Can I Drywall Over Popcorn Walls?

Prepping the Walls

• You don’t have to scrape the walls completely smooth, but you should remove the bulk of the texture. Use a large drywall-taping trowel to scrape away large swaths of texture. Don’t forget to wear old clothing, protective eyewear and a respirator mask. For stubborn texture, try filling a pump sprayer with hot water and lightly spraying the wall before scraping away the texture.

Finding the Studs

• Once the popcorn texture is scraped away, you may be able to see the seams between the original drywall panels, but you’ll need to install the new panels in a different configuration to keep the joints from falling in the same locations. Locate the studs by tapping or using a stud finder, and pop a chalk line over each stud to serve as a reference.

Installing the Panels

• Typical drywall installation on a wall starts by attaching the top drywall panels first in a horizontal manner and then installing the bottom row. If the old panels were installed from left to right, install the new panels from right to left to vary the joints. When installed horizontally, two standard 4-by-8-foot drywall panels fit perfectly on a standard 8-foot high wall. The caveat when installing new drywall over old drywall is to use longer screws. If both the old and new panels are 1/2-inch thick, use 2-inch drywall screws to attach the new panels.

Finishing the New Panels

• Finishing drywall involves filling the seams with joint compound and applying drywall tape over the wet compound, then smoothing it flush with the wall. Taping drywall takes skill and attention to detail to end up with a smooth wall. The taping process requires three or more coats of compound. Allow each coat to dry, and then sand it before applying subsequent coats.