Removed skirting board, to this..

Hoffnung

We bought our house last year and have had a lot of things done so far such as full re-wire, new garage roof and full roof replaced, whilst the neighbours had theirs done. So that's the big jobs completed! (They didn't all need doing but if I'm going to completely renovate the whole house, I want to do it once do it properly to avoid future issues).

So now we've come onto decorating our guest bedroom- maybe a nursery in the future . 

Some bright spark AKA me.. has decided I want everything replacing- new coving, new skirtings boards etc, which leads me to this. 

We removed the skirting board and a hell of a load of plaster was ripped off from the bottom, some back to brick as you can see. This is just one corner, the others are similar. 

What would you suggest to be the best course of action? Someone we know suggested to sand and cement it..

I did do a short plastering course last year but ADHD me didn't retain everything they said, mainly the method, process and techniques. I'm pretty confident I can do the repairs but I'd just appreciate some outside advice before I start! 

Thank you 

Hoffnung

Oh and I forgot to say.. I want the whole of the house to have matching skirting boards and coving.

We've removed previous coving and that was fine, it's just the plastering as mentioned above.

And yes I know it's going to be hard work doing all of this and more cost.. but I haven't been put off it yet, just more determined!

Hoffnung

A clearer picture of one side of the room, so you can see more of where the skirting has been removed and what I'm faced with.. 

 And our beautiful, trusty and handy assistant...

jonnydeppiwish!

Tbh, probably best getting the whole room skimmed. Have a perfect finish and possibly never touch it again unless painting

Slinky

jonnydeppiwish! said:

Tbh, probably best getting the whole room skimmed. Have a perfect finish and possibly never touch it again unless painting

I'm inclined to agree. You could spend hours and a lot of money on filler and sandpaper, get a lot of relationship grief, and it still won't look brilliant.  The ceilings might benefit from being reboarded if they are really cracked.

stuart45

The original could be a sand/cement base and plaster skim, or lime plaster, depending on the age of the house. You could use either, or a one coat plaster.
Looks like the partition walls are built with terracotta blocks. These have dove tail grooves as a plaster key, because it's doesn't adhere well to them.
They are hard, brittle and hollow, so fixing the skirting was easier with a few bits of wood in the wall.

Hoffnung

Ah, I thought we could have just patched this up at the bottom with some sand and cement or bonding, as we intend to just line it/wallpaper over it. 

Maybe back to the drawing board 😳

Hoffnung

stuart45 said:

The original could be a sand/cement base and plaster skim, or lime plaster, depending on the age of the house. You could use either, or a one coat plaster.
Looks like the partition walls are built with terracotta blocks. These have dove tail grooves as a plaster key, because it's doesn't adhere well to them.
They are hard, brittle and hollow, so fixing the skirting was easier with a few bits of wood in the wall.

It's a 1930s house and there are some bits of wood within the wall.

stuart45

Hoffnung said:

Ah, I thought we could have just patched this up at the bottom with some sand and cement or bonding, as we intend to just line it/wallpaper over it. 

Maybe back to the drawing board 😳

It depends on the condition of the plaster. If it's sounding hollow in a lot of places it might need hacking off. Skimming only gives you a smooth surface for decoration, it won't solve blown plaster issues. 

Hoffnung

stuart45 said:

Hoffnung said:

Ah, I thought we could have just patched this up at the bottom with some sand and cement or bonding, as we intend to just line it/wallpaper over it. 

Maybe back to the drawing board 😳

It depends on the condition of the plaster. If it's sounding hollow in a lot of places it might need hacking off. Skimming only gives you a smooth surface for decoration, it won't solve blown plaster issues. 

So, I've tried knocking around the current walls and it doesn't sound hollow. 

I thought this would be able to be quick tidy up at the bottom ready for new skirting board and then line the walls and wallpaper them. 

I'm unsure now.. I don't think my partner would appreciate me wanting the room fully replastered from scratch.. 😞

fisher66

You could use high skirting, high enough to cover the gap if you haven't already decided which skirting to use. Attach it directly to the bare brick using big blobs of clear silicone. If you want to use skirting that isn't high enough to cover the gaps then you'll need to get plastering or get a plasterer in.