Taken down wallpaper - how can I fix walls?!

jgandhi

Hi all! First time poster and DIY novice here! I've just bought a house and have stripped the horrid wallpaper off the walls. As expected, it's not great underneath. Lots of holes and patchy. Some walls have fine plaster but others look shoddy. I'm on such a tight budget and every decorator is saying something different. Some say I need to replaster which will obviously be so expensive and others say some easy fill is fine. What do you all suggest? I'm hoping to do as much as possible by myself. I want to repaint it all a fairly neutral colour but want to do everything efficiently. Not too expensive. Any help would be amazing. I can send pics of the walls if easier! Thank you!!!

Crinkmeister

Unless your walls are smooth, they will look awful if you paint them. Doesn't matter if they are patched but they need to be flat and smooth.

jgandhi

So is plaster the only option do you think? Or can I skim?

Eltrouto

In the same position myself. Bedrooms covered in lining paper which has now been removed. 1 bedroom is beyond filling but I have managed to patch the walls of the other using polyfilla and plaster patch up and investing in a £25 sander from b&q to smooth off. Have painted 2 coats of cheap white matt emulsion and it looks fine and ready to paint. It was a lot of work but has saved me in excess of £300 for skimming!

Jonesya

You could put up lining paper and then paint - only a few quid a roll:

http://www.wilko.com/plain-and-textured-wallpaper/wilko-lining-paper-wallcovering/invt/0300544

Or heavier weight

http://www.wilko.com/plain-and-textured-wallpaper/wilko-best-lining-paper-1400g/invt/0344140

Mr.Generous

jgandhi wrote: »

So is plaster the only option do you think? Or can I skim?

Skim is the name for a thin coat of finishing plaster.

You can (nearly) always repair walls with filler and sanding, but if its really bad its going to take so long its probably easier to just skim over the whole wall. Unless you have some practice at this you won't get it right. If there are massive gaps in the plaster back to brick then filler isn't going to cut it.

On old lime plaster where there are loads of hairline cracks and pin holes we tend to use filler thinned with a bit of water and smooth it in. Patch plastering is really hard to blend in, and again takes so much effort you may as well skim. I'm afraid bad walls take time, there isn't a quick simple answer that looks great and lasts well.

glasgowdan

If you don't need a total show home standard of work I'd fill, sand and put up lining paper to paint. If you want it immaculate then a professional skim then paint.

Or

Fill, sand and put up nicer wallpaper.

FreeBear

Jonesya wrote: »

You could put up lining paper and then paint - only a few quid a roll:

http://www.wilko.com/plain-and-textured-wallpaper/wilko-lining-paper-wallcovering/invt/0300544

Or heavier weight

http://www.wilko.com/plain-and-textured-wallpaper/wilko-best-lining-paper-1400g/invt/0344140

Toolstation is a quid or two cheaper for twice as much paper - http://www.toolstation.com/shop/p54273

glasgowdan wrote: »

Fill, sand and put up nicer wallpaper.

If there is a lot of filling to do, get a (big) tub of premixed jointing compound. It is quite forgiving and can be wet sanded which alleviates problems with dust.

Skimming would be the best long term solution as long as the existing plaster is sound. If it is lime plaster on solid brick walls, don't skim with gypsum plaster (the pink stuff) or jointing compound. Skimming over lime should be done with lime plaster, and despite what some might say, lime plaster is easy to work with.

trailingspouse

Polyfilla is your friend. If you're trying to save money, then you will have to spend time. It really is as simple as that.

I_have_spoken

Get the walls skimmed by a plasterer. Everyone is on a budget after buying a house, but don't be penny wise and pound foolish.

It'll be 100 times better than polyfilla and sanding and give you a good surface so you won't then waste your time and money when painting.

TheCyclingProgrammer

trailingspouse wrote: »

Polyfilla is your friend. If you're trying to save money, then you will have to spend time. It really is as simple as that.

Anything but polyfilla, it's rubbish. Use Easifill or Touprets.

Personally I'd do nothing less than have it skimmed but if you're on a budget fill the worst holes and use lining paper.