# What is skip trowel



## cedy

I've have a bid this afternoon and the customer told me on the phone he wants skip trowel. I did a few lookies around the internet to get a look at what it is, the confusing part is I have no idea how to do it. Any idea's?


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## Teetorbilt

Around here it's a term used for stucco, usually exterior.

Terminology often varies with regions. Maybe HE is using the wrong term and he wants knockdown. Ask him some more questions.


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## thom

skip trowel is the stucco equivalent of brocade. The finish looks the same. Brocade on sheetrock, skip trowel on stucco.

The application process is completely different. It works differently because of the sand in the stucco and the stickyness of drywall mud.


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## FleshnerDrywall

This may be a silly question but what is brocade. Remember im new to texturing. I have been doing knockdown, orange peel and popcorn for awhile now but i haven't heard of brocade.


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## thom

I once heard an Okie describe it as hump-n-drag. Sounds perverted to me.

Mud is pretty wet. Hod has a pad wrapped in a towel, with the mud on it, cross hatch pattern to mud made with 12" knife. Apply lightly to the ceiling. You get a whole bunch of little stalactites hanging down. Lightly trowel the stalactites to flatten them.

You end up with a ceiling at two levels, about 1/16" apart, in a fairly random texture.


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## FleshnerDrywall

That sounds easy enough. Do you have any pictures of this texture.


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## CE1

FleshnerDrywall said:


> That sounds easy enough. Do you have any pictures of this texture.


All the ceilings in my house were done this way and I never knew how it was done. It looks like this is what you guys are talking about. It was done by some contractor out of Canada. Maybe the Canadian’s do things different?

View attachment 3801


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## Teetorbilt

That looks a lot like skip trowel stucco. Everybody has their own 'fingerprint' which makes repairs difficult to match.


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## streetracer

The knockdown finish like that shown in CE1's post is done by spraying joint compound on the drywall letting it dry for 10 or 15 minutes, then troweling to "knock down" the bumps.

More info here, also pics showing the spraying tools.
http://www.extremehowto.com/xh/article.asp?article_id=60312


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## FleshnerDrywall

so what you are saying is that brocade = knockdown. Because ive been doing knockdown and orange peel for some time now. I just hadnt heard of brocade.


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## Teetorbilt

The popular 'knockdown' finish here AKA 'California knockdown' is much smaller and has no resemblance to the finish shown.

What is shown looks much like skip trowel. I have never seen it here in drywall. Again, may be a regional thing.


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## A.W.Davis

Skip trowel texture is very popular here in Cali, I like skip trowel when its done right....if not it looks like a disaster!


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## Teetorbilt

Can you post a pic?


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## A.W.Davis

Teetorbilt said:


> Can you post a pic?


I dont have any pics up close of knockdown texture unfortunately


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## A.W.Davis

Heres a helpfull link and various pics of textures,looks like they even explain how to achieve certain textures

http://www.drywallschool.com/textures.htm


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## Teetorbilt

We just went from skip to knockdown?????????


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## A.W.Davis

some more links

http://custom-ceilings.com/photo_gallery.htm
http://www.patchmasters.com/styles.html


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## A.W.Davis

Teetorbilt said:


> We just went from skip to knockdown?????????


somehow we did........ I missed the fact that the first link posted doesnt show any skip trowel, even though the website claims the first pic is "skip trowel" :no:


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## Teetorbilt

Thanks for the info. That's not popular inside here. Stucco may be carried into a Florida room interior but I have never seen it carried beyond there.

Old Spanish homes with plaster walls are another subject.


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## Frankawitz

There are so many different textures you can make up call them what you want. most knock down finishes are so easy to do, we use plaster cause you can keep it wet by splashing it with a wet mop brush then hit it with a trowel or knife, I have a 24" knife I use on knock down, but as for making the stucco finishes we add sand to the plaster, we also use stipple brushes to reproduct the textures the old timers made back in the 1920's.


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## Mbskye

Around here what they call " spanish knife texture" in the first link is what we call skip trowel. We did 2 of those last year, one in a bar & one in a mexican resturant.


