Hi All I have been having ceilings dropped in my old house . In the hallway, the plasterers had to remove the door frames as they needed to put new plaster from the ceiling to the picture rail due to there being a big bow in the wall. That is all good, but the paint which would have been painted only a couple of years ago before I bought the house, is peeling. I started chipping away at it and removed the paint off one section of the wall. What I now have is an old plaster chalky wall that when you run your fingers along, you have a yellowish dust all over your fingers. The wall has indentations and raised in some areas where someone has previously put a filler or something, (I am not sure what it is) - I am thinking that the wall needs to be skimmed? After reading how to do this, I am not game to give it a go myself. Just so I sound like I know what I am talking about with the Plasterers, what will need to be done before it is skimmed. I get a little nervous that I will be taken advantage of being a single mum. Thanks in advance!
Hi there goddess !! Can you post a picture or 2 of these problem walls, often helps in seeing the problems clearer Anyway, sounds like several issues with the wall surface and finish Ultimately, the best end result will come from having the walls skimmed (obviousy depending on the quality of the plasterers your using) Usual prep prior to skimming would be; Knock off any loose or blown areas of plaster (hollow sounding when tapped) Cut back any significant bows or lumps in the plaster Scrape over the wall to remove any loose and flaking paint Dust down A coat or two of diluted PVA or depending if a painted surface, a similar product with a bit of grit in it for extra grip to new plaster Ready to skim This all costs a few quid (depending on area that needs skimming) but will give a great surface to then seal (mist coat) and paint onto There is a chance that skimming isn't totally needed and that the wall can be brought back to a descent finish with prep work, time, skill and elbow grease Just depends on things .......
You might be able to get away with just sanding the high spots & fill the dents,remove any loose flaking paint then give the whole wall 1 or 2 coats of Everbuild 406 Stablishing liquid (my favourite) other brands available, this will seal the plaster, & bind any loose paintwork & prepare surface ready for decorating. http://www.everbuild.co.uk/406-Stabilising-Solution
Forgot to add that a descent, heavy grade lining paper may do the job and save you from skimming the walls 1400 grade I would say, prep work to the walls prior to papering is still needed - the paper is good but it don't perform miracles
You prep need to be 100%, otherwise your wall will end up looking like a raised-relief map. With old houses, having uneven plaster on the wall can add to it's character...
Not meaning to split hairs Kiab but surely the prep doesn't need to be "100%" or there would be no need to use lining paper If the prep was that thorough, then surely just paint the wall direct Some peeps seem to think that lining paper covers all damage with either no or little prep required It will smooth out damaged areas but as I said, can't work total miracles hence some prep requires - how much depends on how bad the wall is, quality of paper and also your own standards and expectations How annoying is it to prep walls, lining paper drying out nicely then you spot a single piece of grit under the paper that now looks like a huge pimple about to explode I know u can sometimes get rid of these by a gentle bash with a hammer Anyway...... Let's hear from the op
Have never been a fan of lining walls & then painting them,all to easy to snag the paper especially if you got kids. Quite agree Dave, you can never be 100% with prep, even with a quailty lining paper, sometimes imperfections can still show, I've lined walls only for the old plaster to blow weeks, months later.
Yep was wondering about that post Astra ?? Maybe my post was slightly misunderstood re prep before lining paper Was just saying that some people think I'm using lining paper so therefore no prep required, then go and use thin paper and wonder why they still see lumps and bumps through the paper Even with say 1400 grade, good prep is required for a top finish but not every pin ***** and blemish needs attention as the paper will hide some of this If painting direct onto wall then yeah , prep like mad, 100% if you like and especially if you want a top finish as I don't believe paint hides a lot of imperfections. Sure a Matt finish can help to hide these where as a silk finish will highlight imperfections Anyway I'm waffling and my beer is getting warm - never good unless you like cask ale that's been sitting on the bar all day and is now as warm as a pint of p*ss Enjoy the rest of the B/H and hopefully some time off work
Thanks all for your comments, and some funny remarks at that. I forgot to mention that I have been successful peeling all the paint off on 3 sections of the wall. I reckon I could do that to the whole house and find that the situation is the same in that it would peel off pretty easy, but I think I won't be touching it anymore and will just have the walls I have taken all the paint off addressed. At least after all done the paint won't peel off these walls, but not so sure everywhere else in the house. Some evidence of peeling paint in a few other areas, but to peel the paint off would take forever!!! DIYDave I would post a couple of photo's but I have packed my whole house up while the works are going on and don't have the lead handy for the camera. I am beginning to think that the walls would be ok if prepped properly and not needing skimming going by the responses here. Thanks guys, I will let you know how I get on.
