Papered plasterboard problem

frankled

Hoping somebody can advise as how best to get perfect-looking walls here. Below are pictures of our plasterboard walls above the stairs, in the box room and our main bedroom. I also fear our back room might have the same issue when we go to strip the wallpaper there (we just bought the house and hate wallpaper).

https://drive.google.com/open?id=0BwRwiCr_FyK5Rk1oRkEwa01HUE0

Having bought the house with some paper partially stripped in spots, we went mad stripping paper left, right and centre. The above is the result.

I'm trying to think what my best move is here. The paper is stubborn, and as the plasterboard was probably never prepared properly for the paper, they've basically become one in spots. I'm trying to avoid lining paper also.

Would skimming be the best option? Are there any other options do you think? Thanks.

Citroen2cv

You could skim over it, but the plasterer would have to put a layer of blue-grit on first. An extra cost to take into account.

frankled

Citroen2cv wrote: »

You could skim over it, but the plasterer would have to put a layer of blue-grit on first. An extra cost to take into account.

Thanks, was thinking as much. I don't believe there are any other alternative methods excluding lining paper?

BrokenArrows

frankled wrote: »

Hoping somebody can advise as how best to get perfect-looking walls here. Below are pictures of our plasterboard walls above the stairs, in the box room and our main bedroom. I also fear our back room might have the same issue when we go to strip the wallpaper there (we just bought the house and hate wallpaper).

https://drive.google.com/open?id=0BwRwiCr_FyK5Rk1oRkEwa01HUE0

Having bought the house with some paper partially stripped in spots, we went mad stripping paper left, right and centre. The above is the result.

I'm trying to think what my best move is here. The paper is stubborn, and as the plasterboard was probably never prepared properly for the paper, they've basically become one in spots. I'm trying to avoid lining paper also.

Would skimming be the best option? Are there any other options do you think? Thanks.

It looks exactly like my house did a few months back.
We spent a very very long time getting all the wallpaper off.

We then got a plasterer in to skim coat the whole place. Its not cheap.

Our plasterer was hard work. Caused us lots of problems and i a really regret choosing him because he was just bad at his job.
We had to spend a huge amount of time sanding and filling in.

My advise when choosing a plasterer based on my own mistakes.

1. Gets lots of quotes. Dont just pick the the cheapest one. Quiz him on how smooth he can make the walls, if he is currently working somewhere check if you can visit. Make sure its clear you want perfection and not a quicky job.

2. Be clear on exactly what you need. A 2-3mm skim coat on all the walls. All corners and wall to ceilings must be perfectly square etc. Skim from the top of the wall all the way down to the floor level (some guys will only get so far as just below the start of skirting.

3. Check the level and straightness of all the walls before the plasterer begins. Get a straight piece of wood which roughly 2 meters long. Place it against the walls in different areas and make note of any curves or uneven spots in the wall. Also get a spirit level and check that the wallis straight from top to bottom. Be detailed in this approach and give the details to the plasterer. Worst case scenario you should expect from the plasterer is that the walls have the same levels and curves that they did before. Best case scenario is he can fix the imperfections.

4. Make it very clear at the beginning about how much protection you want placed on the floors, windows etc to prevent plaster splashing everywhere. Its a very very messy job. Our guy was useless at this. We asked him countless times to protect the floor (granted it was just the under floorboards) but he made a terrible attempt at this, and in some cases didnt even try.

5. Clarify how perfect he is going to make the walls. Tool scratches, lumps etc should all be fixed before he finishes.

6. Its very hard to see imperfections in plaster until you put on the first coat of paint so you will need to spend a lot of time checking the walls before allowing him to be paid and leave.

7. Tell him to inform you each time he has completed a room or area so you can inspect the work. Better to spot problems rather than waiting until the last day to check everything.

frankled

BrokenArrows wrote: »

It looks exactly like my house did a few months back.
We spent a very very long time getting all the wallpaper off.

We then got a plasterer in to skim coat the whole place. Its not cheap.

Our plasterer was hard work. Caused us lots of problems and i a really regret choosing him because he was just bad at his job.
We had to spend a huge amount of time sanding and filling in.

My advise when choosing a plasterer based on my own mistakes.

1. Gets lots of quotes. Dont just pick the the cheapest one. Quiz him on how smooth he can make the walls, if he is currently working somewhere check if you can visit. Make sure its clear you want perfection and not a quicky job.

2. Be clear on exactly what you need. A 2-3mm skim coat on all the walls. All corners and wall to ceilings must be perfectly square etc. Skim from the top of the wall all the way down to the floor level (some guys will only get so far as just below the start of skirting.

3. Check the level and straightness of all the walls before the plasterer begins. Get a straight piece of wood which roughly 2 meters long. Place it against the walls in different areas and make note of any curves or uneven spots in the wall. Also get a spirit level and check that the wallis straight from top to bottom. Be detailed in this approach and give the details to the plasterer. Worst case scenario you should expect from the plasterer is that the walls have the same levels and curves that they did before. Best case scenario is he can fix the imperfections.

4. Make it very clear at the beginning about how much protection you want placed on the floors, windows etc to prevent plaster splashing everywhere. Its a very very messy job. Our guy was useless at this. We asked him countless times to protect the floor (granted it was just the under floorboards) but he made a terrible attempt at this, and in some cases didnt even try.

