Decorating....
Discussion
Morning all,
I'm helping the gf re-decorate the house over the coming few weeks.
When she moved in there was the "wood-chip" wall paper on the wall, she had no money to change this so just painted over the top of it.
Now i'm going to help her do it "properly" (well try anyway).
So first job is going to be the stripping of the wood chip wall paper that i'm not looking foward too!
I'm then going to make good any indentations, marks, cracks etc before decorating again.
She want's wall paper on the top or bottom (can't remember which until i see her later on).
With a dado (sp) in the middle.
What is the best way to prep the wall for the painted "half"?
I'm helping the gf re-decorate the house over the coming few weeks.
When she moved in there was the "wood-chip" wall paper on the wall, she had no money to change this so just painted over the top of it.
Now i'm going to help her do it "properly" (well try anyway).
So first job is going to be the stripping of the wood chip wall paper that i'm not looking foward too!
I'm then going to make good any indentations, marks, cracks etc before decorating again.
She want's wall paper on the top or bottom (can't remember which until i see her later on).
With a dado (sp) in the middle.
What is the best way to prep the wall for the painted "half"?
you need to remove all paper and then fill any dents or cracks like you say. Then sand the wall down fully, which will create a lot of dust. Then you need to wash the wall and hover as much as possible. The cleaner the room can be for painting the better.
For the part where you are putting new wallper it is important to do this as well esp washing the wall. otherwise you tend to get a dark line of dust/dirt where the paper joins.
Prep takes a lot longer than the painting but is really worth it to do a good job
For the part where you are putting new wallper it is important to do this as well esp washing the wall. otherwise you tend to get a dark line of dust/dirt where the paper joins.
Prep takes a lot longer than the painting but is really worth it to do a good job
http://www.screwfix.com/prods/33586/Decorating-Sun...
This helped us a lot. Filling and sanding does take a long time, but definitely worth doing properly before painting.
This helped us a lot. Filling and sanding does take a long time, but definitely worth doing properly before painting.
The most likely reason for having the woodchip paper, was that the walls were in a poor state to begin with! Stripping it might reveal loose plaster, just to warn you.
I've ended up having to remove the paster which just crumbled away, and then the laths (timber strips holding the plaster on) and then had to re plasterboard.
If it comes off cleanly, as been said, fine filler then run an orbital sander over the whole wall, clean, then paint.
I've ended up having to remove the paster which just crumbled away, and then the laths (timber strips holding the plaster on) and then had to re plasterboard.
If it comes off cleanly, as been said, fine filler then run an orbital sander over the whole wall, clean, then paint.
Oh yeah i don't doubt that the walls are in a s
te state, underneath, i would hazard a guess there's probably about 3 more layers of various other paper under the woodchip, like there was in the other room me & her dad did!
I've got the kit sorted for once the paper comes off.
What's best to wash it with, warm water i presume?
te state, underneath, i would hazard a guess there's probably about 3 more layers of various other paper under the woodchip, like there was in the other room me & her dad did!I've got the kit sorted for once the paper comes off.
What's best to wash it with, warm water i presume?
lawrence567 said:
Morning all,
I'm helping the gf re-decorate the house over the coming few weeks.
When she moved in there was the "wood-chip" wall paper on the wall, she had no money to change this so just painted over the top of it.
Now i'm going to help her do it "properly" (well try anyway).
So first job is going to be the stripping of the wood chip wall paper that i'm not looking foward too!
I'm then going to make good any indentations, marks, cracks etc before decorating again.
She want's wall paper on the top or bottom (can't remember which until i see her later on).
With a dado (sp) in the middle.
What is the best way to prep the wall for the painted "half"?
As others have said, removal of the woodchip may reveal some significant issues with the plaster underneath. Painted woodchip can be a bugger to shift, and you can make quite a lot of marks in the plaster with your scraper. Use a steam stripper to minimise this - the paste has to soak beneath the paper and then it will come off easier. You may also need to abrade the surface of the paint to let the steam into the paper if there are older style silk paints involved. I tend to follow on with a wet green scourer to remove paste and bits of paper with little dust, and if necessary, a sander for bad areas. The fill and final prep with a fine surface plaster / filler.I'm helping the gf re-decorate the house over the coming few weeks.
