Sharp walls

Question from Tammy: Whoever owned our home before us textered the walls in our downstairs bedrooms. The problem is they didn't smooth them down so it is sharp, if you happen to scrape against them, plus they really collect the dust and are impossible to clean. What are my best options? Sand down and repaint? Is there any other easier way to get rid of it? 

Jake's Answer: Tammy, There are a few different things you can try. Take a 6” wide putty knife and start scraping the wall to “knock” down the sharp points. You could even do a little sanding on the walls after you have scraped it. You will still have textured walls but hopefully they won’t hurt when you brush up against them. When done with this, paint the walls with a good quality egg-shell finish latex paint. Scrape the walls, then apply 3 coats of drywall compound, then sand. This is more work and may even require more coats of the compound, depending upon how thick the old texture is. Scrape the walls, then install 3/8” drywall over the walls. You will have to remove and reset the window, door and base trim to accomplish this and you will have to extend the jambs on the windows and doors. Again, this is more work and may require a professional to achieve satisfactory results. Remove the trim and existing textured drywall and install new 1/2" drywall.