but doesn’t scream ’90s.
In one of the most popular posts on my blog, I tested several methods of wallpaper removal. If you’ve got wallpaper removal in your future, you’re gonna wanna check it out.
The walls behind the wallpaper have no texture or paint, just old primer or sizing that is flaking off. In some places, the corners were not properly mudded and taped because wallpaper covers a multitude of sins. In other places, there were cracks where the wall met the ceiling, holes, or torn wallboard paper. So I had to make some repairs.
Most of my walls are painted and have an orange peel texture, which is achieved with a sprayer and involves taping off everything else in the area. Because we were doing our bathroom in little chunks of time, mostly on the weekends, I wanted to texture and paint the area behind the new vanities before I textured and painted other parts of the room, plus the water closet.
Texturing walls with a roller is easier for a DIYer than spraying texture. I knew I couldn’t exactly match the orange peel texture with a roller, but I got something that’s fairly close. The process is rather tedious and produces a lot of drywall dust, but it’s not difficult.
Texturing walls with a roller
Here are the basic steps to texturing walls with a roller.
- Repair major flaws in the wall.
- Prime the wall and allow to dry.
- Mix drywall compound with small amounts of water.
- Roll on texture with a thick nap roller.
- Once the wall is dry, sand lightly to achieve desired texture. Remove excess dust.
- Prime and paint wall.
Now for the details.
Tools needed:
- drywall compound
- putty knife for mixing, taping knife to smooth large areas, corner trowel for corner repairs, if needed
- mud tray for major repairs
- repair tape, patches, paper tape for big repairs
- sandpaper in medium and fine grits for repairs
- sponge drywall sanding block
- roller for semi-rough walls; 1/2-inch knap works well
- paint tray
- paint brush
- primer
- paint
- painter’s tape for woodwork
First, you want to repair any major flaws in the wall. We’re talking holes, gouges, cracks, etc. You can use the same drywall compound you have for the texturing.
I bought pre-mixed drywall compound (also called drywall mud) in gallon buckets for my project. Use repair tape or hole repair patches, if you have holes from old towel bars, for instance. You can use paintable caulk for small cracks in corners or along the ceiling.
For larger corner and ceiling cracks, get creased paper tape that you apply with that same drywall compound. A layer of drywall mud goes in the corner. Smooth it out with a handy corner trowel. Crease the tape before placing it in the joint compound, again using your corner trowel. Then apply another coat of drywall compound over the tape, feathering out the edges beyond the tape.
Here’s a great video to show this technique with a corner trowel.
After the repairs dry, sand to smooth any bumps, rough edges, or transitions from the patch to the wall.
Once you have all the major flaws repaired, you’re ready to prime the wall. Don’t worry about small flaws. You can take care of that with the joint compound.
I used Kilz multi-surface water-based primer.
When the primer dries, you’re ready to get your texture on!
Use a thick-napped roller made for rough or semi-rough walls, like 1/2-inch. Place joint compound in your roller tray and gradually mix in a little water. You’re going for a texture like mayonnaise or thick pancake batter. I used a 3-inch putty knife for mixing. Take your time so all the water is incorporated and the compound is smooth.
Get your roller a little damp before loading it with mud. You can use a full-size roller for large spaces and a 4-inch or 6-inch roller in smaller areas. Go with long, even rolls. Feel free to go over the area a few times to get the texture you want.
Wall after rolling on the texture before sanding will have rough ridges and bumps.
The more compound you use on the walls, the heavier the texture. I was going for a pretty light touch, but I still needed a lot of mud.
Be prepared to use a lot of drywall compound. I went through about two gallons in my 100-square-foot master bath.
I tried to do the knockdown texture, but I found it too difficult to achieve a uniform result. If you want to try it, I’d suggest rolling on say 20 square feet of mud, letting it sit for 30 minutes, then using a knockdown knife. Lightly drag the knockdown knife, which has a plastic or foam blade, down the wall.
I practiced on the area behind the bathroom vanities to refine my technique. You could practice on a scrap of primed plywood or foam core board.
I found it easier to let the mud dry completely, then go back and sand lightly until I had the look I wanted. This produces a lot of drywall dust, so wear a mask and close the door to adjoining rooms. Have your vacuum, broom and dusting cloths handy.
Wall after lightly sanding the texture has a more uniform look with a subtle pattern that helps hide imperfections.
Once I finished sanding my wall and removing the drywall dust, I primed again. Then I painted the wall after the primer dried.
What to do if you have problem areas?
If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again. When an area doesn’t have the look you want, once it’s dry and sanded, just apply another coat of compound and sand again.
Here’s more on our massive master bathroom project:
Planning a Budget Bathroom Remodel
How to Get More Bang from your Bathroom Remodeling Buck
Behind the Walls on our Master Bath