Reskimming old walls

bobh567

I've stripped textured paper off some old walls and found that the walls are in pretty poor condition, a fair few indents and nicks and some crumbly stuff.

I'm thinking of getting the walls reskimmed rather than relining. There are two rooms, approximately 12' x 14' and 11' x 13'.

I can do the relining myself but I've heard the finish will be a lot better with reskimming.

Can anyone give me an idea of the cost of the reskimming? Is there any way I can lower the cost e.g. source the plaster myself?

Any help appreciated

amarg

Why don't you have a go at skimming yourself-

Plaster skimming


If you scrw it up you can then get a pro to plaster over it again.

Buying the materials and getting the plasterer to use your materials is a really bad idea. Imagine if he skims the walls using your plaster and it all cracks, he will blame the plaster- which you supplied!

If he does the work and the plaster then he has to fix it!

andyhop

skimming walls is around £6- £10 per sq metre depending on location

jblack_2

We paid £200 for a 3 x 3 metre room to be done including the ceiling. Took the guy a day to do. That was last september.

bobh567

Thanks for the replies

amarg - have you tried this? It looks simple but I guess it isn't!

Guess it's going to be pretty expensive to get done though by a pro.

Has anyone (novice) tried reskimming themselves?

Any advice from pros?

bobh567

Oooh! I've just discovered Polycell SmoothOver http://www.polycell.co.uk/products/polycell_smoothover_your_damaged_walls.html

Anyone tried this/advise on this?

Thank you!

Gangstabird

I read this earlier, don't do it. Use a professional scraper to go over the last remnants of paper wet them first, those huge things will find a link in a mo.

Then sand and fill and sand again and fill. Unless you have chunks of wall missing it's not worth the expense. Yes it's messy with the dust. But just a good thickness lining paper horizontally, fill the joints and sand and your wall will be as good as new. If you want to paper it you can as wallpaper is hung vertically. We saved a lot of work doing this.

Gangstabird

I have found you a link to the scrapers we use and our house had not been touched in about 50 years; had paint, flock and woodchip on. All comes off with this scraper and also you can use it after you have filled the walls before sanding.


http://www.decoratingdirect.co.uk/viewprod/s/SBSLHWS4/

bobh567

Thanks Gangstabird!

I'm keen on painting on the plaster because I think it gives a better.finish and it's longer lasting.

I've lined walls myself with heavy lining paper. But thanks for the link!

Toyboy

It takes years to become a good plasterer, don't even think about DIY, just shop around for a good plasterer

andrew-b

Definitely go for a plasterer. If you do it yourself you'll only end up having to cover it up with lining paper. Skimming to make good an already plastered wall is much more difficult than skimming a newly built/plasterboarded wall as the plaster will be that little bit thinner. A professional plasterer will do the same job very much faster than a diyer to a much higher standard.