Dining Room Skim Coat and Paint

I really enjoyed doing this project because I was able to take a room that looked okay overall and truly make it look brand new.

During the initial project walkthrough, I noticed the walls were a little bumpy and that a seam or two was visible. It was something my client had originally just accepted as, "It is what it is." That’s when I explained that I could make the walls smooth again by applying a smooth coat of joint compound, which they happily accepted.

Because this is a centrally located room that most guests walk through, I thought it was a good choice for a skim coat.

Dust control is important on projects involving skim coating, so the openings to the room were taped and covered with plastic to keep dust out of the non-work areas. All of the walls were sanded, and then a smooth, thin coat of joint compound was applied and allowed to dry overnight before being sanded again the next day.

The large wall areas were sanded with Festool sanders connected to a HEPA dust extractor to minimize the dust produced during sanding.

Once sanding was complete, the newly smooth walls received a coat of bonding primer and then two coats of excellent-quality Sherwin-Williams paint.