When she moved in there was the "wood-chip" wall paper on the wall, she had no money to change this so just painted over the top of it.
Now i'm going to help her do it "properly" (well try anyway).
So first job is going to be the stripping of the wood chip wall paper that i'm not looking foward too!
I'm then going to make good any indentations, marks, cracks etc before decorating again.
She want's wall paper on the top or bottom (can't remember which until i see her later on).
With a dado (sp) in the middle.
What is the best way to prep the wall for the painted "half"?
One thing. Dado rail? In 2011...? Is she absolutely sure? I have spent most of the 2000s removing dado rails and making good walls before painting all one colour (maybe with opposing walls, or feature wall a different tone rather than the split along the wall and dado). Each to their own, but it might be an idea to buy her a current design book or two, or visit some show homes on building sites IMO.
By the way, use matt paint if your walls are good but not not absolutely perfect. It hides a multitude of sins.
trudges off to remove last remaining dado rail in one of the en-suite bathrooms
SeeFive said:
As others have said, removal of the woodchip may reveal some significant issues with the plaster underneath. Painted woodchip can be a bugger to shift, and you can make quite a lot of marks in the plaster with your scraper. Use a steam stripper to minimise this - the paste has to soak beneath the paper and then it will come off easier. You may also need to abrade the surface of the paint to let the steam into the paper if there are older style silk paints involved. I tend to follow on with a wet green scourer to remove paste and bits of paper with little dust, and if necessary, a sander for bad areas. The fill and final prep with a fine surface plaster / filler.
One thing. Dado rail? In 2011...? Is she absolutely sure? I have spent most of the 2000s removing dado rails and making good walls before painting all one colour (maybe with opposing walls, or feature wall a different tone rather than the split along the wall and dado). Each to their own, but it might be an idea to buy her a current design book or two, or visit some show homes on building sites IMO.
By the way, use matt paint if your walls are good but not not absolutely perfect. It hides a multitude of sins.
trudges off to remove last remaining dado rail in one of the en-suite bathrooms
But plain walls are soooo last season. Dado rails are the new plain walls.One thing. Dado rail? In 2011...? Is she absolutely sure? I have spent most of the 2000s removing dado rails and making good walls before painting all one colour (maybe with opposing walls, or feature wall a different tone rather than the split along the wall and dado). Each to their own, but it might be an idea to buy her a current design book or two, or visit some show homes on building sites IMO.
By the way, use matt paint if your walls are good but not not absolutely perfect. It hides a multitude of sins.
trudges off to remove last remaining dado rail in one of the en-suite bathrooms
Next season will be stick on borders.
Piersman2 said:
But plain walls are soooo last season. Dado rails are the new plain walls.
Next season will be stick on borders.
Only last week you told me to remove them all, and the stick on borders at the top of the walls... You are Laurence Llewelyn Bowen and I claim my five pounds. Next season will be stick on borders.
Don't get me started on Dado rails, i told her not to have them but she's having none of it. (She's 23 ffs)!
We have a steamer & a multitude of scrapers to take off the paper.
Once i've prepped it ready for paninting what's going to be the best thing to do an under-coat with? i presume, matt white paint or something light?
We have a steamer & a multitude of scrapers to take off the paper.
Once i've prepped it ready for paninting what's going to be the best thing to do an under-coat with? i presume, matt white paint or something light?
Is this an issue throughout the entire house or just one room?
If it is just one room, you could try Polyskim over the woodchip, http://www.polycell.co.uk/guides/disguise_woodchip...
It will still need sanding but it would mean you dont have to go to the trouble of stripping the original paper.
The purists might shudder but it's just a thought.
For washing the walls, have you looked into Sugar Soap? I think it is what decorators use.
If it is just one room, you could try Polyskim over the woodchip, http://www.polycell.co.uk/guides/disguise_woodchip...
