Smooth walls for Tacoma homes with old texture
We turn textured or patched Tacoma walls into a smooth wall finish ready for paint by skim coating the surface we find. How much work that takes depends on how heavy the texture is, what damage sits under it, and how many connected walls have to read as one surface.
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Bring textured walls through to a smooth finish
Existing texture, old repairs, and uneven areas can remain visible after a paint change. Treating one spot alone can leave a transition where the newly smoothed patch meets the surrounding wall.
Solis prepares and skims the selected wall area for a smooth finish, accounting for existing texture, lighting direction, and paint sheen. Working across the surface keeps the finishing area connected and gives the room a consistent ground for its next coat.
- A smooth finish carried across the selected wall area.
- Surface preparation connected to the next paint coat.
Here’s how we get it handled
Text us photos or call
A close-up, a wider view and your city give us a useful starting point. You can also call and talk through the work.
Agree the scope and schedule
We review the work with you, arrange a site visit where needed and put the agreed scope and finish in your estimate.
Get the space finished
Solis completes the agreed work and reviews the finish with you. Include interior painting in the scope for a complete drywall-and-paint handoff.
Have a project in mind? Send us a photo.
Tell us what needs fixing or finishing. We’ll take it from there.
Smooth wall finish in Tacoma homes
When Tacoma's homes were built shapes what is behind the wall and which rules apply to the work.
- 27% Before 1940
- 16% 1940–1959
- 21% 1960–1979
- 18% 1980–1999
- 18% 2000 or later
- 1967Median year Tacoma homes were built
Half of Tacoma's homes were built before 1967 and half after. Send the year your home was built with your photos; it tells us what the walls and earlier patches are likely made of. U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 2020–2024, median year structure built
- 64.3%of Tacoma homes were built before 1980
Asbestos was banned from wall patching compounds in 1977, so old patches and joint compound in these homes are tested before they are sanded. U.S. EPA, regulatory history of asbestos bans
- 1978Washington's lead-safe renovation cutoff
Washington's lead renovation rules cover housing built before 1978, and a firm must be certified to do paid renovation work under them. WAC 365-230-020 and 365-230-360
- Asbestos survey before renovation in Pierce County
The Puget Sound Clean Air Agency requires an AHERA-certified inspector's survey before renovation; an owner who lives in a single-family house may survey it themselves. Puget Sound Clean Air Agency, contractor renovation requirements
Start with the wall that is there
A light orange peel usually takes one or two skim coats. Heavy knockdown takes more, and loose texture or failed board gets repaired first. We stop the smooth area at a corner, a door casing or the ceiling line, because a conversion that ends mid-wall leaves a visible change in texture.
Set a boundary for the smooth area
Tell us whether you want one wall, a whole room or several connected rooms done. Sunlight across a wall and fixtures close to it make ridges easier to see, so we look at the room the way you use it and talk through the paint sheen. Flatter sheens hide more.
Level 5 on new board, skim coats on old walls
GA-214 gives the name Level 5 to a skim coat over new gypsum panels. A smooth-wall conversion applies the same idea to an existing textured wall, which usually needs more prep before the skim. We price whichever one your wall needs.
Dust and older texture in Tacoma homes
Sanding a skimmed wall makes fine dust, so we sand with HEPA extraction to keep it out of the rooms you're living in. Joint compound and patching material made before 1977 could contain asbestos. Pierce County's clean-air agency, the Puget Sound Clean Air Agency, wants a certified inspector's asbestos survey before renovation, though an owner living in a single-family house may do their own. Text us a photo of the wall taken from an angle so the texture shows.
Puget Sound Clean Air Agency, contractor renovation requirements
Smooth Wall Finish questions in Tacoma
Can heavy texture be converted to a smooth wall?
Yes. Heavy texture takes more skim coats and sometimes repairs underneath, so it costs more than a light orange peel, but it can be made smooth.
Does Level 5 guarantee a flawless wall?
No finish does. Level 5 is the flattest surface the GA-214 levels describe, and strong side light or glossy paint can still show slight variation.
Request an estimate
For a Tacoma smooth-wall quote, a photo taken along the wall at a low angle shows us how heavy the texture is.
(360) 350-8616Share the project details
Choose the work you need and tell us how to reach you.
Text us photos for a quick estimate!