Spray-on Wall Texture?

[wpcoe]

I have estimates from a contractor to put drop-ceilings in my 2-bedroom condo. I also inquired about putting the wiring inside the walls ... it currently has that oh-so-Thai charm with the wires exposed by being tacked to the wall surface. I'm 50/50 about putting the wires in to the brick wall. I've seen some perfect jobs where you could never see that the wall had been modified, then again I've seen where it is clearly obvious that a channel was dug into the brick to "hide" the wires.

The contractor suggested using a spray-on finish to hide any blemishes. I don't know the name of the stuff, but I've seen it a lot in tract housing in the USA: an oatmeal-texture substance is blown on to the wall and before it dries it is trowled down, leaving a textured pattern. It seems like it would work to cover not only the newly-embedded wires but other patch jobs that have been done to my concrete walls by previous owners.

My hesitancy is the cost: For my condo, which is a 76 sq meter unit (including balcony and bath and kitchen which would not be included in the new wall surfacing) he said it would be about B20,000 per room. Does that seem a bit steep? I realize I've not seen much of this type of work in Thailand so the economy of scale doesn't work in my favor.

Any thoughts on the whether this wall covering would be a Good Thing or not? What about input on pricing? And, lastly: what is that bloody wall covering called, anyway?

[samtam]

Firstly, do you like a textured wall pattern? Personally I prefer smooth walls. I had all my wiring re-done or moved around, and where new channels were dug out there is no noticeable sign. I agree that skimming and plastering are not a highly developed skill here, but there must be some contractors around.

[Naam]

"an oatmeal-texture substance is blown on to the wall and before it dries it is trowled down, leaving a textured pattern. It seems like it would work to cover not only the newly-embedded wires but other patch jobs that have been done to my concrete walls by previous owners."

*****

the spray texture used in Thailand is much too thin (max 1.5mm) to cover any wires and blemishes in the plaster.

*********************************************************************

My hesitancy is the cost: For my condo, which is a 76 sq meter unit (including balcony and bath and kitchen which would not be included in the new wall surfacing) he said it would be about B20,000 per room. Does that seem a bit steep? I realize I've not seen much of this type of work in Thailand so the economy of scale doesn't work in my favor.

*****

this is highway robbery! i have done my whole house (600m² living area) with texture before painting and paid only a peanuts surcharge. i am not sure how much the surcharge was but i could always ask.

[wpcoe]

Firstly, do you like a textured wall pattern? Personally I prefer smooth walls. I had all my wiring re-done or moved around, and where new channels were dug out there is no noticeable sign. I agree that skimming and plastering are not a highly developed skill here, but there must be some contractors around.

The walls currently are not exactly smooth. Not sure what the previous occupants had done, but there are lots of patches, drip marks, etc. A lot of sanding effort might take care of some of that, but OTOH could make the areas noticeably smoother than the rest of the walls?

The room he showed me where he had done the texture treatment looked fine. It looked MUCH better than the condition of my walls currently, regardless of electrical wire placing.

Designers, designers, designers, Contractors, contractors, contractors. I've about had it up to here with designers and contractors. Either they give a B1,000,000 estimate for what I later had done for B100,000, or they insist in "enhancing" my request with their own over-blown ideas, or they simply show up for an initial visit and then disappear. This latest guy is the first one I can really work with. He put his best tactful/low-key sales effort for the wall texture and a much more elaborate ceiling system than what I wanted, but he backed off and agreed to work with me without his enhancements.

How does one find a reliable, competent contractor? I've been relying on recommendations of neighbors and folks in the condo. This latest fellow was a recommendation from a ThaiVisa.com poster, and seems to be the best one yet.

[wpcoe]

the spray texture used in Thailand is much too thin (max 1.5mm) to cover any wires and blemishes in the plaster.

this is highway robbery! i have done my whole house (600m² living area) with texture before painting and paid only a peanuts surcharge. i am not sure how much the surcharge was but i could always ask.