It will still need sanding but it would mean you dont have to go to the trouble of stripping the original paper.
The purists might shudder but it's just a thought.
For washing the walls, have you looked into Sugar Soap? I think it is what decorators use.
lawrence567 said:
Don't get me started on Dado rails, i told her not to have them but she's having none of it. (She's 23 ffs)!
We have a steamer & a multitude of scrapers to take off the paper.
Once i've prepped it ready for paninting what's going to be the best thing to do an under-coat with? i presume, matt white paint or something light?
Depending on the amount of raw plaster, I tend to start with a miss coat over any raw plaster made from any light colours that I have left over from other jobs. Then miss coat the whole walls once that has dried. We have a steamer & a multitude of scrapers to take off the paper.
Once i've prepped it ready for paninting what's going to be the best thing to do an under-coat with? i presume, matt white paint or something light?
Depending on the plaster you use and depth, it may also be an idea to 6:1 PVA the plaster to prevent reaction from the drying plaster to the paint - I have had this problem when filling larger patches with proper plaster, but not so much with fillers.
A miss coat is a paint mixed 50% paint and 50% water to allow the new plaster to absorb the first coat. Then following coats should sit on top and hopefully you will not get sinks between the edges of the painted surfaces and the raw plaster areas.
Pixel Pusher said:
Is this an issue throughout the entire house or just one room?
If it is just one room, you could try Polyskim over the woodchip, http://www.polycell.co.uk/guides/disguise_woodchip...
It will still need sanding but it would mean you dont have to go to the trouble of stripping the original paper.
The purists might shudder but it's just a thought.
For washing the walls, have you looked into Sugar Soap? I think it is what decorators use.
[shudder]If it is just one room, you could try Polyskim over the woodchip, http://www.polycell.co.uk/guides/disguise_woodchip...
It will still need sanding but it would mean you dont have to go to the trouble of stripping the original paper.
The purists might shudder but it's just a thought.
For washing the walls, have you looked into Sugar Soap? I think it is what decorators use.
I am no purist, more of a pragmatists but unless you are a reasonably skilled plasterer, this will look awful and is not the approach to take. Stick to your initial thoughts. Remove old wall coverings completely, make good the reasons that woodchip was there in the first place, miss coat, see what you have, and if necessary rectify errors or in extreme cases, apply lining paper and go from there.
I would dot/dab overboard before using that type of product - it is really hard to get a good finish IMO.
SeeFive said:
Pixel Pusher said:
Is this an issue throughout the entire house or just one room?
If it is just one room, you could try Polyskim over the woodchip, http://www.polycell.co.uk/guides/disguise_woodchip...
It will still need sanding but it would mean you dont have to go to the trouble of stripping the original paper.
The purists might shudder but it's just a thought.
For washing the walls, have you looked into Sugar Soap? I think it is what decorators use.
[shudder]If it is just one room, you could try Polyskim over the woodchip, http://www.polycell.co.uk/guides/disguise_woodchip...
It will still need sanding but it would mean you dont have to go to the trouble of stripping the original paper.
The purists might shudder but it's just a thought.
For washing the walls, have you looked into Sugar Soap? I think it is what decorators use.
I am no purist, more of a pragmatists but unless you are a reasonably skilled plasterer, this will look awful and is not the approach to take. Stick to your initial thoughts. Remove old wall coverings completely, make good the reasons that woodchip was there in the first place, miss coat, see what you have, and if necessary rectify errors or in extreme cases, apply lining paper and go from there.
I would dot/dab overboard before using that type of product - it is really hard to get a good finish IMO.
Pixel Pusher said:
SeeFive said:
Pixel Pusher said:
Is this an issue throughout the entire house or just one room?
If it is just one room, you could try Polyskim over the woodchip, http://www.polycell.co.uk/guides/disguise_woodchip...
It will still need sanding but it would mean you dont have to go to the trouble of stripping the original paper.
The purists might shudder but it's just a thought.
For washing the walls, have you looked into Sugar Soap? I think it is what decorators use.
