OFFICE
The office is on the second floor and is a small 'L' shaped room. At some point in the house's history there was a leak and the ceiling has a giant patch right in the center. This is the old part of the home and probably a child's room. There is a blown texture on all of the walls and the ceiling that has also been patched over the years. You can see in the photos below what I mean.
Skimcoating the entire room with joint compound, including the ceiling, is the only way to make this room look clean and crisp.
When applying the first coat I try to keep it as smooth as possible. After it's fully dried I use a drywall knife and scrape all of the raised lines off. Then I fill all of the pinholes, any gouges and missed spots. After that I'll give it a sand and then look for any parts that need sanded again.
You can see in the pics below that I'm almost finished with the first coat of joint compound.
When I'm finished, the walls and ceiling will be perfectly smooth and ready for paint.
So here we are, a few days later. I have sanded the skim coat on the walls and ceiling. Now it's ready for some touch up and then paint. Once it's painted it'll be easier to see where any bumps or holes are and I can quickly add some more joint compound, smoothing it out, and then repaint those areas.
Before I paint I like to use a drywall primer. You would think that it would be an extra step, but it keeps the saturated paint from soaking into the walls and keeps the paint coat even. I highly recommend doing this step. It actually saves you a lot of time.
This stuff goes on quick and smooth. This value-brand primer seals tape joints and preps the surface for paint without raising the nap on new drywall.
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Ideal for sealing new drywall
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Fast drying – seals surfaces for painting in one hour
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Low odor
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Won't raise the nap on new drywall
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Water-based formula – easy water clean-up
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Sands easily – creates a smooth surface for painting
PAINT
BENJAMIN MOORE
Serenity - Regal Matte Finish
This blue is a very interesting color. For some reason the sensor on my iPhone simply can't capture the color correctly. After The room is completed I will use my DSLR camera with a gray card and get the colors exact. But for now you can take a look at these images from my phone. What a difference from those mustard and cottage cheese textured walls.
The doors, baseboards and window trim need some TLC. I'll be back in here working on that part during Phase II.