Smooth Operator

 

No, this is not the surface of the moon. It's not a beach dyed green. It's not a textured safety strip on a set of stairs. This is the sand textured paint in our 20ft x 24ft family room.

I despise it. 

A little research reveals that sand paint is used as a decorative finish and is commonly employed to disguise a less than perfect under surface. In the case of our walls, the sand paint itself is less than perfect, with uneven distribution of the texture and visible lap lines of the paint, and it does not disguise the cracking drywall tape between joints nor the corner beads. And it is so rough in patches that running my hand over the surface tears open my skin. 

The room afflicted with this wall treatment is the one room in the house that made me want to purchase this place. It's big, open, and the south facing wall is almost entirely windows. However, all that glorious sunlight is sucked into the dark, forest green color which makes the room seem dark and dim and uninviting. All I want to do is jump right in and paint the walls a bright, happy color to completely transform the space into a sunny oasis. 

But, much like starting Odd Bird Studio, it's not that simple. First, I need to eradicate the texture to create a smooth wall surface. Second, I need to repair the problems with the drywall. Third, I need to prime with Kilz to prevent the dark paint from bleeding though.

I've had a hard time finding advice on how to get rid of the sand texture. Some say sand it. Some say it can't be sanded so skim coat it. Some say tear it out and put up new drywall.

I'm going with sanding. After an hour I smoothed out about 4 square feet. Yes, this is the upper body workout portion of home improvement.