On Thu, 16 Jun 2005 19:47:48 -0400, scribbled this
interesting note:

Textured drywall is a scam sold by builders who want to save money by
hiring lesser qualified finishers and it makes a wall that is a pain
to paint, clean or attach another finish to later.

Not in the houses we build. In ours, the sheetrock is properly taped
and floated out. Until smooth. Then sanded, until smooth. Then
textured. I don't find it difficult to paint a textured wall. It
really isn't all that hard to do.

Sure, I too have seen those quarter million dollar (and higher) new
houses with finish work I wouldn't allow in a dog house. But not all
builders allow such as that in the houses they build.

I recently had a good time when a friend from college, upon moving
back to the US, asked me to walk through a house they were considering
purchasing. And it wasn't any low end home either at nearly
$500,000.00. In this area there is a certain realty company known for
high end houses and areas. It was great fun pointing out walls out of
square, an undermined patio slab (due to poor water control), and
especially the rat hole on the exterior. Obvious rat hole, I might
add. This house backs up to a golf course with a creek on the other
side. When I kept repeating the problem about the rat hole, the
realtor pointedly told me they don't have rats in their neighborhood
(she lived just a few doors down!:~) I calmly told her that the rats
don't even notice the golf course and love living in the attic of this
house! Great fun.

The moral of the story? I dunno'. I just had a good time annoying a
realtor from a snooty company. Funny thing was, many of the things I
mentioned during my walk through were fixed. The professional home
inspector caught the rat hole, but he missed the problem with the
concrete patio, as well as the fact that the secondary drain for the
HVAC had been in service long enough to leave rust stains for fifteen
feet up one side of the house...

Sloppy builders are to be found in all price ranges. As I told that
realtor, I don't care who the builder was since what matters is who
actually performed (and approved) the work?

As I told the original poster, the quality of the prep work will make
or break the quality of the finished product. Don't skimp on the elbow
grease.


--
John Willis
(Remove the Primes before e-mailing me)