Problems Stripping Walls

[welshtom]

Hi All,

I am currently attempting to decorate a bedroom in our 1980's house. The walls are plasterboard with just the joints skimmed over. From stripping the walls back it appears they have been painted a couple of times before having a couple of layers of wallpaper over the top, which itself was then painted over by the previous owners. I therefore decided the best way to get a tidy result would be to strip the walls back.

The problem I have is that in large places the wallpaper has come off and taken the original paint with it (i.e. the original plasterboard surface is exposed). However in other areas the paint has remained. It appears that the paint has stuck to the areas where the plasterboard joints have been skimmed but not to the surface of the plain plasterboard (Possibly as a result of the plasterboard not being sealed prior to painting). This now means I have a room with patches of painted areas on plasterboard. I am worried that if I simply wallpaper over the top of this the difference in levels will still be visible. What should I do to ensure I get a smooth surface? I can provide pictures of the room if that helps once I return home this evening. Any help is much appreciated.

many thanks,
Tom

 

[welshtom]

Anyone got any ideas?

I have been given different advice from two decorators I have had in - the first advising that lining with grade 1400 paper then wallpaper over the top will do the job. However the second has said that the only way of getting a good result is to have the walls skimmed (which is likely to cost more than I was hoping to pay).

Any advice?

 

[D.S.D]

you have had the advice. both will work. Lot of prep in the first one prior too lining. not so much in the second one and then I would line anyway cos I love it and believe all wallpaper should have lining paper underneath like topcoat should have an undercoat. two pro deccys have given you the options nothing more I can add.

 

[coylumbridge]

we've just about finished after 3 years working on our house. not dissimilar problems except that our house is older and has plastered walls. I started off filling in plaster and lining myself - it takes time and the end result isn't always that great. so, for the final few rooms we got a plasterer in and he skimmed the lot - fairly quick and not as expensive as you'd think - then we just sealed with watered down emulsion followed by two top coats - quick and easy and good finish

 

[welshtom]

Many thanks for the replies.

As it is the second bedroom and for cost reasons I am going to go with the first option and see how it works out. I can then decide if it is worth the expense of skimming the walls in the other areas of the house based on the results.

Thanks again.

 

[JohnD]

I am no plasterer, but I find for patching walls and over chases, the last coat of a thinnish finish plaster, applied with a proper trowel, gives a nice finish. It's not so difficult if you have flat plaster at either side that you can use to level the trowel.

if you make any mistakes, scrape them flat with a broad metal scraper while still "cheesey"