Decorating bad walls, any ideas?

[Dr Strangelove]

Does anyone have any ideas of how to renovate the walls in our house. They were up until a short while ago covered in 25yr old heavy vymura paper. Now they are paperless scarred and pock marked sufaces. Some of the scars and dents are not deep enough to take polyfiller, vut i want to get a nice smooth finish. I don't mind a bit of hard graft, just wondered if anyone had some good effort/timesaving tips.

[wedge girl]

Nothing beats having them skimmed, find a good plasterer, best money I've ever spent.

[ofcorsa]

yeah we got our walls reskimmed resently, Shop around we got quotes between £150-£400, the cheapest quote based on us doing the prepwork ourselves well worth the effort

[monkey boy 1]

I can second that. The prep is the hardest bit. Take your time & don't rush. It's a bit like any restoration vehicle or house & don't be tempted to cut corners. It'll stand out like a sore thumb if not done properly.

[parrot of doom]

Yep, hack it all off and have it replastered. Then, once done, just paint with emulsion (PVA seal first if its a wetroom).

Check to see what kind of plaster is on first though - if its lime plaster, make sure you replace it with lime plaster, and not gypsum.

[wedg1e]

This reminds me: up in Newmilns near Kilmarnock, there's a plastering company called J&T McSkimming...
I almost crashed the van when I saw the sign...

[nonegreen]

Right gyproc make an adhesive that is meant to stick plasterboard to blocks (dry lining) the same stuff is also perfect for sealing the seams betwen sheets of plasterboard. This also makes it edeal for reclaiming poor plaster finishes as it dries quickly provided you use very thin skims and it can be sanded. If you employ a professional plasterer he will use this stuff to clean up small ammounts of poor plasterwork. I completely renovated my living room in 3 days hard graft. (bear in mind this was also a week before I had a heart attack so I was not in good shape ). The place looks great now apart from it needs tidying. Honestly its fantastic stuff and if youa re on a budget its the way to go.

[driller]

Why not do what we're doing- Insulation backed drywall (plaster board) glued directly to the wall. Kills two birds with one stone. Comes with polystyrene, rockwall or polyurethane insulation incorporated into each board.

Driller

[markmullen]

If you just want a bodge job to sell a house try that thick paint advertised on TV, when my dad sold his house in 2003 some of the walls had taken a beating from me and my brother's childhood exuberence (riding BMXs down the stairs springs to mind).

In an hour and a quarter I had roughly painted the staircase and landing and it looked much better for it.

[JonRB]

Heavy lining paper is a cheap way of covering a multitude of sins.

[popov123]

If you decide to fill the damaged parts yourself, use powdered filler (not the ready mixed stuff), it will sand off in about a tenth of the time and you can adjust the 'thickness' of the mix to cope with varying levels of damage.

Just my 2p worth.

[nonegreen]

popov123 said:

If you decide to fill the damaged parts yourself, use powdered filler (not the ready mixed stuff), it will sand off in about a tenth of the time and you can adjust the 'thickness' of the mix to cope with varying levels of damage. Just my 2p worth.

No not the stuff mate hones gyproc is the business

[popov123]

nonegreen said:

popov123 said: If you decide to fill the damaged parts yourself, use powdered filler (not the ready mixed stuff), it will sand off in about a tenth of the time and you can adjust the 'thickness' of the mix to cope with varying levels of damage. Just my 2p worth. No not the stuff mate hones gyproc is the business

I suppose I should have pointed out that my walls are still about as smooth as a rugby pitch

[nonegreen]

popov123 said:

nonegreen said: popov123 said: If you decide to fill the damaged parts yourself, use powdered filler (not the ready mixed stuff), it will sand off in about a tenth of the time and you can adjust the 'thickness' of the mix to cope with varying levels of damage. Just my 2p worth. No not the stuff mate hones gyproc is the business I suppose I should have pointed out that my walls are still about as smooth as a rugby pitch

No matter I dont work for them honest you could not have a worse starting point than me my house is a shit hole and gyproc is ace

[marcos maniac]

JonRB said:

Heavy lining paper is a cheap way of covering a multitude of sins.

1000 gauge double lined (two layers) hides a multitude of sins.

and if your wallpapering is not great caulk the joints lightly with plasterboard jointing compound and sand prior to painting.
My lounge was a mess when I bought the house - double lined it and its as smooth as the proverbial......

My father has been in the decorating business for 45ish tears and was convinced that I had, had the walls skimmed

[shirley temple]

Gyproc Dry Wall adhesive, get it and a proper spreader from a builders merchants, not a DIY Shed, thin skim all over then sand back with 180 grit decorators (sand paper on a roll) roll, use a 2 foot length of 2x2 timber as a block, messy but stunning results, you should be able to do the room in a day. this stuff dries fast and is easy to work with, it sticks to dusty plaster as well!!