[shudder]If it is just one room, you could try Polyskim over the woodchip, http://www.polycell.co.uk/guides/disguise_woodchip...
It will still need sanding but it would mean you dont have to go to the trouble of stripping the original paper.
The purists might shudder but it's just a thought.
For washing the walls, have you looked into Sugar Soap? I think it is what decorators use.
I am no purist, more of a pragmatists but unless you are a reasonably skilled plasterer, this will look awful and is not the approach to take. Stick to your initial thoughts. Remove old wall coverings completely, make good the reasons that woodchip was there in the first place, miss coat, see what you have, and if necessary rectify errors or in extreme cases, apply lining paper and go from there.
I would dot/dab overboard before using that type of product - it is really hard to get a good finish IMO.
My cabinetmaking / woodworking hobby doesn't help much here either...
To be fair, I have done a lot of this type of stuff from about age 8 with my dad, and over many houses I have had the displeasure to own, renovate or have girlfriends / wives / parents / family / friends / neighbours that ran out of talent on properties they owned. I still run out of talent myself when it comes to some stuff, or things that need regs or a pro to sign off under the new H&S laws (eletrickery and gas mainly although I tend to do the leg work and get them in for the minimal stuff and certificates).
So really, it is not a pro trade / trained thing, just lots and lost of experience and a few cockups over 40 odd years to learn the hard way. IMO, the Poly... type products tend to be far more expensive than trade materials, in many cases harder to work with, and still require a fair amount of skill to use - especially when it comes to vast flat surfaces and overskimming. The key difference it typically that they are pre-mixed, and allow a longer open time than you would get on a pro product to fix initial errors and make more mistakes as they start to go off and become unworkable. Anyway, not removing old stuff and starting from the base wall is a no-no for me - it just seems such a bodge, and I have suffered from acquiring tasks where previous
daTippy hint - If you do get little bits of old paint that pulls off with the paper (you will), just spread a thin fine surface filler over the area vaguely covering the edges and the dip. Then a very light touch with glasspaper around the outer edge and an even lighter one across the middle after will leave them ready for the painting process. You will lose the sharp edges in the finished product that can spoil a painted surface. Bigger plaster holes... bigger amounts of material built up in thinner layers and larger straight edged tools to ensure a level should see you there.
I have just gone through this process in 2 rooms in my flat.
One room had textured wallpaper, not the woodchip (donkey vomit) but fully textured, thick wallpaper. It had about 3 layers of paint ontop as well, just to make life interesting. I found that a steamer worked really really well. It took 2 of us about a day to strip the whole room (4m high ceilings make life awkward).
I washed the walls down with sugarsoap to get rid of any residual paste that was on the walls.
In one of the rooms I used 3 tubes of "quick drying Pollyfilla" filling screw holes, cracks and dents in the wall. This took AGES!
In the other room two large areas of plaster came away from the wall, I used pre mixed plaster to fill these, it takes a bit of practice but it went on quite easily and you can get a very smooth finish on it.
Then sanded down the walls, I bought a 1/3 sheet sander for this, and it was amazing. Totally worth the £30.
Then a coat of pure brilliant white.
Then more filling and sanding.
Then another coat of pure brilliant white.
Then colour.
It has turned out really, really well. The preperation took much longer than anticipated. About a week to ten days at my leasurely pace, doing both rooms simultaneously.
I still have another bedroom to do and the living room, but that is going to be a totally different ball game.
I find it hard to do all the prep, as I just want to see the colour on the wall and the place finished, however it really is worth doing as you get a much better finish in the end.
One room had textured wallpaper, not the woodchip (donkey vomit) but fully textured, thick wallpaper. It had about 3 layers of paint ontop as well, just to make life interesting. I found that a steamer worked really really well. It took 2 of us about a day to strip the whole room (4m high ceilings make life awkward).
I washed the walls down with sugarsoap to get rid of any residual paste that was on the walls.
In one of the rooms I used 3 tubes of "quick drying Pollyfilla" filling screw holes, cracks and dents in the wall. This took AGES!