Realistically and with the right technique, materials and time, you can pretty much prepare any surface in poor condition and bring it up to a "like new" condition Technique and materials are are no problem for the pros, it's what they do day in and day out It's just the time element, or more to the point, time versus money - skilled labour don't come cheap Now if your diy'ing, well that's a different story. As long as you have the technique, (it's amazing what you can learn from this site and you tube) !! Materials, in this instance, are cheap. Maybe some easy fill, bonding plaster for deep holes, different grades of sandpaper, maybe some hand tools, this ain't gonna add up to much ££. Now it's your labour, which is free, just depends on how much free time you have That's why so often in the trade damaged items, be it woodwork, walls, ceilings, etc, are simply over boarded with plasterboard or timber trims removed and replaced with new. It actually works out cheaper when compared to all the extra labour required to repair and prep these items When you remove the peeling paint, does the plaster look clean and new underneath ? I'm wondering if the walls were skimmed over some time back and then painted without sealing first (mist coated) This often leads to the paint peeling cleanly off the plaster, especially when you try and repaint to quickly freshen up - it becomes a nightmare Even if you remove all loose paint, you're then left with loads of patches and hollows on the walls which seem a fraction of a mm deep, but when you paint the wall, the paint highlights these areas and they really stand out. Doesn't matter if you try and put the paint on thicker to cover, once dry, the hollows appear again It's either sand the paint edges down to feather in to surrounding Or fill the hollows and sand to blend in to surrounding Either of the above and then lining paper Or, get the lot skimmed, some prep required but can be discussed with plasterer It also depends on what quality finish you want to end up with Finally re photos - easiest way is to take pics on your smartphone / I phone/ post a thread from your phone and simply attach photos. No additional leads needed that way - Tis simple Goddess
Hi again Dave - I don't have a smartphone or an Iphone, but nonetheless my son has worked something out. I hope you can see from the images. I honestly would like to have a go at fixing myself, and from what a friend said the other day, he doesn't believe that it needs to be re-skimmed, just prepped, but I know he has very different standards to me, and will I be happy with the end result. I hear you on damaged items - the door frames and some picture rail that the plasterers took off were very good hardwood, but to clean them up to re-apply was going to be a job in itself, so I bought all new hardwood for around $100 and gave the old wood to a Carpenter. Here are some photo's of the wall after all the paint has been taken off. The walls are not in bad condition apart from what I have snapped for you here, so if what appears in the image can be prepped without skimming, then I am confident I can go down that path, as the walls don't have alot of damage other than what I have shown here. Thanks DIYDave for your very informative answer. Tis easy when you know how
Don't look too bad, fill & rub down, brush down to remove any loose paint, bits, then seal with a stablishing soultion (NOT PVA) to seal the surface & you will be ready for the final finish whether it's paint,wallpaper,etc.
Thanks Kiab - After the 'stabilising solution' do I then put primer before my 2 coats of top coat? The reason I ask, is because I have no idea, and I don't know if the stabilizer that you talk of is referring to primer? Or is this something I put on first, then undercoat?
No need to use a primer, you can paint straight on to wall once the stabilishing soultion has dried throughly. http://www.everbuild.co.uk/406-Stabilising-Solution
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