5. Clarify how perfect he is going to make the walls. Tool scratches, lumps etc should all be fixed before he finishes.

6. Its very hard to see imperfections in plaster until you put on the first coat of paint so you will need to spend a lot of time checking the walls before allowing him to be paid and leave.

7. Tell him to inform you each time he has completed a room or area so you can inspect the work. Better to spot problems rather than waiting until the last day to check everything.

That's very helpful, thanks a million. Any idea how much plasterers generally cost to skim per square metre?

BrokenArrows

frankled wrote: »

That's very helpful, thanks a million. Any idea how much plasterers generally cost to skim per square metre?

Well im in the UK so my prices are different.
The correct going rate for my 80sqm house which included ceilings was about 3k GBP. I paid a lot less, hence the issues i had!!

mad m

I'll be honest I've seen worse, if you can't afford the route of plastering plus it's a messy enough job but the right plasterer should cover everything.

Then I'd suggest to sand down all walls, coat walls with white flat emulsion. This will make areas harden up. Then sand walls again. Fill walls with poly filler. Coats walls with colour you want and re fill walls where necessary. Then final cost of emulsion. Flat emulsion will hide a multitude.

Sometimes a good painter will be just as good as getting in a plasterer.

frankled

BrokenArrows wrote: »

Well im in the UK so my prices are different.
The correct going rate for my 80sqm house which included ceilings was about 3k GBP. I paid a lot less, hence the issues i had!!

Ah fair enough- that's a much greater scale too to be honest! Thanks for the help.

mad m wrote: »

I'll be honest I've seen worse, if you can't afford the route of plastering plus it's a messy enough job but the right plasterer should cover everything.

Then I'd suggest to sand down all walls, coat walls with white flat emulsion. This will make areas harden up. Then sand walls again. Fill walls with poly filler. Coats walls with colour you want and re fill walls where necessary. Then final cost of emulsion. Flat emulsion will hide a multitude.

Sometimes a good painter will be just as good as getting in a plasterer.

I was half thinking of asking a painter's advice first to be honest. Might try that and see how I go. Thanks.

dok_golf

Thistlebond the wall first. Get yourself some skimcoat plaster and an extra long pile roller and a skim knife. Make up the plaster so its like a paste and apply with roller, then use the skim knife to even it out. You may have to do this process twice. after sand the area ( may need a good bit depending on how even you got the wall ).

frankled

dok_golf wrote: »

Thistlebond the wall first. Get yourself some skimcoat plaster and an extra long pile roller and a skim knife. Make up the plaster so its like a paste and apply with roller, then use the skim knife to even it out. You may have to do this process twice. after sand the area ( may need a good bit depending on how even you got the wall ).

Thanks- half thinking of trying this on a wall that I don't care too much about to see how good I am at it- have been using joint compound on other sections of wall so I assume skim-plastering this way might be easy enough. Cheers.

Tomtommag

You seem to have got a lot of information above, in my opinion some valid and some not so. Iv been plastering for over 20 years now and from experience the best option is say you have is to continue to strip the wall paper of and get a good plasterer to skim them. Is not that big of a job really, of course if you chose the correct man for the job.
The suggestion of painting and filling and more painting and filling will take a lot more time and will not look great at end.
Also the suggestion of mixing skim and rolling in on is a cowboy way of doing it and unless you know how to trowel up skim coat don't bother, because you will make it even worse.
The costings of course will vary, depending on who you get. When I'm pricing jobs I do it one if two ways. 1. I price it per square meter if it's a big job I.e. a couple of houses. 2. If it's a small job like a few rooms in a house I would give either a day rate or just a price based on how long it will take to do it, factoring in to it difficulty levels and access to water and levels of tidiness needed. Or mates rates.

But remember, if you cut corners you will have to eventually fix them. So I'd get it done properly the first time.

Best of luck.
t

TheLastMohican

Decent plasterers are NOT hard to come by. But you must make the inquiries. Do you not know someone who has had a plasterer in? If they are happy with the work, go for it.

dok_golf

I've rolled several walls with skim coat. The idea of it is that you don't need to be an experienced plasterer to do it. I do it because some plasterers take the easy road of putting in extra plasticiser on external walls to make their job easier by allowing them to skim the wall with less effort or over trowelling the wall. This causes problems down the line with mapping, which the house owner is tearing his/her head out not understanding why their paint is falling off in patches. I also said specifically to use a skim knife, NOT a trowel, which again, makes things much easier for someone who isn't a plasterer.

Bigus

Get a bucket of something like this below and experiment yourself premixed about €35.
However if you're going down the plasterer route I'd be thinking about going the whole hog and put in insulated plaster boards especially on north facing external walls
https://www.google.ie/search?client=safari&hl=en-ie&ei=90qjWf2zN4PdwALy0ZvQAg&q=premix+lafarge+joint+filler&oq=premix+lafarge+joint+filler&gs_l=mobile-gws-serp.12..33i160k1.26553.39055.0.39968.18.18.0.0.0.0.755.2350.11j6j6-1.18.0....0...1.1.64.mobile-gws-serp..0.17.2253...41j33i21k1j0i22i30k1.sB--xJGG1eI#imgrc=znBkzNb3rePQqM:

frankled

Thanks for the replies guys