?s on wallpaper stripping and the nightmares that lie beneath

lollol

I have just stripped all the wallpaper in my kitchen (both walls and ceiling). It took ages as the paper was painted over with I think gloss so it would stretch as I was steam stripping it. Finally it is all done.

Now I discovered some really long cracks on the wall and ceiling. I would have posted pictures but I cannot find my camera in alll the chaos in my place.

My question is can I just get the walls skimmed or can I just fill and paint?

In my other bedroom I have just started stripping the wallpaper which appears to be a vinyl (flowery)painted over with a gloss paint I think. I have done one section.

My problem is the underneath appears to have been painted with gloss as the wall is very smooth. Will paint or new wallpaper adhere to this?

sorry for long post

figgyroo

I ended up having most rooms skimmed in my house as the walls were so bad, but in the couple of rooms where there were just some large cracks I filled them, lined the walls and painted and it looks fine.

WestonDave

To some extent having a "gloss" finish on the walls is helpful for wallpapering as it helps the paper slide as you are adjusting the fit - there is a product called "wall size" which effectively makes the wall glossy which you can apply before papering - in your case you won't need to!

In terms of cracks unless they are really wide I would be tempted to get a tube of decorators caulk and use a filling/spreading knife to cover the cracks. The advantage of this is that it has some flexibility so if there is a bit of movement in your walls as temperature and humidity changes, the cracks won't reopen. Obviously if there is loads of them it might be quicker to get it skimmed. Cracks in ceilings are normal and usually follow the lines where two sheets of plaster board meet.

Plasterer

WestonDave wrote: »

To some extent having a "gloss" finish on the walls is helpful for wallpapering as it helps the paper slide as you are adjusting the fit - there is a product called "wall size" which effectively makes the wall glossy which you can apply before papering - in your case you won't need to!

In terms of cracks unless they are really wide I would be tempted to get a tube of decorators caulk and use a filling/spreading knife to cover the cracks. The advantage of this is that it has some flexibility so if there is a bit of movement in your walls as temperature and humidity changes, the cracks won't reopen. Obviously if there is loads of them it might be quicker to get it skimmed. Cracks in ceilings are normal and usually follow the lines where two sheets of plaster board meet.

Just to add also, if you just fill the cracks the likelyhood of them reappearing is high. If you have it reskimmed the plasterer will put skrim tape over the cracks and then skim to prevent the cracks coming back. to skim a ceiling should only cost £80 - however this is based on other work for the plasterer the same day. If it is just the ceiling to be done the plasterer will expect a full days money £150 ish as he/she prob wont get to another job that day so it makes sence to have them skim some walls if you need them doing on the same day to get your moneys worth.