Do I need to plaster my walls?

MrPoor

Hi,

Just moved into my new house and hate the carpets and current wallpaper. I would like to remove the wallpaper and paint on the wall but I have been told that before I do that I must plaster the wall first.

(1) I can understand the need for plastering if the wall is in bad condition, with chips and dents etc, but what if after removing all the wallpaper (carefully) the wall is in perfect condition. Is it still recommended that I plaster or can I go straight into the painting process?

(2) Is plastering difficult or is it DIY? Any tips?

Thanks in advance.

lkalka

Hi,

Just strip off the wallpaper. If the walls are in good condition then just paint them.

We've just bought a house. Stripped the walls in every room, some rooms the plaster was fine so we just painted, some had a few minor cracks/chips in which we filled in with polyfiller and then painted whilst in a couple of rooms the whole of the skimming came off so we replastered those.

I wouldn't recommened re-skimming yourself if the plaster does come off. I got a few prices and for re-skimming the walls (ceilings were ok) we paid around £250 a room.

MrPoor

lkalka wrote: »

Hi,

Just strip off the wallpaper. If the walls are in good condition then just paint them.

We've just bought a house. Stripped the walls in every room, some rooms the plaster was fine so we just painted, some had a few minor cracks/chips in which we filled in with polyfiller and then painted whilst in a couple of rooms the whole of the skimming came off so we replastered those.

I wouldn't recommened re-skimming yourself if the plaster does come off. I got a few prices and for re-skimming the walls (ceilings were ok) we paid around £250 a room.

sorry for the dumb question, but whats the difference between skimming and plastering?

I will get a professional. It appears harder then I thought.

latecomer

skimming is the term for putting on a thin coat of plaster to make the surfaces flat. Personally I would always get in a pro as plastering is an art and a badly plastered wall isnt' easy to hide.

ormus

plastering small areas is an easy diy job.
however very few diyers tackle whole walls.
its an art form, get a pro in.

absent_dad

Who told you that you had to plaster first...what made them think that, this may give a clue as to what to do next.

Tap the walls fimly with your knuckles, can you hear a hollow thud or is it solid. If you can hear a hollow sound then your plaster is 'blown', that means that the adhesion to the brick work has failed and will probably fall off if you remove the wallpaper. You will then need to (depending on how badly it is blown) remove the rest and replaster.

I have tapped walls in the past and can actually hear the plaster breaking up and running down the back of the wallpaper in the past

If the walls sound good buy a steam stripper, £25-30 usually and start scraping, see what happens. Dents and chips can usually be filled with builders caulk (cartridge) and a wide scraper. Sand and base with white matt so see what the condition is. Once you are satisfied with the prep, pick a colour/finish and away you go.

I wouldn't plaster a room as a first attempt, maybe a patch and see if you get a feel for it, but is no mean feat to take on a room not knowing what exactly to do and when to do it.

If you are really stuck, drywall the room. Buy 8x4 feather edge plaster boards, a big bag of wallboard adhesive some scrim and fill compound. Basically mix up a bucket of adhesive to the consistency of thick cream, scoop out about a handfull wth a trowel and 'dab' it on the wall in at least 6 evenly spaced places...so you have 2 at the top, 2 in the middle, 2 at the bottom, in reality you will need more. Pick up your plaster board (feather side out) and place firmly on the adhesive. Use a spirit level to get the boards nice and level with gentle pressure. Repeat with tight butt joints between each board. Tape up all the cracks with the scrim and make up some compond, this is usually a 2 stage process where you fill sand lightly and fill again and sand, untill level with the neighbouring board. The boards are ready for painting.

I have over simplified the process but maybe youtube drywall and watch a few people doing it. You will have more chance of success with this method than wet plastering.

Hope this helps

Plasterer

MrPoor wrote: »

sorry for the dumb question, but whats the difference between skimming and plastering?

I will get a professional. It appears harder then I thought.

Skimming is as it suggests you are effectively skimming a thin layer of finishing plaster to a wall about 3 mm in total (2 coats) People that can only do this are called "Skimmers" not plasterers in the true form of the word.

PLASTERERS cover alsorts though, Wet plastering is the hard sand and cement behind the skim on solid walls - effectively rendering. Dot and Dab is as suggested above sticking boards to walls with adhesive, then next technique as above also is tape and jointing (using feather edge boards, skrim taping and using jointing compound to fill the gaps and light sand after drying. Dry Lining is where you fix metal or timber battons to a solid wall then board that. Ceiling boarding as suggests fixing to ceilings (like drylining at a different angle :rotfl:) Ceiling fixing - 1) starting a ceiling from start to finish sometimes suspended on metal hangers from an old ceiling 2) Suspended ceiling - the ceilings you see in the doctors with the grid and tiles. And now the good stuff...... which I absolutely adore.... Lath and plaster Wooden studwork with "laths" (strips of wood laid across the timbers with small gaps between them and then plastered with traditional lime pushed lightly onto the laths to form a key behind the laths.
Wattle and Daubing, the pannel inserts you see between oak on "black and white" cottages The "wattle" is made up of woodwork - "staves" the woodwork going vertical (Usually Oak) and the "withies" the pieces woven in between the staves (Usually Hazel, sometimes willow) and then built up with a clay mixture with horse hair (or Straw) and cow dung (believed origionally because its a good plasticiser), but also believed (and I love this one) a by product from letting cows do all the hard work of "mulching" together the clay and hair/straw it is then formed into "cats" (like making a "ahem" poo shaped lump and forced into the withies by hand. This is then "topped" with a lime mix and tended to over several days (to prevent cracking and to assure the lime is setting correctly)

Warwickshire 2009 summer work below



So in a nutshell, NO Plastering is not a DIY's job ( I agree filling a small hole is fine - but the rest you won't teach yourself overnight)

PS - That "pink wall below my feet is not pink paint :rotfl: Its blood.

Hope this helps - and good luck
Regards
P

ormus

i doubt he needs wattle and daub on a 3 bed semi in birmingham.

carol01

MrPoor wrote: »

Hi,

Just moved into my new house and hate the carpets and current wallpaper. I would like to remove the wallpaper and paint on the wall but I have been told that before I do that I must plaster the wall first.

(1) I can understand the need for plastering if the wall is in bad condition, with chips and dents etc, but what if after removing all the wallpaper (carefully) the wall is in perfect condition. Is it still recommended that I plaster or can I go straight into the painting process?

(2) Is plastering difficult or is it DIY? Any tips?

Thanks in advance.

hiya
i would buy 1200 - 1400 grade lining paper it really easy to put up and as long as you dont over lap the seams you can fill with decorators caulk then paint over. we did it and you cannot tell the walls have been lined and it is cheaper,cleaner than having walls skimmed or plastered hope this helps

Plasterer

ormus wrote: »

i doubt he needs wattle and daub on a 3 bed semi in birmingham.

Believe it or not ormus, there are 3 bed semis around Birmingham that are wattle and daub
Just trying to defend plastering as mastertradesman skill, not a job for the DIYer.

I know this is a mony saving site, but come on you lot - don't put us "spreads" on the dole que were not that expensive despite what Harry Enfield says.