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## axnjoe

Oh my GOD FRANK
THAT STUFF MUST BE HARD AS @#$%!
Do you actually run plaster thru your equip?
Doesnt it set up fast?


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## 415moto

What we call skip trowel is similar to knockdown. Expcept its "skipped" on flat and doesnt need to be knocked down. Its kinda hard to do, and takes more experience than a simple knock down shot with a gun.


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## Frankawitz

Joe all you add is a retarded to the mix which gives you plenty of time for clean up, and as for what you have on the ceiling and walls you just splash with water and run your trowel. But yes when you let it set it's hard as rock aint no sandin it. done deal.


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## Sheetrock26

I suppose this is what I would consider to be a skip trowel. 

http://www.contractortalk.com/gallery/showphoto.php?photo=149&cat=505

I like my mud a bit thinner than a rolled on texture (stomp, crowsfoot, slapbrush) yet thicker than a knockdown. I'll use a 12" knife ....I apply the mud and knock it down in one motion. Light pressure and holding the blade almost flat to the wall tends to "skip" the mud off the blade. Make sure the texture is going in random directions and keep a chunk free mix so there are no drag lines.


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## axnjoe

I will try the plaster sometime.

Sheetrock; I read the previous post and dont understand the "apply and knockdown in one motion". I had a hard time seeing the finish in the pic.
Looks cool. was that a rerock? Is that just a second layer bordering the corners?


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## walkconst

*Knockdown texture is like skip troweling*

Most commonly mud is thinned down and sprayed on. The thickness depends on how pronounced you want the finish.... Wait for approximately 10 to 15 minutes and then use a rubber knockdown drywall trowel to give you the final look you desire. The trowel looks basically exactly like a sqeegee but the rubber is tiny bit longer and is much softer. It definately is a 100 times easier than using a metal trowel because it does not leave trowel marks that are commonly a fight for many amatuers. Definately a huge invention in the knockdown texture industry.


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## POOLMANinCT

skip trowel? I thought that's what happens when you pay your guys on a friday!!!!!!!!

ray


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## send_it_all

Here is my interpretation of what skip trowel is. It has a hideous paint color on it (that ended up getting changed) that highlights the pattern.


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## Redhead

It's so very regional. I'm in Texas and the term here is understood to be a hand application of a thick mud using a trowel. We speak in terms of light trowel finish (which looks sort of like the finish with the hideous color), and a heavy trowel...usually associated with (gag) "old world" architecture and design.


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## Sir Mixalot

I've been doing Skip Trowel for about 15 years here in florida. It very similar to a stucco finish. It's done by hand and I use a 12" knife and a hauk. 
Here's a pic of my Skip Trowel.


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## Muddauber

*Monterey*

Can anyone tell me what Monterey texture is?


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## kgphoto

Sir Mixalot said:


> I've been doing Skip Trowel for about 15 years here in florida. It very similar to a stucco finish. It's done by hand and I use a 12" knife and a hauk.
> Here's a pic of my Skip Trowel.




Around here that would be called large spatter knock down, not skip trowel. I tend to see skip trowel done to stucco to give it that "Spanish" look.


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## Sir Mixalot

kgphoto said:


> Around here that would be called large spatter knock down, not skip trowel. I tend to see skip trowel done to stucco to give it that "Spanish" look.


It's hard to capture a texture in a photo. Also the surface determines how the material "Skips". where is your location? Here knockdown is done by spray and Skip Trowel is done by hand w/ many variations.
Here's another picture of my Sip Trowel just a little different than that first pic.


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## CrazyTaper

Nice.


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## Sir Mixalot

CrazyTaper said:


> Around here we call that sperm sample with no swimmers.


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## CrazyTaper

nice.


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## Brock

CrazyTaper said:


> My wife works in a lab that handles cancer specimens. On occassion she asks me to produce a sample specimen. I ejaculate on the slide and it's hers to keep._ I_ am FERTILE. That I know.


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## Tim0282

Crazy Taper, you're scaring us. Quit it...:surrender:


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## CrazyTaper

Got to go fellas.


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