Replacing all the plaster in a house - is this feasible?

[essexmick]

I've recently bought a new house, which I have yet to move into.

The surveyor said that the plaster in the house is in a very poor condition throughout.

I was thinking of getting someone to come in and redo the plaster throughout the house.

Given that I am new to the home ownership business, I'd like to know if its normal to replaster a whole house in one go?

If so, given that the house has got 8 rooms, does anyone have any idea of how long it would take, if I got a professional in, and how much it would cost?

Thanks in advance to anyone who answers.

 

[ree]

Given the possible re-plastering costs proposed, perhaps, it would pay you to post some pics of the failing plaster - walls and ceilings. Pics of the exterior elevations, odd tho it may seem, would also help us to comment.

Was any mention made of damp plaster?

 

[essexmick]

Given the possible re-plastering costs proposed, perhaps, it would pay you to post some pics of the failing plaster - walls and ceilings. Pics of the exterior elevations, odd tho it may seem, would also help us to comment.

Was any mention made of damp plaster?

Thanks for yout interest.

I'm going to get some photos on Monday.

There was no mention of damp plaster, and no mention of damp generally. However the surveyor said the plaster was very old, and was blown in some places. He also said that when you knocked on it, it made a hollow sound.

 

[essexmick]

Given the possible re-plastering costs proposed, perhaps, it would pay you to post some pics of the failing plaster - walls and ceilings. Pics of the exterior elevations, odd tho it may seem, would also help us to comment.

Was any mention made of damp plaster?

Looking at the walls today, they seemed to be in reasonable shape, although there were some hollow noises here and there where the plaster had seemingly blown.

There were a few cracks here or there in the walls and in the ceiling. I've included photos.

Should I have all the plaster in my house replaced or should I just have some remedial work done to the cracked and blown areas?

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[NickB_99]

There were a few cracks here or there in the walls and in the ceiling. I've included photos.

Should I have all the plaster in my house replaced or should I just have some remedial work done to the cracked and blown areas?

Some of your pictures look mostly at the join on pieces of coving.

Cracks between ceiling and walls are quite common (possibly due to missing scrim tape at the join when it was plastered). Either way, you can probably improve these with a suitable filler or caulk. Not major.

The larger cracks in the middle of walls may need some more thorough attention/repair, but suspect it's not necessary to replace all the plaster.

I think the majority of your wallpaper pictures are from the ceiling. Where the chances are it is plasterboard underneath and the cracks are at the board joins. The cracks do look quite straight, so more likely boards rather than lath & plaster.

You may also have a mix of plasters on the walls. The picture over the door architrave looks quite straight too. Is this a plasterboard wall (either dryline over brick or a stud wall) ?
This would affect advice given also.

 

[essexmick]

There were a few cracks here or there in the walls and in the ceiling. I've included photos.

Should I have all the plaster in my house replaced or should I just have some remedial work done to the cracked and blown areas?

Some of your pictures look mostly at the join on pieces of coving.

Cracks between ceiling and walls are quite common (possibly due to missing scrim tape at the join when it was plastered). Either way, you can probably improve these with a suitable filler or caulk. Not major.

The larger cracks in the middle of walls may need some more thorough attention/repair, but suspect it's not necessary to replace all the plaster.

I think the majority of your wallpaper pictures are from the ceiling. Where the chances are it is plasterboard underneath and the cracks are at the board joins. The cracks do look quite straight, so more likely boards rather than lath & plaster.

You may also have a mix of plasters on the walls. The picture over the door architrave looks quite straight too. Is this a plasterboard wall (either dryline over brick or a stud wall) ?
This would affect advice given also.

Cheers for your views.

I had a friend, 2 decorators and a plasterer come around the last few days, and none of them could find any problems with the plaster.

I don't understand how it is that the surveyor could have concluded that the plaster in the house was in a very poor condition, blown and would need replacing!

The decorators reckoned that the job could be done by filling the cracks with plaster, and in some cases relining and repainting.

My wife was talking about having all the walls skimmed, but would this be really necessary?

 

[NickB_99]

I don't understand how it is that the surveyor could have concluded that the plaster in the house was in a very poor condition, blown and would need replacing!

The decorators reckoned that the job could be done by filling the cracks with plaster, and in some cases relining and repainting.

My wife was talking about having all the walls skimmed, but would this be really necessary?

Surveyors like to cover themselves if there is doubt, to prevent comeback.

Be careful. The cracks can be filled, yes. But sometimes they will just open up again weeks later if you are not thorough enough. Lining paper can cover some, but not considered elegant in a plastering forum
Mainly thinking about your pics #4 and 5, they looked quite big. A more thorough repair - e.g. cut the plaster nearby (eg 20cm either side) back and secure some metal mesh if there is cracking in the mortar. Then replaster over. It can be blended into the area with finish plaster if they're careful or do a wall re skim.

In terms of re skim, it depends how much effort you want to go to and how bad you think it looks.
Fine cracks should cover with a surface filler and give a reasonable end result.
Whereas some scrim tape over cracks and a re skim would be more thorough and give a better finish to paint. It also depends if you are cutting back any areas for a thorough repair. The re skim makes more sense if you are.

Hope you can follow all that, and apologies if it poses more questions than it answers. Sometimes there is no clear cut answer on this and difficult to advise just on a few pics having not seen for real.