In the other room two large areas of plaster came away from the wall, I used pre mixed plaster to fill these, it takes a bit of practice but it went on quite easily and you can get a very smooth finish on it.
Then sanded down the walls, I bought a 1/3 sheet sander for this, and it was amazing. Totally worth the £30.
Then a coat of pure brilliant white.
Then more filling and sanding.
Then another coat of pure brilliant white.
Then colour.
It has turned out really, really well. The preperation took much longer than anticipated. About a week to ten days at my leasurely pace, doing both rooms simultaneously.
I still have another bedroom to do and the living room, but that is going to be a totally different ball game.
I find it hard to do all the prep, as I just want to see the colour on the wall and the place finished, however it really is worth doing as you get a much better finish in the end.
SeeFive said:
Pixel Pusher said:
SeeFive said:
Pixel Pusher said:
Is this an issue throughout the entire house or just one room?
If it is just one room, you could try Polyskim over the woodchip, http://www.polycell.co.uk/guides/disguise_woodchip...
It will still need sanding but it would mean you dont have to go to the trouble of stripping the original paper.
The purists might shudder but it's just a thought.
For washing the walls, have you looked into Sugar Soap? I think it is what decorators use.
[shudder]If it is just one room, you could try Polyskim over the woodchip, http://www.polycell.co.uk/guides/disguise_woodchip...
It will still need sanding but it would mean you dont have to go to the trouble of stripping the original paper.
The purists might shudder but it's just a thought.
For washing the walls, have you looked into Sugar Soap? I think it is what decorators use.
I am no purist, more of a pragmatists but unless you are a reasonably skilled plasterer, this will look awful and is not the approach to take. Stick to your initial thoughts. Remove old wall coverings completely, make good the reasons that woodchip was there in the first place, miss coat, see what you have, and if necessary rectify errors or in extreme cases, apply lining paper and go from there.
I would dot/dab overboard before using that type of product - it is really hard to get a good finish IMO.
My cabinetmaking / woodworking hobby doesn't help much here either...
To be fair, I have done a lot of this type of stuff from about age 8 with my dad, and over many houses I have had the displeasure to own, renovate or have girlfriends / wives / parents / family / friends / neighbours that ran out of talent on properties they owned. I still run out of talent myself when it comes to some stuff, or things that need regs or a pro to sign off under the new H&S laws (eletrickery and gas mainly although I tend to do the leg work and get them in for the minimal stuff and certificates).
So really, it is not a pro trade / trained thing, just lots and lost of experience and a few cockups over 40 odd years to learn the hard way. IMO, the Poly... type products tend to be far more expensive than trade materials, in many cases harder to work with, and still require a fair amount of skill to use - especially when it comes to vast flat surfaces and overskimming. The key difference it typically that they are pre-mixed, and allow a longer open time than you would get on a pro product to fix initial errors and make more mistakes as they start to go off and become unworkable. Anyway, not removing old stuff and starting from the base wall is a no-no for me - it just seems such a bodge, and I have suffered from acquiring tasks where previous
daTippy hint - If you do get little bits of old paint that pulls off with the paper (you will), just spread a thin fine surface filler over the area vaguely covering the edges and the dip. Then a very light touch with glasspaper around the outer edge and an even lighter one across the middle after will leave them ready for the painting process. You will lose the sharp edges in the finished product that can spoil a painted surface. Bigger plaster holes... bigger amounts of material built up in thinner layers and larger straight edged tools to ensure a level should see you there.
Cheers chap.
Take your time removing the woodchip , as others have said.
Use a steam stripper and let the machine do the work , the scraper is just to ease the paper off.
You will spend about 20 minutes a drop to remove the paper and properly clean the wall , clear up as you go as it leaves an awful mess of glue and paper .
Use a steam stripper and let the machine do the work , the scraper is just to ease the paper off.
You will spend about 20 minutes a drop to remove the paper and properly clean the wall , clear up as you go as it leaves an awful mess of glue and paper .
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