New build advise

savingmummy

Ok as many may recognise my name i am no diy`er and have come here for tips and advise before for me to use when we move...
Well we are now moving mid April :j and have a new build house so all new and fresh.

NOW my father in law has told me i cant decorate ie, paint as it is a new build. Is this right?
If so how long before i can paint the walls?

I have seen the house and so far the walls everywhere are cream and livable so not a problem at all, just wondering as my little girl was hoping for a pink room and only yesterday i went looking for paints and silly me showed her the colour and she is in love! .

T.I.A x

ormus

you can paint it if you want, its wallpapering that is not recommended for 12 months.
only due to settlement cracks that will appear. it may ruin your wallpapering.
wont do that much damage to emulsion though.

Idiophreak

As ormus says, it's all to do with the plaster settling down.

If you have a shop around, there are a number of different paints available for this use, with more "stretch" than regular paint - and some that are more "breathable" (I should point out, I'm *not* techie here ) - get some of that mixed in pink and job's a goodun - you may find you need to redecorate in 12 months to get the cracks out, but not the end of the world - the pink will be doing her head in by then, anyway.

savingmummy

Thank you both

I will go ahead and paint the childrens rooms then and leave the papering a while!

The pink is a very pale pink (fairy dust lol!) so shouldn`t do her head in Funny enough the one i have found is crown breatheasy and it does say `stretch` in leaflet!!

Will the cracks be really visable? and how bad may they get?X

Idiophreak

Yeah, they'll be easily visible.

My worst one (after 9 months) is about 1mm across at worst and around a meter or so long. Only have a few around the flat, though.

Each firm will have their own policy, but our builders will make good any cracks that grow large enough to fit a 2p in - anything smaller than that and it's up to us.

Ladybird20

have you considered getting it professionally snagged,,on my experience of new builds and i own 3......they come with lots of defaults albeit cosmetic,,,,,having a snagging company to do this takes the stress out of chasing builders they do it all for you..I used a great snagging company but sadly due to the current climate i think they went bust(no houses bein built so no houses to snag)..justa thought ....

ormus

normally snagging is included in the new build price. they used to come around within about 12 months.
as you say, there are certain things they wont do.

Ladybird20

thats not what i mean ormus........professional snaggers are very rutheless in there snagging lists and leave no stone unturned,,however its not cheap for the gold service but you have them for 2 yrs chasing up builders if need be ,,,maybe the poster may want to google "professional snaggers" ???

27col

I never knew until I read this thread that there was such a thing as a professional "snagger". I would have loved to have been one of them. Ah well, another career opportunity gone for ever.

iamcornholio

Most modern houses are dry lined with plaster skim, so the old guidance of waiting for the walls to dry out does not apply as the walls can be decorated as soon as the plaster goes light pink - a few days

Snagging after 12 months will not cover may superficial shrinkage cracks. In any case there is a good chance that shrinkage cracks will develop at wall corners and ceiling junctions, and these are not a major issue and can be remedied when next decorating.

Other major sturctural cracking will be clearly evident if it occurs, and will be coverd for a few years under the NHBC or Zurich warranties

wreck_fisher

If you use a mat paint the walls can still breathe, if you use a vinyl paint it will seal any moisture in. If it has been drylined both should be ok