making the best of a bad job

We have a huge hallway. It has previously been lined in the days when I knew not much about decorating and the decorator lined it. I now know that it probably should have been plaster skimmed. There are areas where it is not too bad and others where the surface is pretty bumpy. I want the whole thing redecorated soon (repainted) and I definitely am not prepared to strip again to have a plaster skim. Can the bad areas be made more flush with a filler and then painted over? On the other hand it is a Georgian house and I don't mind a few lumps and bumps. This forum is great and I am finding out loads of things I was not aware of. Good Work!!

It wants replastering. I'll doubt if you could find a plasterer that'll volunteer to plaster over the lining paper, so it'll need stripping and re-skimming.

lol defo, gcol. although i have seen paper before with plaster on top of it, needless to say it was falling off, paper as well. stripping and plastering is the solution.

I hope this is not classified as hijacking, but I have exactly the same problem.

Someone did work in my living room and even though I said my main concern was to have smooth walls, he spent most his time doing the jobs he enjoyed and made no priority to the finish on the walls. Hence the varicus vein effect. It has been lined and painted and shows up when table lamps are switched on.

I'm considering stripping the wallpaper on the wall effected and smoothing the surface before papering again. Can you use skimming plaster on only the effected areas and then paper over the top? Or is there another filler that would be better to "iron out" the lumps and bumps before re-papering. Skimming concerns me as I don't want to have the skirting and coving removed for the job.

I have decided I will have to live with it as it is toomuch work to strip again. My hall is vast. I may ask to try to the flush the walls with some fine filler at the affected areas to try to make the most of what is already there. To be honest until I read this forum, the bumpy bits had not really bothered me. I thought all period houses were like that.

yeh its very interesting what qualities and preferences 'we' have to offer; above all quality is the key. as to compromise, well on a web site its difficult but as all tradesmen know we are paid to do the work.

offering advice is useful and making sure it is understood is difficult, here the rule is ; if u want flat walls and to keep the edge on your skiirting ; your right it will require effort and time.

I was always taught to double line walls in old houses because of this problem. The second layer at right angles to the first. You can also get various qualities of lining paper, the better quality is thicker.

Also flock wallpaper is fantastic at hiding bumps, I remember when I was a kid living in a victorian house my mum had all the "hideous" flock stripped out and new designer paper hung, only to discover just how bad the walls were. She redecorated every few years before giving up and reinstating more flock - and bingo, suddenly the walls looked great.

Flock is expensive but it lasts ages. It is also very "in" at the moment and comes in lots of designs suitable for older properties.