redcore4 t1_j95yqtv wrote on February 19, 2023 at 2:42 PM

If you can even get it to stick in the first place anything you put on a textured wall and then pry off is likely to take the texture off with it. You will also probably have problems if your landlord inspects the property during your tenancy and you have made such a dramatic change without prior permission.

A better plan is to talk to each prospective landlord and ask whether they mind you redecorating by filling in the texture - they may be absolutely fine with you plastering over it if you get a professional paint job done, as it’s essentially you paying for free maintenance and upkeep of their investment property, and it shows you’re committed to being a stable long term tenant. They may be willing to allow it even if they’re not happy with it for the price of a clause in the contract promising you’ll put the texture back in when you leave or an extra security deposit to cover the cost of remediation afterwards.

Either way it’s a lot of money to put into someone else’s property so the better solution might just be to hang fancy bedspreads over the walls and take them with you when you go, or keep looking until you find a place that’s more to your taste.

CrucioCup OP t1_j9604b8 wrote on February 19, 2023 at 2:53 PM

I’ve visited over a dozen places ranging from built in the 80s to just finished construction a couple months ago. They all have the same problem; I thought we left popcorn ceilings behind in the last millenium but now there are popcorn walls, too.

I will try asking the landlords.

CharlesDickens17 t1_j9832yf wrote on February 19, 2023 at 11:44 PM

Are you in FL? Orange peel texture on the walls is very popular with apartment complexes, but private residences (single family homes) are often flat walls with no texture.

BetweenOceans t1_j99hko6 wrote on February 20, 2023 at 7:23 AM

I actually clicked because I completely feel you. It's not nothing. You're spending how much time in there and textured walls and ceilings and weird light fixtures really do have a bizarre energy I don't like either. "Funky fabric," isn't going to do it, that's a totally different vibe. I like where your head's at. It's actually pretty labor intensive to sand down walls/ceiling, but def worth checking into and seeing if the owner would be down. What is even the point of popcorn ceilings? Just laziness? Textured walls? Because painting a board flat is hard? I don't understand. I do think maybe stretch like raw hide and wooden boards with maybe barn door slats on them could cover them up? Hmmmmmmm....

wolpertingersunite t1_j9a5k5v wrote on February 20, 2023 at 12:43 PM

They have three practical benefits. 1, sound reduction. 2, easier/cheaper initial drywalling to a lower standard of flatness. 3, easier repairs of damage. Perfectly flat walls ala hgtv is really expensive to achieve.

msdlp t1_j9glmbc wrote on February 21, 2023 at 8:23 PM

I am not sure if you realize it but the texture on apartments is used to hide a fast and reckless drywall job on a business property. Someone in this thread noted that private homes tend to have flat walls. The private home buyer expects a high quality drywall job without texture. The business owner buying/building an apartment complex doesn't give a fuck if the wall is textured as long as it looks ok. You will have a hard time finding an apartment without texture for this reason. I bought a home in Colorado and the ceilings were popcorn texture. I took a putty knife and scraped it all off, only to notice that all the irregularities not stood out where they were not visible under the popcorn texture. I would highly recommend that you just let it go until you buy your own home which will probably have flat walls anyway. Do what you feel. Make yourself happy if you can.