Design Tip – Advice – Wall
Refinishing
A reader sent in a request for information (yippee!) Here is their question:
I have walls that are rough. I am interested in upholstering them with fabric. How do I do
that?
Answer:
I consulted with my favorite General Contractor on this one, my husband. He said you can
(a) sand the wall smooth. This may only work on a wall that is lightly textured. A heavier
texture may too difficult and/or require a great deal of preparation.
(b) Spackle (fill with plaster/drywall mud) until smooth. (We did this in our own home, in
order to refinish a wall in our office/loft.) This can be time consuming. You need to a
good finisher, or an experienced "do-it-yourselfer."
(c) Cover the entire wall with a thin layer of gypsum board (drywall). This is a more
expensive solution. Again, you’ll need a good finisher.
I would like to offer a fourth possibility,
(d) wrapping panels with fabric, and applying them to the wall. This is a method I have
used in my commercial work. Fabric wrapped panels are typically used in
conference/boardrooms. This type of installation can leave an obvious vertical seam.
Fabric panels make an excellent service to hang presentation materials, and conceal the
tack marks (assuming a suitable fabric is selected.) This is probably the most expensive
solution. For home use, one might want to do one wall of a room. This would be great for a
child’s room or recreation room. On the fabric wrapped surface you can hang
"your budding artist’s" work, or your own artistic creations.
I also conducted a search on this topic, and found a great site with wall preparation
guidelines. They give advice for rough surfaces, as well as other materials. Here is the
link or URL: The Internet
Wallpaper Store – Preparing Walls. (This is not a site I am affiliated with.)
I know some of my tips are long. This often can not be helped because different e-mail
programs have different linking requirements. Therefore, I often end up providing long,
multiple, URL’s. (Heaven forbid, software developers should get together and
standardize e-mail. That will never happen.) I hope you understand.
Thanks,
Catherine Foust McGivern, NCIDQ Certified
Design Firm Principal |
