Skimcoat on sheetrock walls is gorgeous, but that takes skill and that means paying some BUCKS to get that done. Paul bought a condo in Somerville, and we talked with the man who gutted, then renovated the building, creating the condos, and he was talking about the plaster guy, calling him the Plaster Nazi! He said he was VEY careful to stay on good terms with him at all times because it's so hard to find someone who does such nice work. And the work was beautiful! The walls were just glass smooth, and that always makes a paint job look nice!
Ah - in our case at the beach house, we hired out the taping and texturing both - same people.
Rosie - I'll be at your gate in a few minutes... you can foller me :~)