Re-skim or wallpaper

stuart1266

I messed up in my living room. I got a wallpaer steamer and decided it would eb a good idea to remove my wallpaper and repaint the living room. However, I dug chunks out of the plaster so I bought some smoothover and tried to fo it myself but just bodged it.

I'm not sure what to do......get a plasterer to re-skim or put up a lightly textured wallpaper and paint over that. As I'm pretty poor at DIY, I would need to get a decorator or a plasterer. Any ideas what would be cheaper and what would be quickest?

The room is about 3 metres by 4 metres

filo_2

it depends how much you want to save money. if you get a plaster in then they will probably charge you for 1 days work and you would be lucky to get it done for less than £200.

if you want to save money and you have a lot of patience then i would say that you should spend a while filling it to the highest standard you can then use the thickest grade of lining paper. when i have cross-lined walls (i.e. vertical lining paper then line horizontally over the top) i have been amazed how good the finish has been even on quite dodgy walls. make sure you paste the wall (particularly the filled bits) and allow it to dry before lining then use plenty of paste on the paper.

another option is to dry line the room (glueing plasterboard to the walls, taping and filling the joints) but this is quite skilled, involves taking all the skirting, picture rail, dado rail and electrical faceplates of the wall.

i have done all the above and my recommendation is to get the room skimmed. the finish will be perfect, it is quick (but allow a few days for drying) and it will take next-to-no time to decorate. i have found that plasterers who work full time during the week often look to do small jobs like that for a bit of pocket money at the weekends (and they are always cheaper for cash)

jason_s_2

Oi filo shhhhhhh,dont give away all our secrets :lipsrseal :cool:
Stuart,as filo said it would be just as easier to get it skimmed over mate.It would take a day and then you can paint it a couple of days later.£200 is a very reasonable price(its what i would charge for a room that size).If you just fill it and sand it,after a few weeks you will sit there and think "nope im not happy with this at all" and it will do your head in.I know many people that have done this and in the end they have had it skimmed,and thought "why didnt i do this in the first place".

weekendwarrior

Why not have a go yourself- Skimming a wall

If you want a plasterer you may have to wait a few weeks as many are busy.

Get a few tools and a few bags of plaster and some PVA and have a go yourself, if you screw it up then call a plasterer.

eamon

I agree. If you are going to be living there for the foreseeable future then its best to spend the money and get it done right first time. People who bodge and or recomend bodging jobs should be made to pay and suffer the resulting expense and public humiliation.

Rant over

Eamon

Edinburghlass_2

I had a room skimmed and certainly think it was money well spent. No more wallpapering and a couple of coats of paint will then change the look in the future

stuart1266

eamon wrote:

I agree. If you are going to be living there for the foreseeable future then its best to spend the money and get it done right first time. People who bodge and or recomend bodging jobs should be made to pay and suffer the resulting expense and public humiliation.

Rant over

Eamon

:rotfl: Yes......I bodged!! I accept my public humiliation!!

I think skimming it is then. Thanks all for the advice!! I'm trying to sell the house and want to do as little as possible to it!

ariba10

If you dug lumps out of the wall while stripping wallpaper with a steamer and scraper, I would leave it to the experts.

lato161105

Ask friends and family they may know a plasterer who is looking for a few extra quid for xmas and mite do it on a weekend for less that's how i get most of my jobs done if i think it's beyond me but i always have a go first but even i wouldn't tackle a job that big lol

stuart1266

weekendwarrior wrote:

Why not have a go yourself- Skimming a wall

If you want a plasterer you may have to wait a few weeks as many are busy.

Get a few tools and a few bags of plaster and some PVA and have a go yourself, if you screw it up then call a plasterer.

:rotfl: Me.......skim a wall??:rotfl:

I can't even take wallpaper off properly!!

jason_s_2

If your selling ya house then in my experiance its best to get the walls skimmed mate.It sometimes adds value to the property aswell.