On the C- wall, the stairway wall- How about wallpaper there?

when you say you cant afford to make them all smooth, i have to ask you, can you afford to not make them right? this will bite you at resale, for far more than 5K, and you have to look at it from now til then.

at least have the ceiling fixed so its all smooth. "if it were me" (and its not) i'd have all the new stuff done smooth, then there is less to redo when you want to get maximum value at sale.

Chicadee - On the wallpaper idea, good idea - I'll ask the drywallers

Banchitta - thank you for the idea! I'll ask about that

Ninigret - The issue is really that we are over budget, and literally do not have the funds in the bank for any costs beyond those that are budgeted. (And we're delaying other projects that are also high priority, due to budget) I think the closest thing to this option would be mix-and-match (now) and the go back later to skim coat the sand.

Thank you all!!

If you mix and match now, are you going to have the walls repainted entirely? If so then you are wasting money as when you go back and skim coat the sand, the entire wall will have to be repainted again. I would just get the drywall installed and leave it until I could afford to get the entire wall fixed. The money you save now on not fully completing the drywalling and painting is money you already have to finish the walls properly.

Wallpapering over a rough surface usually doesn't go very well. The wallpaper doesn't adhere properly and if the surface is as rough as you describe then penetration of the moist wallpaper is a real possibility. It is good you are sticking to your budget but sometimes this takes a lot of restraint to hold off until you can afford to do things properly. Think things through carefully and try not to spend on things which will have to be redone again in the short term. It is better and cheaper to wait.

I would bite the bullet and do them all smooth I hate textured walls or celings but I could live with the ceiling but absolutely not the walls.

I would go with the whole house orange peel texture, at the least every thing will look the same. .In 2 weeks you won't even notice.

In order to tighten your budget smooth finish the walls in areas of high traffic (space that is always used). Later when your finances allow it finish the other areas. This will help lower the cost during the second drywall phase. Basically it will make protection of the home easier and more cost effective.
When the dwelling is occupied drywall work can be intrusive and dusty. Doing it this way will impact the homeowners the least.
As well, when the second stage is being finished, make certain that your drywall company uses air scrubbers, negative air and containment tents. You don't want to be cleaning drywall dust for the next six months.

my house has horrid sanded paint. I had to do a drywall repair and matching it is near impossible. Given your options, I would take orange peel.

Thank you all very much! This is super helpful.

Suzique2016- My wallpaper suggestion is a design solution. The process of the wall being smooth and ready for wallpaper is a given. Have you already designed your space in your head or on paper? including any wall treatments or art? This might help you to decide what you want to do about your immediate problem. Don't let the drywallers rush you-they don't get paid for their design expertise, they'll just do what you tell them, or from my experience, what is easiest for them if they can get away with it:)

C. 1916 should have plaster over the drywall or wallpaper. What did you specify in the contract?

Raye, we are paying by time and materials. Some of the walls are plaster, but many have been painted with sanded paint by the previous owners.

I would do the Orange peel BUT everything in the living room needs to look the same, so in there you may want to do sand on the walls & ceiling.

Orange peel everything. Absolutely.

Oh, come on! You cannot apply wallpaper over a rough texture! Especially one so rough you can see that it was applied in a circular pattern. And to recommend it and then say that the wall must be smoothed ignores the OP's problem all together--she can't afford the extra expense. Jeez.

You do not put cheap orange peel finish throughout a 100-year-old house! Orange peel was invented so that contractors could hire cheap, unskilled labor to put up drywall and not have to do a good job of taping and mudding the joints. It is strictly a cut-rate finish.

Orange peel is common in the west in new construction, but not in the Midwest and certainly not in the East. That finish will work against you when you try to sell the house.

The whole point of your project is to improve and preserve the house, not diminish it.

I'd to everything smooth now and follow Marks Custom Drywall recommendation to the letter. You'll end up with a house to be proud of, not something that looks like a cheap McMansion.

Won't work against the house nearly as much as the sand finish.

I agree with tattsand Marks Custom Drywall.

To save money, you could do the painting yourselves.

Hi All, I just wanted to provide an update and thanks again for all the thoughtful perspectives through this discussion.

We decided to make the new stuff smooth, and we were going to leave the old-stuff textured to save $. Also, as a way to save $, we asked the drywallers to spray prime all rooms.

Although the drywallers had estimated that skim-coating would cost $5K (over budget), when we asked for the primer estimate they said the could do the whole house primed AND (the old stuff) skim coated for $1.3K. This seemed crazy - I know - how is it possible? Our contractor also thought it was an error. How can skim coat + primer be so much less than the skim coat? (Maybe because the original $5K estimate was on the high side - I don't know). In any case, alls well that ends well - we got the smooth walls and painting and saved $!

I will note here that our contractor - who is in his 60s and worked on lots of nice midwest houses - said that ours was the first in his career that requested smooth walls. Everyone's support here for smooth walls gave me the confidence to stand firm on no-texture, and it paid off!! House looks amazing!! Thank you!

Yay!