I should have mentioned in the opening post that he said the blown-on product is imported from Germany. Maybe because the local Thai equivalent is inadequate? <shrug> Do you think there are different qualties/thicknesses of Thai spray-on gunk?

I'm tempted to ask how much your blown-on covering is priced, but if it is so thin that it wouldn't cover the existing imperfections and/or the newly imbedded wiring, I guess it doesn't matter.

One "problem" I have in my own mind is that this condo only cost me B1.3million to begin with. Including his estimate for the ceiling work and the work I've already had done -- install kitchen, retiling, combining two tiny bathrooms, install new doors, new aircons, furniture, etc -- I will have spent about B500,000 already. The sprayed walls would be nice, but another B60,000???? ROI is not everything, but it *is* a factor...

[wpcoe]

Including his estimate for the ceiling work and the work I've already had done -- install kitchen, retiling, combining two tiny bathrooms, install new doors, new aircons, furniture, etc -- I will have spent about B500,000 already.

After enduring a full 35 minutes of "network errors" and "timeouts" I was unable to edit that post in time to correct the amount: It should read B400,000 (not B500,000) that I will have spent.

[backflip]

The wall texture that's applied to many homes in the US is simply wall compound that is sprayed on, and sometimes "knocked down" for effect. If you spend any more than $50 per room, you're being robbed. There's a spray-on flexible epoxy-based product, but it's likely to be expensive in LOS. My preference is to keep the walls as flat and smooth as possible. Too, you can hang some large pictures...

[wpcoe]

The wall texture that's applied to many homes in the US is simply wall compound that is sprayed on, and sometimes "knocked down" for effect. If you spend any more than $50 per room, you're being robbed. There's a spray-on flexible epoxy-based product, but it's likely to be expensive in LOS. My preference is to keep the walls as flat and smooth as possible. Too, you can hang some large pictures...

I've given up trying to find any contractor/designer that can do such a mundane thing. It's always an uphill battle just to get them to do what I have decided I want, like a simple 30cm x 30cm drop ceiling around the permiter of the room ceiling. How difficult is that? But you wouldn't believe the resistance and refusals I've encountered. Today I had a drywall/gypsum "expert" measure my walls with a high-tech laser device and he proclaimed I needed 45 meters of crown molding. After he left, I measured with a plain old measuring tape and the correct measurement is just under 40 meters. So, I will be paying for 45 meters of molding plus whatever the proration into square meters is for the ceiling itself. I surrender, only because this is the closest I've come to a contractor that will do almost what I want. Just where would I find someone to spray on wall compound and level it out? I don't think I have the stamina or patience to find out any more.

Regarding the pictures, if I hung any more mirrors or paintings to cover the wall flaws, I could charge admission as the Thai branch of The Louvre.

[samtam]

I know exactly where you're "at" with contractors. My own story with one finished a couple of years ago, followed by another to clean up the f/us of the first, and another THB700k. Unfortunately with all the building going on in Bangkok there are many "rogue traders" at large. The upcoming downturn may alleviate that. One can only hope. I used to recommend people I've used, by it seemed to be the kiss of death...they then went on to f/u the next project. So, I'm sorry I have no one to recommend right now.

[billaaa777]

After he left, I measured with a plain old measuring tape and the correct measurement is just under 40 meters. So, I will be paying for 45 meters of molding plus whatever the proration into square meters is for the ceiling itself.

I am a contractor. There is a lot of waste with crown molding. So you do need to buy quite a bit extra, I would say 45 is pretty close to what I would by for 40 meters. If fact on one of the condos I am doing now, I got some bad molding and the walls were so bad that for 25 meters we needed I ending up having to buying 40 meters.

I don’t use the Spray-On-Wall-Texture. I don’t like if first of all, second these condo’s are already small enough and it decreases the size and makes them look smaller, third, when and if you try to sell it a certain percentage of the buyers will get turned off by it and finally, if you ever want to change it, it’s not going to be easy.

