texture and paint for garage walls

[00bolt]

when we had our house built years ago, they didnt finish out the garage. Since then i have had someone come out and install a window a/c into the side brick wall and another company come and add insulation into the walls. They drilled these 2-3" holes every 18 inches or so and blew the insulation in there. Then they ran off and took threw the hole cutouts away.

for the past year or so, i have wanted to finish out the garage and paint the walls, do the flooring and just havent done it... until now.
we are planning to make the garage into a man cave / theater room with a projector and just all around play room for me and the kids.

I went to store and got some mesh tape stuff and spackle and have fixed all the holes. They are pretty strong and cannot really push in the holes at all. I have now started to sand all the tape and places smooth as possible.

I dont want to spend TOO much time and money making this perfectly smooth, but at same time, i dont want to just paint over uneven areas and look like crap.

so now im wondering what do i do with these walls before i paint? do i get the already textured paint at Lowes that looks like sand or whatever is in the paint? Or do I get the really thick Killz paint and just primer and then paint and hope it covers everything up? I really dont want to get a texture gun and do alot of work... i was hoping to take the easy way out AND it still turn out looking decent...

thoughts?

[GeorgeG.]

IMO, from what I've seen of the textured paint, it will hide some imperfections but it has always looked cheap. The kilz paint, I don't think, will hide imperfections with joints, tape and variations with the stud alignment.

Do you already have a pretty big air compressor and drill? The hopper's don't cost that much and I'm guessing you would need a couple of bags of texture. Then just knock it down, lightly sand it if you want, and paint. Since you're not really looking for perfection, you could probably get away with not floating the walls before shooting with the hopper.

[00bolt]

i have a pretty good size air compressor, but i was hoping to not have to buy guns and make a complete mess out there spraying texture if possible. But if the textured paint doesnt look good, then i might have to go this route. I was really hoping that would turn out ok.

iv sanded all the tape and areas pretty smooth, i just dont think its good enough to just throw some paint straight on it. So i was hoping the textured paint or kills would hide some of the imperfections.

[00bolt]

the stuff i saw at Lowes was Valspar in the "decorative" paint section. They had one called Sandstone and another called something else. I think the sandstone had the most texture. But only issue was it only came in 12 or so colors and they cant really mix other colors.

[GeorgeG.]

where are you located? I have a hopper. last time I used it though, I was tired and didn't want to clean it so some texture dried up in there. I could try and clean it up and let you borrow it if you're somewhat close. I also have the mixer that attaches to the end of your drill (which would need to be a big ass drill or you run the risk of burning it up)

[00bolt]

wow, that would be awesome. I live in Mansfield, work in Hurst.

[GeorgeG.]

I'm in south GP. Question though, is this going to be temp controlled all the time? I think I recall a post from BlackSnake about having to do something to the walls or else the humidity will cause it to eventually flake off. Have you looked into this?

Also, when were you wanting to start this? I'll try to clean the hopper later this week and will let you know how it turns out.

[00bolt]

the garage will probably not be temp controlled all the times, as far as the a/c unit being on. However, when the company came and put the insulation in my walls/attic for the garage and I installed the insulation for the metal door squares, it really helps. I can go out there in the middle of the summer without the a/c being on, it is warm out there, but not crazy hot like a typical garage.

now, if i do end up getting projector and video equipment out there, i may end up leaving the a/c unit on and just turn it up a bit.

im probably going to finish doing some final touches and work on moving things around this weekend to the center of the garage... so maybe one day next week so i can spray next weekend?

[joezgarage]

Just saw this post, so you may have already done the work. IMO, shoot the texture. It does so much more to detract your eyes from the highs and lows of sheetrock. All the materials can be had for about $100 if you check around. For example, my setup was $50 for the hopper, $14 for the knockdown knife, $10 for the mixing blade, and texture is about $8 to $10 per box. It's messy when applying, but it is SO EASY.