Dot and Dab Repair

[Skid Solo]

Hi I have recently moved into a new house were the downstairs external wall are dot and dab. All of the joints between the plasterboard are showing through the paint some of them are cracked others just don’t look smooth. On further investigation it appears that the plasterboards are just butted up to each other with no tape.

How is it best to fix this ?

I don’t want to take all plasterboard off and start again. I was thinking of sanding down each joint to at least the width of a piece of joint tape and to a depth to match the thickness of the joint tape. Applying tape and then using wall filler to smooth over tape. I don’t really want to get the whole wall plastered as plastering is something I have never managed master (although I am quite adept at filling channels when I have rerouted wiring or plumbing). But would like a joint that is not going to start showing through soon after I have decorated the room

 

[PrenticeBoyofDerry]

So the walls have not been plaster finished.
They should have been joint taped and filled out. This is best done on tapered boards rather than square edge boards.
To be honest I would sand any loose or flaky paint from the wall, prime with PVA, tape the joints up and have it plastered.
If you wished just to tape the joints and fill out using a joint cement compound such as gyproc easi-fill, you can. But this will take a few application generally three, sanding down after each has dried, using 120-150 grit sand paper. The finish should be left smooth and even across the joint, you will end up covering about 150-200mm either side of the joint with the compound after the third application.
If this is not done correctly you can end up with a bump showing or a shadow through the paint work.
Again remove any loose flaky paint and prime with PVA.
This can become a messy and dusty job, so be prepared for that, do use safety goggles and a dust mask for sanding down and remove as much furniture etc.. from the room and cover everything else up and a bit of ventilation via open windows is sometimes helpful.