Skim Coat Textured Walls Smooth — Knockdown and Orange Peel Removed
Knockdown or orange peel from the builder, and you want the smooth, flat walls you see in newer and older houses — skimmed wall by wall, room by room.
To skim coat textured walls smooth, JMB Builders knocks down the high points of the knockdown or orange peel, then trowels two or three thin coats of joint compound over the whole wall, sands it flat and primes it ready for paint. Walls only; ceilings are on our popcorn ceiling page. Priced per wall or per room, quoted from your photos within one business day, Twin Cities metro.
- Priced per wall or per room
- Two to three skim coats, sanded flat
- Primed and ready for paint
- Quote from photos in 1 business day
- Licensed MN contractor BC809005
A lot of 1990s and 2000s Twin Cities houses got knockdown or orange peel on every wall. It hides flaws in the drywall, but it looks dated to some owners, collects dust and makes the walls hard to touch up. The way to take it out is not scraping. Painted texture does not come off; it gets covered with a skim coat.
Skimming is trowel work. The high points of the texture are knocked down with a knife or sanded, the wall is primed where it needs it so the new mud bonds, then thin coats of compound go over the whole surface until the texture is filled and the wall reads flat. After a final sanding and a coat of primer, it is a smooth wall ready for paint.
Smooth walls show everything in raking light from a window, so the last coat and the sanding are where the time goes. We check each wall with a light held flat before it is primed.
What you supply
- Photos of each wall in daylight with a close-up of the texture
- Rooms cleared of small items, or tell us and we move furniture to the middle
- Your paint color if we are painting — quoted as its own line
- Access to a sink or hose bib for cleanup
What JMB supplies
- Floors, trim, windows and outlets masked and covered
- Texture high points knocked down or sanded
- Bonding primer where the paint is glossy or the mud will not stick
- Two to three skim coats of compound over the whole wall
- Sanding with dust control and a check with a work light
- Primer over the finished wall, ready for paint
- Photos of the finished walls in your job folder
- Painting of the walls when you want it, quoted as its own line
How it is priced: per room
Quoted in writing from your photos within one business day. What moves the number:
- Square footage of wall and number of rooms
- Heavy knockdown vs. a light orange peel, which fills faster
- Glossy or many-times-painted walls that need a bonding primer first
- Stairwells and tall walls that need planks or scaffold
- Outlets, windows and trim to work around
- Painting the walls after, quoted as its own line
Send each wall in daylight and a close-up of the texture with the light coming from the side.
How long it takes
One bedroom: three to four days on site, mostly drying time between coats. A main floor: one to two weeks, done room by room.
How your project works
- 1
Send photos, get a written quote
Send three photos of the space and a sentence about what you want. You get a clear, itemized quote within one business day. We only come out to measure first when the job needs a tape measure — no pressure, no games.
- 2
Pick materials, or bring your own
We help you choose profiles and materials that fit the house and the budget, or match your existing millwork exactly — or you buy the door or trim yourself and we install it. Everything is confirmed before the crew is scheduled.
- 3
Clean, precise installation
The crew shows up on time, protects floors and furniture, and installs with tight joints and consistent reveals. Photos of the finished work go in your job folder.
- 4
Walkthrough and invoice
We walk the finished work with you. If anything is not right, we fix it before we call the job done. Then one invoice, paid by check or direct deposit — no card fees, no payment links.
Situations and options
One room or accent wall
A single room or the wall you look at most, skimmed smooth. Good for testing whether you like smooth walls before doing the house.
Whole main floor
Every wall on the main level skimmed in sequence, rooms kept usable where possible. Ceilings can be added from our popcorn ceiling page if they are textured too.
Skim and paint together
Skim, prime and two finish coats in one job, with painting as its own line on the quote. Saves a separate painting visit.
Skim Coat Textured Walls Smooth — Knockdown and Orange Peel Removed: questions, answered
Can you skim coat textured walls to make them smooth?
Yes. The texture is knocked down, then two or three thin coats of joint compound go over the whole wall, get sanded flat and primed. The texture is not removed; it is filled and covered. The finished wall is smooth and ready for paint.
Can knockdown texture be scraped off walls?
Not once it is painted, which it almost always is. Paint seals the texture to the wall, and scraping gouges the paper. Unpainted texture can sometimes be wetted and scraped, but on a lived-in house the answer is a skim coat over it.
How many coats does it take to skim coat a textured wall?
Usually two, sometimes three. Light orange peel often fills in two coats. Heavy knockdown needs a third to get flat. Each coat dries before the next, so the job is spread over several days even when the trowel work is quick.
Is skim coating walls messy?
The sanding makes dust, and we contain it. Floors and trim are covered, the doorway is sealed where the rest of the house is lived in, and we sand with dust control. Most of the work is troweling, which is quiet and clean.
Do you skim ceilings too?
Yes, but ceilings are a different page. Popcorn and textured ceilings are scraped where they can be and skimmed where they cannot. This page is about walls; ask for both on one quote if you want the whole room smooth.
Will smooth walls show dents and flaws more than textured walls?
Yes. Smooth walls show every bump in raking light, which is why the last coat and the sanding take the most time. Choose a flat or matte paint to help hide small flaws. Eggshell is fine on well-skimmed walls in most rooms.
Recent JMB work, from our job log
59 installs recorded across 30 Twin Cities communities since Dec 2025. Window and door installs for homeowners and for the builders and dealers we sub for. Counts come straight from our job log; no customer names.
Get a written quote for this job
Three photos and a sentence is enough. You hear back within one business day. Or text the photos to 763-204-2099.
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Read morePage reviewed September 26, 2026 · JMB Builders LLC, MN license BC809005 · All drywall pages
Where we work
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