Wood chip hell

LCK73

Hi

Can anyone help with advice.

My decorator has told me it is going to take forever to remove the glued on wood chip in my large living room - the stuff simply won't come off (it took him 2 hours to remove a 1.5metre square patch).

What are my options now.....

1. pay the decorater to continue removing it at that rate
2. can you plaster over the offending stuff
3. am I going to need to knock out the old walls and replace with new plaster board and replaster.

Any advice please?

Lisa

bookduck

It probably depends on the paint used. I'm under the impression that your decorator is lazy, wants a quick, easy and well paying job, or maybe he sees you as 'one born every minute' type cash-cow people.

My gut feeling would be to score the surface with some really rough sandpaper and steam it off.

Have a go, key the surface, rent a steamer and see how it goes, then get an eastern European to either continue or decorate.

It it come to the worst, don't knock out the wall, just plaster board over.

McKneff

yes, agree with bookduck. Cant be much of a decorator.

score the surface with a stanley knife. If you haent got a steamer keep
wetting the walls till they are soaked, have patience. This is a job you could do yourself, hard work but worth it in the end.

LCK73

Thanks. I tend to trust him as he managed to steam off the wallpaper in the other rooms (double bedroom and box room) by the end of the day. I tried ito remove the woodchip too and it really is difficult to budge. He said he would do it but we would pay the price as it would take him much longer.

Thanks for the tip on the plasterboard rather than knocking back the walls though.

LCK73

anniehanlon wrote: »

yes, agree with bookduck. Cant be much of a decorator.

score the surface with a stanley knife. If you haent got a steamer keep
wetting the walls till they are soaked, have patience. This is a job you could do yourself, hard work but worth it in the end.

Thanks, ahh, another person who thinks the decorater could be a little on the lazy side....I'm starting to wonder. I'll try your method and if I can do it, surely he can too eh?

bookduck

anniehanlon wrote: »

...score the surface with a stanley knife. ..

It tried this with my walls and it worked very well bar one. Probably I should have acted as a mad slasher.

You could mix little washing up liquid the the water you spray on the walls.

you obviously realise that if anniehanlon and I are correct, your decorator has probably ripped you off for the whole job?

nalyo

theres a tool in b and q costs 10 quid by stanley. you hold it in your hand and it has 3 wheels under it and you move your hand in a circular motion and it scores the paper MUCH faster than stanley knifing.
You will find it in the paint brushes etc isle. it is black and yellow. use that then steam it will come of EASIER. it will still be a job though!

nalyo

OH if it makes you feel better I had a whole bungalow with woodchip, even the friking ceilings!!!!!

waggys

You can buy a steamer yourself at a really reasonable price of appox £25 in most diy stores such as Focus etc. We have had many houses which had the dreaded wood chip and the steamer gets it off. Just be careful you don't hold the steamer plate on one area for too long as it will blow the plaster!

danielfulshaw

what a lazy decorator! I too had a whole house built of woodchip and it isn't hard to remove. Steamers are good but can take loose plaster off and it's a much hotter slog! Do it in 2 stages. Get a handle with a blade on from B & Q - STANLEY and others make these just to get wall paper off. But use a vinegar and hot water solution to soften it. That'll get the top coat off - then use some more vinegar to soften the backing and carefully use the scraper, mindful not to dig it into the wall so keep the blade flat to teh wall not angled. Then voila - a woodchip free existence. Messy but not too bad.

olly300

Your decorator obviously wants more money out of you. I suggest that you do it yourself using the methods other people have suggested.