Plaster skim or lining paper.. ?

Hi, I live in a bungalow built in 1956 with original plastered walls, and have stripped the wallpaper in the hall with a view to redecorate. The walls aren't in the greatest condition with some cracks, old areas of patchy paint, dents and rough areas. I could either get the walls skimmed, then paint..... or put up a suitable grade lining paper and paint. Has any one heard of 'Wall doctor' lining paper, and if so how good is it compared to standard lining paper for painting..?

Thanks in advance....

 

Thanks Kiab...... had the place rewired a while back..

 

Snafinch, this is gonna have to be your call.

As KIAB says, a decent plasterer will give you the best finish. But, it'll cost you £undreds, might give a less crisp edge at skirting boards ('cos it's gonna have to be a few mm thick), etc etc.

Then you'll have to prepare the surface for painting - which will mean thoroughly cleaning off any scum and then mist coating before painting.

That 'Wall Doc' paper is a potential DIY job - are you up for this? If so, you'll save a fortune and know that it's all yer ain work.

But, it'll have to be done well with invisible joins, trimmed expertly at skirtings, around leccy sockets, ceilings and architrave.

Once a couple of finishing coats of matt emulsion has been applied, I doubt you'd tell the difference unless you deliberately set out to.

But, it's your call.

 

If any of these walls are exterior, you might also want to consider an insulating paper which is around 3mm thick. Of course, that will 'eat' into your skirting thickness, but it will also give you a noticeable amount of insulation.

 

Thanks for replies chaps. I'm pretty 'ofay' with wallpapering.... so that's prob the way i'll go......

Any advise on which is the better lining paper : Wallrock or Wall Doctor... ?

All internal walls by the way....

 

Two different beasts, Sna. Once is chust a thin lining paper and t'other primarily designed for insulating.

The paper can be stuck on with normal paste, but the Rock needs it's own adhesive (your call if you want to try and get away with chust a stronger paste mix!)

Both will (should) give an excellent finish, and the 'Rock will obviously cover much worse surfaces. But will also take some of the top edge thickness of your shirtings.

If it were me, I def use the 'Rock on any external walls, and prob only the lining paper on internal (tho' I might also take it around a return wall so's to make the corner insulated too.)

If using the 'Rock, I'd also be tempted to remove the skirtings and 'Rock down to the floor. Then glue the skirts back on after cleaning them up.

 

Thanks DA...

 

I removed the paper using lots of water and a scraper, quite a task but it's all of now. But there is still quite a lot of old paint patches, these can be removed using a scraper, but is very laborious.....

 

Thanks.... would you say that Wallrock is better quality than Wall Doctor..... ?

 

I think Wall Doctor is classed as Superfresco, so sounds like paper. I understand that Wallrock also have Wallrock Fibreliner Premium which is smoother than the Wallrock Fibreliner.... ?

 

Thought it would be ......thanks again