Another alternative is to plaster and sand all the walls before painting. You will get a nice smooth look and it should take care of all your other wall problems too. It should be no problem putting all the electrical wiring in the wall. Just make sure they buy PVC pipe to put the cable inside. That way if you ever need to fix it the will not be a need to ripe out the wall.

[wpcoe]

Thanks for the feedback about the wall texture. I've got mixed feelings about it, but the room the contractor showed me looked SOOOO much better than the walls I've got now. I've got to keep reminding myself the grass always looks greener on the other side...

The actual labor began today. What a whirlwind of activity. A very well-coordinated group effort with the team players doing their jobs well, it seems. It was hard to keep an eye on the activity going on simultaneously in three rooms (two bedrooms and the living room), but what I saw seemed impressive. QUITE a contrast to past experiences I've had! Within three hours of starting, the old ceilings in two of the rooms were torn down and the new gypsum/dry wall already screwed into place. (The third room we're keeping the old ceiling and just putting the drop ceiling around the perimeter.)

The contractor did suggest something that I agreed to, but with some doubts. The "ceiling" over the balcony is plaster over concrete and suffered cracking and rain leakage (I'm on the top floor). The leaking had been repaired by the condo maintenance, but there remained ugly cracks with discoloration. The contractor suggested putting a gypsum/drywall ceiling over the plaster. He showed me another unit he had done it on, and it looked okay. But, I'm nervous about having gypsum outdoors. I don't recall the ceiling ever being wet from rain before (other than from the drip), so hope it is okay. Any comments or ideas on that?

The 45 meters of crown molding was a misunderstanding/disagreement. In two rooms, the drop ceiling is only on three sides and I only want the molding under the drop ceiling. I think I was overruled, and the fourth side of each of those rooms will now have crown molding, too. The 45 meter measurement was before allowing for waste, BTW.

[wpcoe]

I'm continually reminded at how the western mind seems to work in reverse of the Thai mind, even with construction. Case in point: my renovation, of course. :-)

Basically, all I'm doing is replacing two ceilings and adding drop ceilings around the perimeter of three rooms (keeping one existing ceiling), adding recessed lights, installing new ceiling fans, and trimming with a crown molding. (The molding is a different paint than the walls and ceiling -- the walls are cream/beige, the crown molding is semi-gloss white, and the ceiling is flat white.) I painted the walls, and let them do the ceilings and crown molding.

Now, in my mind the most effiicent (and therefore easier) order to do things, would be to install the gypsum/drywall and paint it. Then install the crown molding, lights and fan.

The Thai way: Install the gypsum. Install the recessed (stainless steel) lights, ceiling fans and the crown molding. Then begin painting, being sure to get paint on the light fixtures then scrape it off. Ditto for the ceiling fans and crown moldings. I will give them credit for pre-painting the crown molding before installation, so that all that's needed is to touch up the nail holes.

The fellow doing the painting had no idea that the light fixtures pop down so he could paint cleanly around the holes. After I realized he had put the base coat of paint for two rooms with the lights flush. I showed him how to drop them down and I dropped down the lights in the other room before he painted. After he scraped the paint off the ones in the first two rooms, he pushed them back up in to the ceiling. Keep in mind he's going to do at least one more (and perhaps two more) coats of paint. Ditto in the third room -- after cleanly painting the drop ceiling, he popped the lights back up. I had the contractor's Thai wife explain to him to leave them down until he was finished, and he clearly could not understand why. Doesn't it make his job easier to not have to painstakingly paint around a round light fixture and then go back later to scrape off any paint??? (Not to mention the possibility of circular brush marks around each fixture.)

Thanks for listening. I feel better just knowing that so many of you have experienced/witnessed this completely different way of doing things. I actually am doing much better at the "mai bpen rai" attitude these days, but when it comes to my home, I'm a bit fussy and find it difficult to bite my tongue all the time.